ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Detecting diabetes in a saliva sample with a smart phone

Posted: 31 Oct 2015 05:35 AM PDT

A new device provides immediate results and will be used for diagnosis of diabetes within low-income populations.

Heat-activated ‘grenade’ to target cancer

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 07:06 PM PDT

Researchers have developed cancer drug-packed 'grenades' armed with heat sensitive triggers, allowing for treatment to be targeted directly at tumors, according to two new studies.

New study finds that everyday activities empower young people in care

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 07:05 PM PDT

Report reveals how everyday activities such as playing with pets, going shopping or swimming help youngsters in care.

Extreme weather events in Chesapeake Bay give clues for future climate impacts

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 07:05 PM PDT

For the millions of people who live in its expansive coastal areas, Chesapeake Bay provides an important source of income and recreational enjoyment. To protect the ecosystem and the livelihood of area residents, it is important to assess how climate variability and change will affect Chesapeake Bay's shallow water ecosystems and water quality. The intensity, duration, and frequency of extreme temperature- and precipitation-based events are key components to understanding the climate of Chesapeake Bay.

Sleep interruptions worse for mood than overall reduced amount of sleep, study finds

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 07:05 PM PDT

A new study suggests that awakening several times throughout the night is more detrimental to people's positive moods than getting the same shortened amount of sleep without interruption.

Forget counting sheep - therapy could help chronic pain sufferers get a good night’s sleep

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:14 PM PDT

Research indicates that chronic pain sufferers could benefit from therapy to help them sleep better.

Some like it hot: Moth and butterfly species respond differently to climate change

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:14 PM PDT

New research led by ecologists shows that certain species of moths and butterflies are becoming more common, and others rarer, as species differ in how they respond to climate change.

Everglades' alligator numbers drop after dry years

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:13 PM PDT

Alligators and the Everglades go hand-in-hand, and as water conditions change in the greater Everglades ecosystem, gators are one of the key species that could be affected.

Tumor RNA in platelets may diagnose and classify cancer, identify treatment strategies

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:13 PM PDT

Analysis of tumor RNA carried in platelets - blood components best known for their role in clotting -- may prove to be more useful than other 'liquid biopsy' technologies for diagnosing cancer and determining its primary location and potential therapeutic approaches.

Long distance love affair

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:13 PM PDT

What people believe they want and what they might actually prefer are not always the same thing. And in the case of being outperformed as an element of romantic attraction, the difference between genuine affinity and apparent desirability becomes clearer as the distance between two people gets smaller.

A Prkci gene keeps stem cells in check

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:13 PM PDT

When it comes to stem cells, too much of a good thing isn't wonderful: producing too many new stem cells may lead to cancer; producing too few inhibits the repair and maintenance of the body. Medical researchers now describe a key gene in maintaining this critical balance between producing too many and too few stem cells.

New computational strategy finds brain tumor-shrinking molecules

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 01:13 PM PDT

Patients with glioblastoma, a type of malignant brain tumor, usually survive fewer than 15 months following diagnosis. Since there are no effective treatments for the deadly disease, researchers developed a new computational strategy to search for molecules that could be developed into glioblastoma drugs. In mouse models of human glioblastoma, one molecule they found shrank the average tumor size by half.

Record-setting flexible phototransistor revealed

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 12:31 PM PDT

Inspired by mammals' eyes, electrical engineers have created the fastest, most responsive flexible silicon phototransistor ever made.

Study blocks ebola virus budding by regulating calcium signaling

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 12:31 PM PDT

A new study showed that blocking a calcium-signaling pathway could inhibit not only the Ebola virus, but also Marburg, Lassa and Junin viruses, all sources of deadly infections.

Divorce rate doesn't go up as families of children with disabilities grow

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 12:31 PM PDT

Couples raising a child with developmental disabilities do not face a higher risk of divorce if they have larger families, according to a new stud.

Lack of 'sleep' may zap cell growth, brain activity, study in plants suggests

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 12:31 PM PDT

Lack of adequate sleep can do more than just make you tired. It can short-circuit your system and interfere with a fundamental cellular process that drives physical growth, physiological adaptation and even brain activity, according to a new study.

New technique could prevent biofilms on catheters and medical implants

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 12:31 PM PDT

Biofilms -- mats of bacteria similar to the plaque that grows on teeth -- frequently coat the surfaces of catheters, and of various medical implants and prostheses, where they can threaten lives or lead to failure of the implants. Antibiotics are impotent against biofilms. Now scientists show that coating implants with 'tissue plasminogen activator' can prevent Staphylococcus aureus, the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections, from forming biofilms.

Full-scale architecture for a quantum computer in silicon

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 12:31 PM PDT

Researchers have designed a full-scale architecture for a quantum computer in silicon. The new concept provides a pathway for building an operational quantum computer with error correction.

New metal alloy could yield green cooling technologies

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 09:44 AM PDT

A promising metal alloy system could lead to commercially viable magnetic refrigerants and environmentally friendly cooling technologies.

Simple mathematical formula models lithium-ion battery aging

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 09:44 AM PDT

Hybrid electric vehicles, cell phones, digital cameras, and the Mars Curiosity rover are just a few of the many devices that use rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. Now a team of researchers has a simple mathematical formula to predict what factors most influence lithium-ion battery aging.

Super sensitive magnetic sensor created

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 08:14 AM PDT

Researchers have developed a new hybrid magnetic sensor that is more sensitive than most commercially available sensors. This technological breakthrough hails opportunities for the development of smaller and cheaper sensors for various fields such as consumer electronics, information and communication technology, biotechnology and automotive.

World’s first lab-in-a-briefcase

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 08:14 AM PDT

Academics hope to boost early detection rates of cancer in developing countries with their portable lab-in-a-briefcase that can operate even at high temperatures.

Technique for analyzing bedrock could help builders, planners identify safe building zones

Posted: 30 Oct 2015 08:11 AM PDT

The thin layer of bedrock below the Earth's surface is the foundation for all life on land. Cracks and fractures within bedrock provide pathways for air and water, which chemically react to break down rock, forming soil -- an essential ingredient for all terrestrial organisms. Scientists have dubbed this layer Earth's 'critical zone.' Now scientists have found a way to predict the spatial extent of bedrock weathering.