ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Salad at high school concession stands!?

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:22 PM PDT

Is there something that can be done to improve the healthfulness of high school concession stand food, and preserve the profits they generate? According to this new study the answer is yes! This study shows that if you give people healthy foods they will buy them and be more satisfied, one of the authors said.

Years of High School Football not linked to Neurocognitive Decline, study suggests

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:20 PM PDT

As more parents consider whether it's safe for adolescents to play football, a new study of high school players found no link between years of play and any decline in neurocognitive function. The study suggests that the risks of sport-related brain injuries are relatively low.

System to predict lightning under development

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:20 PM PDT

Millions of people who work or play outdoors might one day soon have a new tool to help them reduce the risk of being struck by lightning. While there is no operational lightning forecast system using radar, researchers using the existing Doppler weather radar system can get lightning predictions right about 90 percent of the time, but can only give about a ten to 15 minute lead time.

Contagious yawning a mystery: May not be linked to empathy after all

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:18 PM PDT

While previous studies have suggested a connection between contagious yawning and empathy, new research finds that contagious yawning may decrease with age and is not strongly related to variables like empathy, tiredness and energy levels. Contagious yawning is a well-documented phenomenon that occurs only in humans and chimpanzees in response to hearing, seeing or thinking about yawning.

Brighter inks, without pigment: Nanostructured capsules could bring about paints and electronic displays that never fade

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:42 PM PDT

Encapsulated nanoparticles can create bright colors by amplifying particular wavelengths of light. These microcapsules could offer a new, non-toxic and long-lasting source of color for paints and electronic displays. Unlike color that we usually think of, which arises from paints and dyes absorbing certain wavelengths of light and reflecting the remainder, structural color is created when an object's very nanostructure amplifies a specific wavelength.

Do you know whether this story was written by a human?

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 01:41 PM PDT

A recent study investigates how readers perceive computer-generated news articles.  The advent of new technologies has always spurred questions about changes in journalism -- how it is produced and consumed. A recent development which has come to the fore in the digital world is software-generated content. A recent article investigates how readers perceive automatically produced news articles vs. articles which have been written by a journalist.

Genes may thwart seniors' exercise gains

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:15 AM PDT

The ACE I/D gene and how its variations -- the ID, DD, and II genotypes -- cause some seniors' to lose out on the benefits of exercise, new research shows. These findings suggest that the ACE I/D genotype may be a significant factor in how well seniors respond to exercise. This insight could be used to develop more effective, individualized, and senior-friendly exercise recommendations for improving physical function and preventing in disability.

Big data tackles tiny molecular machines

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:15 AM PDT

Open, feed, cut. Such is the humdrum life of a motor molecule that eats and excretes damaged proteins and turns them into harmless peptides for disposal. The why is obvious: Without these trash bins, the Escherichia coli bacteria they serve would die. And thanks to new research, the how is becoming clearer. Researchers have combined genetic and structural data to begin to solve one of the most compelling mysteries in biology: how proteins perform the regulatory mechanisms in cells upon which life depends.

Blood poisoning increases the risk of blood clots, new research shows

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:15 AM PDT

The world's largest study of the correlation between blood poisoning and the risk of blood clots is underway. In recent years there has been a growing level of interest for the correlation between the risk of blood clots and infections such as blood poisoning. The researchers hope that the new knowledge can be utilized to ensure better prevention and earlier treatment.

Little Foot is oldest complete Australopithecus, new stratigraphic research shows

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:15 AM PDT

After 13 years of meticulous excavation of the nearly complete skeleton of the Australopithecus fossil named Little Foot, South African and French scientists have now convincingly shown that it is probably around 3 million years old.

Link between diabetes, pancreatic cancer found

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:15 AM PDT

There is an association between pancreatic cancer and diabetes, new research indicates. While the numbers of pancreatic cancer in the population are relatively low, the study suggests a screening program should be considered. "The priority on screening should be on patients with new-onset diabetes but can later be expanded to long-standing diabetic patients," concluded the lead author.

Atomically thick metal membranes

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:14 AM PDT

For the first time researchers have shown that freestanding metal membranes consisting of a single layer of atoms can be stable under ambient conditions. The success and promise of atomically thin carbon, in which carbon atoms are arranged in a honeycomb lattice, also known as graphene has triggered enormous enthusiasm for other two dimensional materials, for example, hexagonal boron nitride and molybdenum sulphide. These materials share a common structural aspect, namely, they are layered materials that one can think of as individual atomic planes that can be pulled away from their bulk 3D structure.

Bone lengthening technique proves useful in patients with cleft palate

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:13 AM PDT

A technique called distraction osteogenesis can create increased length of the upper jaw in patients with cleft lip and palate deformities, report researchers. In this technique, hardware is placed to gradually "stretch" bone in the desired direction. The researchers studied the bone-lengthening approach because the maxilla often regresses toward its original position after standard surgical advancement techniques.

New approach to chronic lymphocytic leukemia treatment

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 08:13 AM PDT

A novel and unique approach to treating Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL), a form of blood cancer that often requires repeated chemotherapy treatments to which it grows resistant, as been developed by scientists. Unlike other novel therapies that have shown promise in the treatment of CLL, this approach is unique because it does not directly target proteins within the B-cell receptor pathway, but instead uses novel model systems that reverse the pro-survival effects of the microenvironment.

Motion, muscles don't always work in lockstep, researchers find in surprising new study

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:51 AM PDT

Animals 'do the locomotion' every day, whether it's walking down the hall to get some coffee or darting up a tree to avoid a predator. And until now, scientists believed the inner workings of movement were pretty much the same. But in a first-of-its-kind study on wild green anole lizards, biologists have discovered that the link between muscle function and movement is a lot more complicated than anyone realized.

New cell line should accelerate embryonic stem cell research

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:51 AM PDT

A new line of human embryonic stem cells that have the ability to develop into a far broader range of tissues than most existing cell lines has been created by researchers. The cells, called naïve embryonic stem cells, normally appear at the earliest stages of embryonic development. They retain the ability to turn into any of all the different types of cells of the human body -- a capacity called "pluripotency."

Older adults: Build muscle and you'll live longer

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:51 AM PDT

The more muscle mass older Americans have, the less likely they are to die prematurely, new research shows. The findings add to the growing evidence that overall body composition -- and not the widely used body mass index, or BMI -- is a better predictor of all-cause mortality. "In other words, the greater your muscle mass, the lower your risk of death," said the study's co-author. "Thus, rather than worrying about weight or body mass index, we should be trying to maximize and maintain muscle mass."

Number of days without rain to dramatically increase in some world regions

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:51 AM PDT

By the end of the 21st century, some parts of the world can expect as many as 30 more days a year without precipitation, according to a new study. Ongoing climate change caused by human influences will alter the nature of how rain and snow falls; areas that are prone to dry conditions will receive their precipitation in narrower windows of time. Computer model projections of future conditions indicate that regions such as the Amazon, Central America, Indonesia, and all Mediterranean climate regions around the world will likely see the greatest increase in the number of "dry days" per year, going without rain for as many as 30 days more every year. California, with its Mediterranean climate, is likely to have five to ten more dry days per year.

Drivers with hemianopia fail to detect pedestrians, study shows

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:50 AM PDT

A diagnosis of hemianopia, or blindness in one-half of the visual field in both eyes as the result of strokes, tumors or trauma often means the end of driving. Researchers set out to determine the extent to which people with hemianopia can compensate for the lost vision when driving, with a long term goal of developing and evaluating devices and training that will assist them to drive more safely. The findings suggest that the scanning patterns employed by some drivers with hemianopia may be insufficient for safe driving.

Critical role of one gene to our brain development

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:50 AM PDT

A gene linked to intellectual disability is critical to the earliest stages of the development of human brains, new research has confirmed. An international research team explains in a new paper how mutations in USP9X are associated with intellectual disability. These mutations, which can be inherited from one generation to the next, have been shown to cause disruptions to normal brain cell functioning.

Impacts of climate change in Switzerland: Adaptation and climate change mitigation must go hand in hand

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:36 AM PDT

Southern Switzerland emerges as a hotspot of the effects of climate change. And the bark beetle is putting spruces all over Switzerland under increasing pressure, because an additional generation of pests could hatch each year due to the rising temperatures. Also, about half of the remaining glacial ice will already have melted away by 2035.

Blood test identifies brain damage from concussion in ice hockey

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:36 AM PDT

Half way into last year's season, 35 of 288 players in the Swedish Hockey League had already had a concussion. Researchers who surveyed all of the players in the league's 12 clubs, have now developed a method that can show just an hour after the injury how severe the concussion is, if there is a risk of long-term symptoms and about when the player can return to the game.

An experiment recreates the crust of Saturn's moon Europa

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:36 AM PDT

Water, salts and gases dissolved in the huge ocean that scientists believe could exist below Europa´s icy crust can rise to the surface generating the enigmatic geological formations associated to red-tinged materials that can be seen on this Jupiter's satellite. This is confirmed by the experiment carried out in the laboratory with water, carbon dioxide and magnesium sulfate.

Patients with schizophrenia have impaired ability to imitate, brain mapping confirms

Posted: 14 Mar 2014 06:35 AM PDT

A brain-mapping study of patients with schizophrenia has found that areas associated with the ability to imitate are impaired, providing new support for the theory that deficits in this basic cognitive skill may underlie the profound difficulty with social interactions that characterize the disorder. According to psychologists, imitation is something that we all do whenever we learn a new skill, whether it is dancing or how to behave in specific social situations.

Education, culture affect children's understanding of human body

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 06:27 PM PDT

Experiences of life and death can help children's understanding of the human body and its function, according to research by psychologists. The study found that children as young as four and five can understand that the human body works to keep us alive. The researchers call this a 'life theory' and say it is important because it enables children to understand other related biological facts, such as what the vital organs do to keep us alive and what happens when people die. The results also have implications for teaching about the human body in schools.

Mindfulness-based meditation helps teenagers with cancer

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 06:26 PM PDT

Mindfulness-based meditation could lessen some symptoms associated with cancer in teens, according to the results of a clinical trial intervention. Mindfulness-based meditation focuses on the present moment and the connection between the mind and body. Adolescents living with cancer face not only the physical symptoms of their condition, but also the anxiety and uncertainty related to the progression of the disease, the anticipation of physical and emotional pain related to illness and treatment, the significant changes implied in living with cancer, as well as the fear of recurrence after remission

Fighting for oral dominance: Good fungi keep bad ones in check in healthy mouths

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:35 PM PDT

Human mouths contain a balanced mix of microbes which, when disrupted, can lead to oral diseases. A new study compares the bacteria and fungi present in the mouths of healthy individuals with those from patients infected with HIV and illustrates why oral candidiasis (aka 'thrush') is a common complication of HIV infection.

Emotion detectors could make driving safer

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:30 PM PDT

Technology now allows us to read facial expressions and identify which of the seven universal emotions a person is feeling: fear, anger, joy, sadness, disgust, surprise, or suspicion. This is very useful in video game development, medicine, marketing, and, perhaps less obviously, in driver safety. We know that in addition to fatigue, the emotional state of the driver is a risk factor.

Negative effects of joining a gang last long after gang membership ends

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:29 PM PDT

Joining a gang in adolescence has significant consequences in adulthood beyond criminal behavior, even after a person leaves the gang. Former gang members are more likely to be in poor health, receiving government assistance and struggling with drug abuse than someone who never joined a gang.

New stroke research combines brain stimulation, gait training

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:29 PM PDT

A researcher will test whether brain stimulation combined with gait training can improve patients' ability to walk after a stroke. People 50 or older who have had a stroke will be enrolled in the study and receive gait-training on a treadmill. The treatment group will receive transcranial direct current stimulation prior to gait training. Electrical stimulation will be administered in combination with motor training of the ankle, as a major problem for people trying to walk after stroke is an inability to flex the ankle on their affected side.

Nanoscale optical switch breaks miniaturization barrier

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:29 PM PDT

An ultra-fast and ultra-small optical switch has been invented that could advance the day when photons replace electrons in the innards of consumer products ranging from cell phones to automobiles. The new optical device can turn on and off trillions of times per second. It consists of individual switches that are only one five-hundredths the width of a human hair (200 nanometers) in diameter. This size is much smaller than the current generation of optical switches and it easily breaks one of the major technical barriers to the spread of electronic devices that detect and control light: miniaturizing the size of ultrafast optical switches.

Autism, intellectual disability incidence linked with environmental factors

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:29 PM PDT

An analysis of 100 million US medical records reveals that autism and intellectual disability rates correlate with genital malformation incidence in newborn males, an indicator exposure to harmful environmental factors. The study also finds that Autism and intellectual disability incidence decreases dramatically in states with stronger regulations on diagnosis.

Body's fatty folds may help fight kidney failure

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 02:29 PM PDT

In a new study, it was observed that in rats with kidney disease, functioning of the kidney improved when the organ was fused with the omentum, a fatty fold of tissue that lies close to the kidney and is a rich source of stem cells. The findings suggest that stem cells from a chronic kidney disease patient's own omentum may help heal diseased kidneys without the need for an outside source of cells.

Languages written to design synthetic living systems useful for new products, health care

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 01:45 PM PDT

A computer-aided design tool has been developed to create genetic languages to guide the design of biological systems. Known as GenoCAD, the open-source software was developed by researchers to help synthetic biologists capture biological rules to engineer organisms that produce useful products or health-care solutions from inexpensive, renewable materials.

Mexican-Americans suffer worse outcomes after stroke

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 01:45 PM PDT

Mexican-Americans had worse neurologic, functional and cognitive outcomes 90 days after their stroke compared to non-Hispanic whites. Mexican-American stroke survivors had moderate functional disability and nearly one-third had post-stroke dementia.

Stroke survivors may lose month of healthy life for 15-minute delay in treatment

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 01:45 PM PDT

Every 15-minute delay in delivering a clot-busting drug after stroke robs survivors of an average month of healthy life. Streamlining the time from symptom onset to clot-busting treatment by just one minute means one less day of disability for a survivor. While all stroke patients benefit from faster treatment, younger patients seem to gain more benefit than older patients.

Husband's health, attitude loom large for happy long-term marriages

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 01:44 PM PDT

A husband's agreeable personality and good health appear crucial to preventing conflict among older couples who have been together a long time, according to a study. The report found that such characteristics in wives play less of a role in limiting marital conflict, perhaps because of different expectations among women and men in durable relationships.

Gene family that suppresses prostate cancer discovered

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 12:42 PM PDT

Direct genetic evidence has been reported that a family of genes, called microRNA-34, are bona fide tumor suppressors. The researchers showed in mice how interplay between genes p53 and miR-34 jointly inhibits another cancer-causing gene called MET. In absence of p53 and miR-34, MET overexpresses a receptor protein and promotes unregulated cell growth and metastasis.

Vitamin D hypothesis challenged: Some racial disparities in childbirth more environmental than genetic

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 12:42 PM PDT

A new study investigating racial disparities in birth outcomes shows that contrary to some theories, vitamin D is unlikely to play a role in differences in preterm birth and low birth weight between African-Americans and whites. "For years there has been this hypothesis that African-Americans have worse birth outcomes because they have more melanin in their skin which reflects the sun and therefore lowers levels of Vitamin D," said the study's author. "But in examining the relationship between ultraviolet exposure and birth outcomes nationwide, there was no evidence to support this."

One in five older Americans take medications that work against each other

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 12:42 PM PDT

About three out of four older Americans have multiple chronic health conditions, and more than 20 percent of them are being treated with drugs that work at odds with each other -- the medication being used for one condition can actually make the other condition worse. Direct competition between medications is just one of the concerns, the report noted. Use of multiple medications can also lead to increased numbers of falls and delirium, dizziness, fatigue and anorexia.

Fish species unique to Hawaii dominate deep coral reefs in Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 12:42 PM PDT

Deep coral reefs in Papahanaumokakea Marine National Monument may contain the highest percentage of fish species found nowhere else on Earth, according to a study. In waters 100-300 feet deep, nearly 50 percent of fish observed over a two-year period were unique to Hawaii -- higher than any other marine ecosystem. The study also found that on some deeper reefs, more than 90 percent were endemic.

Roomy cages built from DNA could one day deliver drugs, devices

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:27 AM PDT

A set of self-assembling DNA cages one-tenth as wide as a bacterium have been created by scientists. These DNA nanostructures are some of the largest and most complex structures ever constructed solely from DNA, and they could one day deliver drugs, or house tiny bioreactors or photonic devices that diagnose disease.

Migration, brain drain in China: Shifting slightly, but still going strong

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:27 AM PDT

The brain drain of educated workers is still felt most severely in China's central and western provinces, since most knowledge-based industries are generally concentrated in its large coastal cities. However, low-educated migrant workers increasingly find jobs in their home provinces in the central and western regions because of changing economic and government policy.

More accurate data on thousands of years of climate change

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:27 AM PDT

Using a new, cutting-edge isotopic tool, researchers have reconstructed the temperature history of a climatically important region in the Pacific Ocean. The study analyzes how much temperatures have increased in the region near Indonesia, and how ocean temperatures affect nearby tropical glaciers in Papua New Guinea and Borneo. Researchers also evaluated the accuracy of existing climate model predictions for that region. The findings illustrate that the region is very sensitive to climate change and that it has warmed considerably over the last 20,000 years, since the last ice age.

Stirring the simmering 'designer baby' pot

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:27 AM PDT

From genetic and genomic testing to new techniques in human assisted reproduction, various technologies are providing parents with more of a say about the children they have and 'stirring the pot of 'designer baby' concerns.

When big isn't better: How the flu bug bit Google

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:26 AM PDT

Numbers and data can be critical tools in bringing complex issues into focus. The understanding of diseases, for example, benefits from algorithms that help monitor their spread. But without context, a number may be just a number, or even misleading. Google's data-aggregating tool Google Flu Trend was designed to provide real-time monitoring of flu cases around the world, but it also illustrates where 'big-data' analysis can go wrong.

Turning raw natural gas into upgraded liquid alcohol fuel

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:26 AM PDT

Chemists have discovered of a new way to turn raw natural gas into upgraded liquid alcohol fuel. The process uses ordinary 'main group' metals like thallium and lead to trigger the conversion of natural gas to liquid alcohol. The process occurs at far lower temperatures than current industry practices. This could help reduce dependence on petroleum.

More to biological diversity than meets the eye: Specialization by insect species is the key

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:24 AM PDT

Scientists found greater diversity among insects in a rainforest in Peru than theory would predict. Scientists have been studying flies in the tropics for years, and now report evidence that there is more to a fly's ecological niche than where it lives and what it eats -- you have to look at what eats the fly, as well.

Stumbling fruit flies lead scientists to discover gene essential for sensing joint position

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:24 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered a mechanism underlying sensory feedback that guides balance and limb movements. If the findings can be fully replicated in humans, they could lead to a better understanding of and treatments for disorders arising from faulty proprioception, the detection of body position.

Better way to make unnatural amino acids devised

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 11:24 AM PDT

Chemists have devised a greatly improved technique for making amino acids not found in nature. These "unnatural" amino acids traditionally have been very difficult to synthesize, but are sought after by the pharmaceutical industry for their potential medical uses.

New ovarian cancer targets proposed: Proteins called TAFs

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 10:43 AM PDT

Proteins called TAFs were once thought to be generic cogs in the machinery of gene expression, but in a new study, scientists propose that they may be important suspects in the progression of ovarian cancer that should not continue to be overlooked. Scientists need such new leads in their investigation of ovarian cancer, the most deadly reproductive cancer. Mortality has remained tragically steady since the last major therapeutic breakthrough came in the 1990s. Pursuing the evidence that these proteins may be involved could allow researchers to make new progress.

Equation to describe competition between genes

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 10:43 AM PDT

Biologists typically conduct experiments first, and then develop models afterward to show how data fit with theory. New research flips that practice on its head. A biophysicist tackles questions in cellular biology as a physicist would -- by first formulating a model that can make predictions and then testing those predictions. Using this strategy, this research group has recently developed a mathematical model that accounts for the way genes compete with each other for the proteins that regulate their expression.

You should be ashamed -- or maybe not

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 10:43 AM PDT

Shame on you. These three simple words can temporarily -- or, when used too often, permanently -- destroy an individual's sense of value and self-worth.

Prostate specific antigen screening declines after 2012 USPSTF recommendations

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 10:42 AM PDT

Researchers have assessed the impact of the 2012 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations against routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) cancer screenings, which cited evidence that the risks of screening outweigh the benefits. Results of the current study indicate that the USPSTF recommendations have resulted in a decrease in the number of PSA screenings ordered by doctors, with the greatest decline seen among urologists.

Social ties influence who wins certain Hollywood movie awards

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 10:42 AM PDT

When it comes to Oscars and some other Hollywood movie awards, who your friends are affects whether you win, according to a new study. Film awards generally fall into two categories: those, such as the Oscars, given by "peers" who are actively engaged in making movies and those given by "critics" who review movies for newspapers, magazines, or other media outlets. The research showed that awards given by peers more often go to people who are heavily embedded in the "core" of the social network. These core members have many social ties to others in the film industry.

Novel marker, possible therapeutic target for cardiovascular calcification identified

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 09:32 AM PDT

Certain proteins in osteoclasts, a precursor to bone, may be used in helping to destroy cardiovascular calcification by dissolving mineral deposits, a team of researchers has learned. The research suggests a potential therapeutic avenue for patients with cardiovascular calcification.

Scientists catch brain damage in the act

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 09:32 AM PDT

Scientists have uncovered how inflammation and lack of oxygen conspire to cause brain damage in conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease, bringing researchers a step closer to finding potential targets to treat neurodegenerative disorders. Chronic inflammation and hypoxia, or oxygen deficiency, are hallmarks of several brain diseases, but little has been known about how they contribute to symptoms such as memory loss.

Reversible mechanism that increases muscle elasticity discovered

Posted: 13 Mar 2014 09:31 AM PDT

A new form of mechanical memory that adjusts the elasticity of muscles to their history of stretching has been discovered. Using highly sensitive atomic force microscopes, the researchers detected a chemical reaction that increases the elasticity of muscle proteins. Crucially, this reaction targets molecules that have been exposed to a stretching force. This finding changes our understanding of how muscles respond to stretching and may lead to new treatments of muscle disorders.