ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


How the hummingbird achieves its aerobatic feats

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 04:21 PM PST

Although hummingbirds are much larger and stir up the air more violently as they move, the way that they fly is more closely related to flying insects than it is to other birds. Now, the most detailed, three-dimensional aerodynamic simulation of hummingbird flight conducted to date has definitively demonstrated that the hummingbird achieves its nimble aerobatic abilities through a unique set of aerodynamic forces that are more closely aligned to those found in flying insects than to other birds.

Rejecting unsuitable suitors is easier said than done

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:12 AM PST

Rejecting unsuitable romantic partners is easy in hypothetical situations, but not so when considering a face-to-face proposition, a new study shows. "When actually faced with a potential date, we don't like to reject a person and make them feel bad, which is not necessarily something that people anticipate when they imagine making these choices," says the study's lead researcher.

New terahertz device could strengthen security

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:12 AM PST

We are all familiar with the security hassles that accompany air travel. Now a new type of security detection that uses terahertz radiation is looking to prove its promise. Researchers have developed a room temperature, compact, tunable terahertz source that could lead to advances in homeland security and space exploration. Able to detect explosives, chemical agents and dangerous biological substances from safe distances, devices using terahertz waves could make public spaces more secure than ever.

Self-regulation intervention boosts school readiness of at-risk children, study shows

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:12 AM PST

An intervention that uses music and games to help preschoolers learn self-regulation skills is helping prepare at-risk children for kindergarten, a new study shows. Self-regulation skills -- the skills that help children pay attention, follow directions, stay on task and persist through difficulty -- are critical to a child's success in kindergarten and beyond, said a co-author of the new study.

Anti-HIV medicines can cause damage to fetal hearts, research shows

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:12 AM PST

New research raises concern about potential long-term harmful impact of 'antiretroviral therapy' on in-utero infants whose mothers are HIV-positive, but who are not infected with HIV themselves. The study shows that while the HIV medications have been successful in helping to prevent the transmission of the virus from mother to infant, they are associated with persistently impaired development of heart muscle and reduced heart performance in non-HIV-infected children whose mothers received the medicines years earlier.

In landmark study of cell therapy for heart attack, more cells make a difference

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:12 AM PST

Physicians from 60 sites treated 161 heart attack patients with their own bone marrow cells, selected for their healing potential and then reinjected into the heart, in an effort to improve the heart's recovery. Their conclusion? Patients who receive more cells get significant benefits.

Digoxin associated with higher risk of death, hospitalization, study shows

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:12 AM PST

Digoxin, a drug commonly used to treat heart conditions, was associated with a 71 percent higher risk of death and a 63 percent higher risk of hospitalization among adults with diagnosed atrial fibrillation and no evidence of heart failure, according to a study.

'Mind the gap' between atomically thin materials

Posted: 21 Nov 2014 11:11 AM PST

For the first time, researchers have grown a single atomic layer of tungsten diselenide on a one- atom-thick substrate of graphene with pristine interfaces between the two layers using an industrially scalable technique.