ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• More evidence vitamin D boosts immune response
• Nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbiont promises trove of natural products
• Cholesterol boosts antibiotic resistance in H. pylori
• Could bacterial predator be harnessed to mop up biofilms?
• NASA's James Webb Space Telescope completes first round of cryogenic mirror test
• Surgeons perform first prosthetic bypass graft with patient's stem cells at point-of-care
• Tapeworm drug inhibits colon cancer metastasis
• US Medicaid drug lists cost more, deliver less, study finds
• Low fertility in Europe reversed
• ATV preparing for fiery destruction
• European endorsement for ESA's space hazards programme
• Phobos slips past Jupiter
• Ocean's harmful low-oxygen zones growing, are sensitive to small changes in climate
• Team reports scalable fabrication of self-aligned graphene transistors, circuits
• Medical debt occurs despite insurance, Arizona study shows
• New clues about protein linked to Parkinson's disease: Structural biologists measure energy difference between protein variants
• 'Lost' bats found breeding on Scilly
• Discovery of a new mechanism of gene control that is associated with cancer
• Not just another brick in the (plant cell) wall
• Madagascar marine resources plundered by international seafood markets
• Graphene may gain an on-off switch, adding semiconductor to long list of material's achievements
• A better way to remember
• Large Hadron Collider achieves 2011 data milestone
• After 55 years, surgery restores sight
• Counting the cost of cold winters: Emergency treatment for falls on snow and ice
• Poor 'gut sense' of numbers contributes to persistent math difficulties
• Hospitalizing children with normal CT scans after blunt head trauma is not necessary, study suggests
• Etanercept shows promise for treating dermatomyositis, study suggests
• American Cancer Society report finds continued progress in reducing cancer mortality
• Scientists turn memories off and on with flip of switch
• Early experience found critical for language development
• Home learning experiences boost low-income kids' school readiness
• Look before you leap: Teens still learning to plan ahead
• International team works out secrets of one of world's most successful patient safety programmes
• No healing in a vacuum, study finds
• Do you have to act like a man to succeed in business?
• Consumers express their concern about the EHEC bacteria
• A glimpse of the end of our solar system
• The Internet of Things: Toolbox to help objects communicating via the Net
• The way you relate to your partner can affect your long-term mental and physical health, study shows
• Simulation models offer clarity with regard to energy transition decisions
• Making websites accessible and secure
• For third consecutive year, Spanish Institute of Oceanography obtains massive bluefin tuna spawnings in captivity
• Diving a vehicle with one hand
• Why disparities in dental care persist for African-Americans even when they have insurance coverage
• 'Ultrawideband' could be future of medical monitoring

More evidence vitamin D boosts immune response Posted: 17 Jun 2011 03:51 PM PDT Laboratory-grown gingival cells treated with vitamin D boosted their production of an endogenous antibiotic, and killed more bacteria than untreated cells, according to a new study. The research suggests that vitamin D can help protect the gums from bacterial infections that lead to gingivitis and periodontitis. Periodontitis affects up to 50 percent of the US population, is a major cause of tooth loss, and can also contribute to heart disease. Most Americans are deficient in vitamin D.

Nitrogen-fixing bacterial symbiont promises trove of natural products Posted: 17 Jun 2011 03:50 PM PDT Soil-dwelling bacteria of the genus Frankia have the potential to produce a multitude of natural products, including antibiotics, herbicides, pigments, anticancer agents, and other useful products, according to new research.

Cholesterol boosts antibiotic resistance in H. pylori Posted: 17 Jun 2011 03:49 PM PDT New research suggests that cholesterol boosts resistance in Helicobacter pylori both to many antibiotics and to the endogenous antimicrobial peptide, LL-37. A complete understanding of the pathway of cholesterol uptake might lead to novel strategies thwarting H. pylori by blocking that pathway.

Could bacterial predator be harnessed to mop up biofilms? Posted: 17 Jun 2011 03:48 PM PDT Some new research on a bacterial predator that feeds on other bacteria may lead to new ammunition against biofilms.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope completes first round of cryogenic mirror test Posted: 17 Jun 2011 02:56 PM PDT The first six of 18 segments that will form NASA's James Webb Space Telescope's primary mirror for space observations completed final cryogenic testing this week. The ten week test series included two tests cycles where the mirrors were chilled down to -379 degrees Fahrenheit, then back to ambient temperature to ensure the mirrors respond as expected to the extreme temperatures of space.

Surgeons perform first prosthetic bypass graft with patient's stem cells at point-of-care Posted: 17 Jun 2011 01:41 PM PDT The first three patients to undergo an investigational surgical procedure for peripheral vascular disease that involves the patient's own stem cells continue to do well, say doctors . The "TGI-PVG IDE" clinical trial initiated at the University of Louisville involves using a patient's own stem cells to line artificial bypass grafts to better the chances at saving the limbs of patients with peripheral artery disease.

Tapeworm drug inhibits colon cancer metastasis Posted: 17 Jun 2011 01:41 PM PDT A compound that for about 60 years has been used as a drug against tapeworm infection is also apparently effective against colon cancer metastasis, as studies using mice have shown. The compound silences a gene that triggers the formation of metastases in colon cancer. Researchers in Germany made this discovery in collaboration with researchers in the U.S. Plans are already underway to conduct a clinical trial.

US Medicaid drug lists cost more, deliver less, study finds Posted: 17 Jun 2011 11:28 AM PDT The US Medicaid program is likely paying far more than necessary for medications and not offering patients the most effective ones available, by ignoring international evidence-based lists of safe and effective medications, according to a new study.

Low fertility in Europe reversed Posted: 17 Jun 2011 09:42 AM PDT The post-war trend of falling birth rates has been reversed across Europe, according to a new study. However, despite an increasing emphasis on family and fertility policies in Europe, this recent development involves social, cultural and economic factors more than individual policy interventions.

ATV preparing for fiery destruction Posted: 17 Jun 2011 09:40 AM PDT ATV Johannes Kepler has been an important part of the International Space Station since February. Next week, it will complete its mission by undocking and burning up harmlessly in the atmosphere high over an uninhabited area of the Pacific Ocean.

European endorsement for ESA's space hazards programme Posted: 17 Jun 2011 09:40 AM PDT The European Commission recently set out the EU's main space priorities, which include protection of Europe's space infrastructure. The affirmation spotlights ESA's Space Situational Awareness Preparatory Programme as a strategic European necessity and a cornerstone of Europe's future in space.

Phobos slips past Jupiter Posted: 17 Jun 2011 09:40 AM PDT Earlier this month, ESA's Mars Express performed a special maneuver to observe an unusual alignment of Jupiter and the martian moon Phobos. The impressive images of this rare event are now available..

Ocean's harmful low-oxygen zones growing, are sensitive to small changes in climate Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:07 AM PDT Scientists report a connection between climate fluctuations and the habitability of marine ecosystems by modeling the expansion and contraction of low-oxygen zones that are dangerous for ocean life. The team found that the size of low-oxygen ocean regions is extremely sensitive to changes in their depth caused by oscillations in climate.

Team reports scalable fabrication of self-aligned graphene transistors, circuits Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:07 AM PDT Researchers previously reported a self-aligned technique for making graphene transistors with unparalleled speed, but scalability was a question. The team now uses a dielectrophoresis assembly approach to precisely place nanowire gate arrays on large area chemical vapor deposition growth graphene to enable the rational fabrication of high speed transistor arrays. They also did this on a glass substrate, minimizing the parasitic delay and enabling graphene transistors with extrinsic cut-off frequencies exceeding 50 GHz.

Medical debt occurs despite insurance, Arizona study shows Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:07 AM PDT Health insurance is not protecting Arizonans from having problems paying medical bills, and having bill problems is keeping families from getting needed medical care and prescription medicines, a new study has found. The research also shows that medical debt is a separate and better predictor of whether people will delay or forgo needed medical care than their insurance status.

New clues about protein linked to Parkinson's disease: Structural biologists measure energy difference between protein variants Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:07 AM PDT Researchers have uncovered structural clues about the protein linked to Parkinson's disease, which ultimately could lead to finding a cure for the degenerative neurological disorder.

'Lost' bats found breeding on Scilly Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT A biologist has discovered a "lost" species of bat breeding on the Isles of Scilly (UK). A pregnant female brown long-eared bat is the first of its species to be found on the islands for at least 40 years.

Discovery of a new mechanism of gene control that is associated with cancer Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT In a new study, scientists reveal the mechanism of action of a protein that is essential for life and is associated with disease.

Not just another brick in the (plant cell) wall Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT In a new study revealing key steps for controlling plant growth, researchers have shown how the assembly of components of the plant cell wall regulates growth of root hairs. Root hairs are important structures that allow plants to absorb essential nutrients and water from the soil. The research will assist in contributing to the sustainability of plant-based industries such as, agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

Madagascar marine resources plundered by international seafood markets Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT Fish catches in Madagascar over the last half-century are double the official reports, and much of that fish is being caught by unregulated traditional fishers or accessed cheaply by foreign fishing vessels. Seafood exports from Madagascar often end up in a European recipe, but are a recipe for political unrest at home, where two-thirds of the population face hunger.

Graphene may gain an on-off switch, adding semiconductor to long list of material's achievements Posted: 17 Jun 2011 08:06 AM PDT A team of researchers has proposed a way to turn the material graphene into a semiconductor, enabling it to control the flow of electrons with a laser "on-off switch."

A better way to remember Posted: 17 Jun 2011 07:59 AM PDT Scientists and educators alike have long known that cramming is not an effective way to remember things. With their latest findings, researchers studying eye movement response in trained mice, have elucidated the neurological mechanism explaining why this is so. Their results suggest that protein synthesis in the cerebellum plays a key role in memory consolidation, shedding light on the fundamental neurological processes governing how we remember.

Large Hadron Collider achieves 2011 data milestone Posted: 17 Jun 2011 07:59 AM PDT On June 17 at around 10:50 CEST, the amount of data accumulated by LHC experiments ATLAS and CMS clicked over from 0.999 to 1 inverse femtobarn, signaling an important milestone in the experiments' quest for new physics.

After 55 years, surgery restores sight Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:16 AM PDT After being hit in the eye by a stone, a detached retina left a man blind in his right eye. Doctors at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary have reported a case, describing how this patient had functional vision restored 55 years after the childhood accident which left him blind.

Counting the cost of cold winters: Emergency treatment for falls on snow and ice Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT During the winter of 2009-2010 the average temperature for the UK was 1.6 degrees centigrade, making it the coldest recorded winter in the last 30 years. Using winter data from 2005 to 2010, new research demonstrates an inverse relationship between temperature and the number of falls on snow and ice, which result in emergency admission to hospital, and looks at the cost of these falls.

Poor 'gut sense' of numbers contributes to persistent math difficulties Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT Having a poor "gut sense" of numbers can lead to a mathematical learning disability and difficulty in achieving basic math proficiency. This inaccurate number sense is just one cause of math learning disabilities, according to researchers.

Hospitalizing children with normal CT scans after blunt head trauma is not necessary, study suggests Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT A large, national multicenter study of thousands of children taken to emergency departments with minor blunt head trauma has found that most of those with normal computed tomography scans do not require hospitalization for further observation.

Etanercept shows promise for treating dermatomyositis, study suggests Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT A multicenter pilot study of etanercept for treatment of dermatomyositis found no major safety concerns and many patients treated with the drug were successfully weaned from steroid therapy. These results are encouraging, but larger studies are needed to further investigate the safety and efficacy of etanercept.

American Cancer Society report finds continued progress in reducing cancer mortality Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT A steady reduction in overall cancer death rates translates to the avoidance of about 898,000 deaths from cancer between 1990 and 2007, according to the latest statistics from the American Cancer Society. However, progress has not benefited all segments of the population equally.

Scientists turn memories off and on with flip of switch Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT Scientists have developed a way to turn memories on and off -- literally with the flip of a switch. Using an electronic system that duplicates the neural signals associated with learning, they replicated the brain function in rats associated with long-term learned behavior, even when the rats had been drugged to forget. "Flip the switch on, and the rats remember. Flip it off, and the rats forget," said the leader of the team reporting the result.

Early experience found critical for language development Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT Researchers studying more than 100 children who were in foster care in Romania, have found that children who were placed in foster care before they turned 2 had substantially greater language skills at age 3-1/2 than children who stayed in institutional care, with those placed by 15 months showing language skills similar to the comparison group. Findings highlight the importance of early intervention.

Home learning experiences boost low-income kids' school readiness Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT A new study looks at more than 1,850 children and their mothers from predominantly low-income households, that is, households at or below the federal poverty line and finds that differences in the children's learning environments over time predicted their school readiness skills. For example, children whose learning environments were consistently low in quality were much more likely to have delays in language and literacy skills at pre-kindergarten than children whose environments were uniformly high.

Look before you leap: Teens still learning to plan ahead Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:15 AM PDT Researchers studied strategic planning and problem solving among 890 10-30 year-olds using a computerized test called the Tower of London. Older test takers did better on the tower test, showing a greater ability to plan ahead and solve problems. On the hardest problems, mature performance wasn't seen until at least age 22. These findings have implications for programs that target adolescents' still-emerging capacity to plan ahead, control impulses, regulate emotions, and resist peer pressure.

International team works out secrets of one of world's most successful patient safety programmes Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:12 AM PDT A team of social scientists and medical and nursing researchers in the United States and the United Kingdom has pinpointed how a program that ran in more than 100 hospital intensive care units in Michigan dramatically reduced the rates of potentially deadly central line bloodstream infections to become one of the world's most successful patient safety programs.

No healing in a vacuum, study finds Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:11 AM PDT Negative-pressure wound therapy probably does not promote healing, according to a recent meta-analysis of controlled trials.

Do you have to act like a man to succeed in business? Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:11 AM PDT While more and more women are assuming roles as managers a new study reveals that rather than using what should come more easily to them like empathy and compassion, these women are increasingly turning to the stereotypically more 'male' traits, such as aggression, to get results.

Consumers express their concern about the EHEC bacteria Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT The news coverage of the deadly EHEC bacteria outbreak in Europe came as a bombshell. Researchers examined 6132 reactions of Belgian newspaper readers after reading the first news reports. As expected, people are scared and worried, but governmental trust decreases fear and leads to a higher intention to keep on eating fresh produce.

A glimpse of the end of our solar system Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT Astronomers are investigating the possible eventual fate of the solar system by examining 'white dwarf' stars elsewhere in our galaxy.

The Internet of Things: Toolbox to help objects communicating via the Net Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT Thus far, the Internet has been an arena reserved for people. But now more and more physical objects are being connected to the Internet: we read emails on our mobile telephones, we have electricity meters that report readings automatically, and pulse monitors and running shoes that publish information about our daily jog directly on Facebook. The Internet of Things will introduce new smart objects to our homes. One challenge is to find effective solutions to enable different products to work together.

The way you relate to your partner can affect your long-term mental and physical health, study shows Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT The potentially lasting implications of day-to-day couple conflict on physical and mental well-being are revealed in a new study.

Simulation models offer clarity with regard to energy transition decisions Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT As a way of eliminating energy-guzzling incandescent light bulbs from our supermarket shelves, a tax on incandescent light bulbs would be just as effective as an outright ban. Subsidizing new technology, such as Led lighting, could actually reduce its sales, as this can lead to a relatively large number of people buying a light with teething problems, giving the new technology a bad name.

Making websites accessible and secure Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT Website CAPTCHA technology used to protect sites from hackers, bots and spammers is making those same sites inaccessible to many potential users, according to a survey of 150 typical online forums and other sites.

For third consecutive year, Spanish Institute of Oceanography obtains massive bluefin tuna spawnings in captivity Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT Scientists from the Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO) have once again obtained viable bluefin tuna spawnings in their facilities in Murcia without the need for hormonal induction. A new opportunity to study the way in which this endangered species reproduces in captivity. The researchers are confident that they will achieve far greater results than those obtained over the past two years wherein survival rates of between 73 and 110 days respectively, were obtained.

Diving a vehicle with one hand Posted: 17 Jun 2011 05:08 AM PDT A new device developed in Spain allows people with reduced mobility or weakness in the upper torso to drive a vehicle using only one hand.

Why disparities in dental care persist for African-Americans even when they have insurance coverage Posted: 16 Jun 2011 04:37 PM PDT African-Americans receive poorer dental care than white Americans, even when they have some dental insurance coverage. To better understand why this is so, researchers surveyed African-American adults with recent oral health symptoms, including toothaches and gum disease. Their findings provide insights into why disparities persist even among those with dental insurance and suggest strategies to removing barriers to dental care.

'Ultrawideband' could be future of medical monitoring Posted: 16 Jun 2011 04:37 PM PDT New research has confirmed that an electronic technology called "ultrawideband" could hold part of the solution to an ambitious goal in the future of medicine -- health monitoring with sophisticated "body-area networks." Such networks would offer continuous, real-time health diagnosis to reduce the onset of degenerative diseases, save lives and cut health care costs.