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Saturday 9 July 2011

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News



ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:59 PM PDT
Researchers completed a study of 649 children from low socioeconomic backgrounds that showed that sports training lowers aggression through alleviating negative emotions. Her results indicate that children who exhibit higher levels of self-control through sports competition have a corresponding decline in aggressive behavior.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:59 PM PDT
Women don't fake them. Soccer injuries, that is. With the Women's World Cup in full swing in Germany, soccer fans can now rest assured that women are less likely than men to fake on-field injuries, according to a new study.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:59 PM PDT
One consequence of the expanded access to health care facilitated by health care reform will be a shortfall in the necessary numbers of physicians and other advanced medical professionals. According to a new study, the U.S. will face serious shortages in the combined workforce of physicians, advance practice nurses, and physician assistants over the next two decades.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:59 PM PDT
The type of primary insurance patients carry affects outcomes of cardiac valve operations in the U.S., according to a new study. As a result, the type of primary insurance should be considered as an independent risk factor during preoperative risk stratification and planning, the researchers reported. They found that uninsured and Medicaid patients incur worse unadjusted and risk-adjusted outcomes following cardiac valve operations compared with those who carry private insurance.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:58 PM PDT
Combining three vital signs (heart rate, temperature and oxygen saturation) in a simple score can identify children at risk of serious illness, according to a new study. Although this type of score cannot easily be calculated by hand, it could be incorporated into existing smart phone apps.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:58 PM PDT
Some girls and their parents mistakenly believe the human papillomavirus vaccination makes future cervical cancer screening unnecessary, according to a new research.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:58 PM PDT
Scientists have further compelling evidence that new, simpler and shorter treatments with antibiotic drugs could dramatically help prevent tens of millions of people worldwide already infected with the bacterium responsible for tuberculosis, and especially those co-infected with HIV, from developing full-blown TB.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:58 PM PDT
A region at the front of the brain 'lights up' when we experience beauty in a piece of art or a musical excerpt, according to new research. The study goes some way to supporting the views of David Hume and others that beauty lies in the beholder rather than in the object.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:57 PM PDT
If ancient gray whale populations migrated and fed the same as today's whales, what happened during the Ice Ages, when their major feeding grounds disappeared? Paleontologists argue that gray whales utilized a range of food sources in the past, including herring and krill, in addition to the benthic organisms they consume today. As a result, pre-whaling populations were two to four times greater than today's population of around 22,000.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:57 PM PDT
A cheap, common heartworm medication that is already being used to fight other parasites in Africa could also dramatically interrupt transmission of malaria, potentially providing an inexpensive tool to fight a disease that kills almost 800,000 people each year, according to a new study.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:57 PM PDT
New research finds breastfeeding doesn't appear to protect against multiple sclerosis (MS) relapses, despite previous studies suggesting there may be a protective role.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 04:57 PM PDT
Scientists have taken a key step towards producing a high-performance computer which aims to create working models of human brain functions.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:42 PM PDT
In 1840, renowned English botanist George Gardner reported a strange sight from the streets of Vila de Natividade in Brazil: A group of boys playing with a glowing object that turned out to be a luminescent mushroom. They called it "flor-de-coco," and showed Gardner where it grew on decaying fronds at the base of a dwarf palm. Gardner sent the mushroom to the Kew Herbarium in England where it was described and named Agaricus gardneri in honor of its discoverer. The species was not seen again until 2009. Researchers have now collected new specimens of a forgotten bioluminescent mushroom and reclassified it as, Neonothopanus gardneri.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 12:16 PM PDT
A new study reveals that several unhealthy lifestyle factors, such as weight problems, physical inactivity, high alcohol consumption, tobacco smoking, and hard drugs are associated with sexual dysfunctions in men.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT
Computer scientists have sifted through two billion 'tweets' for information on where people are sick, what ails them, and what they're doing about it.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT
Just as corn and peanuts stunned the world decades ago with their then-newly discovered multi-beneficial uses and applications, Texas scientists think microalgae holds even more promise.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT
The first two weeks of June 2010 were a blur for six Berkeley Lab scientists. As the world focused on the ongoing crisis in the Gulf of Mexico after the blowout of BP's Deepwater Horizon Macondo well, the scientists dropped everything to estimate how much oil was flowing from the mangled wellhead. Their research is recounted in a new article.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT
While falls are a common cause of injury, particularly in older, hospitalized patients, some may not be as preventable as once thought. According to a new literature review, many of the risks that frequently cause falls are not adequately addressed with the fall prevention initiatives used in health-care facilities.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT
Researchers have published a study delineating the connection of social support to distress after stem cell transplants.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT
An automatic and portable detector that takes just fifteen minutes to analyze a sample suspected of contamination with anthrax is being developed by U.S. researchers. The technology amplifies any anthrax DNA present in the sample and can reveal the presence of just 40 microscopic cells of the deadly bacteria Bacillus anthracis.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:46 AM PDT
Researchers have found a molecule in the body which controls sensitivity to pain from UVB irradiation, identifying it as a new target for medicines to treat pain caused by other common inflammatory conditions such as arthritis. The molecule, called CXCL5, is part of a family of proteins called chemokines, which recruit inflammatory immune cells to the injured tissue, triggering pain and tenderness. This is the first study to reveal this molecule's role in mediating pain.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:44 AM PDT
Once broken, a compact fluorescent light bulb continuously releases mercury vapor into the air for weeks to months, and the total amount can exceed safe human exposure levels in a poorly ventilated room, according to a new study.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:44 AM PDT
A policy specialist and a healthcare economist both say that the oft-quoted cost of $1.32 billion to bring a new drug to market does not hold up to close scrutiny, according to a new article.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 11:33 AM PDT
Scientists analyzing data from NASA's Cassini spacecraft now have the first-ever, up-close details of a Saturn storm that is eight times the surface area of Earth.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
New animal study has drawn an association between pregnant mothers' sodium intake and their newborn's kidney development.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
A new study shows that climate change over the past 70 years has pushed some of the Alberta, Canada native wildflowers and trees into earlier blooming times, making them more vulnerable to damaging frosts, and ultimately, threatening reproduction.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
By pairing a remote-detection version of NMR/MRI technology with a unique version of chromatography specifically designed for microfluidic chips, researchers have opened the door to a portable system for highly sensitive multi-dimensional chemical analysis that would be impractical if not impossible with conventional technologies.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
The ability of spaceflight to enhance the efficacy of a recombinant attenuated Salmonella vaccine, or RASV, will be the focus of experiments conducted by Cheryl Nickerson and Roy Curtiss, of the Biodesign Institute at Arizona State University. The payload will be carried aboard the space shuttle Atlantis on its final mission to the International Space Station.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
Bringing fresh insight into long-standing debates about how powerful geological forces shape the planet, from earthquake ruptures to mountain formations, scientists have identified a new mechanism driving Earth's massive tectonic plates.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
The Grand Challenges in Global Mental Health Initiative, led by the U.S. National Institutes of Health and the Global Alliance for Chronic Diseases, has identified the top 40 barriers to better mental health around the world. This initiative seeks to build a community of funders dedicated to supporting research that will significantly improve the lives of people living with mental, neurological, and substance use disorders within the next 10 years.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
A Toronto-based researcher is at the helm of a massive, worldwide study that identifies the top global challenges in mental health.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
Scientists have demonstrated a flexible, broadly usable technique for steadily calming the vibrations of an engineered mechanical object down to the quantum "ground state," the lowest possible energy level.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 10:41 AM PDT
With the evolution of jaws some 420 million years ago, jawed animals diversified rapidly into a range of niches that remained stable for the following 80 million years, despite extinctions, habitat loss and competition, say researchers.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:29 AM PDT
When faced with threat, people who grew up poor are more likely to make risky financial choices in search of a quick windfall, according to new research.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:28 AM PDT
Professional development workshops for college teachers, designed to encourage the use of active, "learner-centered" teaching methods, failed to bring about real increases in the use of such techniques, even though the participants reported on self-assessment forms that they had expanded their use of the favored methods.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:26 AM PDT
Molecular gastronomy (a scientific discipline that studies what happens when we cook) has a lot of untapped potential in Ireland, researchers say.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 09:26 AM PDT
Male and female kittiwakes smell different from each other, according to new research. Their work also suggests that the birds' body odors might signal the genetic makeup of individual birds, and could be used in mate choice to assess the genetic compatibility of potential partners.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 08:34 AM PDT
Commuting practices among airline pilots could potentially contribute to their fatigue, and because fatigue can reduce performance, pilots, airlines, and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration should take steps to reduce the likelihood that commuting will pose a safety risk, according to a new report.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 08:34 AM PDT
By mapping various genomes onto an X-Y axis, a team of researchers has found that Charles Darwin and a fruit fly -- among other organisms -- have a lot in common genetically. The researchers found that the chromosome sizes within each eukaryotic species are actually similar rather than drastically different as previously believed. They also found that the chromosomes of these different organisms share a similar distribution pattern.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:48 AM PDT
Top-performing hospitals are typically ones headed by an M.D. instead of a manager. That is the finding from a new study based on a detailed database on 300 of the most prominent hospitals in the United States. The conclusions run counter to a modern trend across the western world to put generally trained managers -- not those with a medical degree -- at the helm of hospitals.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:48 AM PDT
By applying a coating to individual silicon nanowires, researchers have significantly improved the materials' efficiency and sensitivity. The findings suggest that the coated wires hold promise for photodetectors and energy harvesting technologies like solar cells.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:48 AM PDT
The signs of atopy may be present long before symptoms begin, even in month-old babies, according to a new research study from Denmark. The study found that the level of urinary eosinophil protein-X, a marker of inflammatory cells, in newborn babies was linked to higher risk of allergic sensitization, nasal eosinophilia and eczema at six years.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:48 AM PDT
When the final mission of NASA's 30-year Space Shuttle program is launched on July 8, an animal experiment to test a novel therapy to increase bone mass will be on board.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:47 AM PDT
Altering the body's metabolism could be an effective treatment for deadly liver cancer, researchers report. The finding that inhibiting heat shock transcription factor 1, or HSF1, prevents liver cancer in mice also is another wake-up call that a low-fat, healthy diet is an effective cancer deterrent. HSF1 and its target genes are important to metabolism regulation.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:47 AM PDT
A new study shows that organized sports can be a powerful tool for helping to rebuild communities in the wake of disasters. The research focused specifically on the role of professional football in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:46 AM PDT
The largest digital camera ever built for a space mission has been painstakingly mosaicked together from 106 separate electronic detectors. The resulting "billion-pixel array" will serve as the super-sensitive 'eye' of the European Space Agency's Galaxy-mapping Gaia mission.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:46 AM PDT
Aim is to improve academic writing skills in university teacher training / Additional contributors to help build a text corpus welcome
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:16 AM PDT
Chemists have designed a multiple-compartment gel capsule that can simultaneously deliver hydrophilic and hydrophobic drugs. The microcapsules could be used for the treatment of diseases like cancer, which is often treated using combination chemotherapy.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:16 AM PDT
Pterosaurs, flying reptiles from the time of the dinosaurs, were not driven to extinction by the birds, but in fact they continued to diversify and innovate for millions of years afterward, according to new research.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:16 AM PDT
Geo-engineering schemes aimed at tackling global warming through artificial iron fertilization of the oceans would significantly affect deep-sea ecosystems, according to new research.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:16 AM PDT
Glioblastoma is the most common and most lethal form of brain tumor in people. New research offers a novel way to determine what biological functions go awry when the tumor first begins to form. Understanding the problems at the molecular level might one day reveal the underlying mechanism of carcinogenesis in glioblastoma and ultimately lead to treatments or even preventative measures.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:16 AM PDT
More needs to be done to improve the care that older adults with cognitive impairment -- including dementia and delirium -- receive when they visit hospital emergency departments. Researchers reviewed 15 studies covering 4,431 patients from the U.S., Canada, Australia, Italy, New Zealand and Israel. Forty percent of older ED patients have cognitive impairment, but the review exposes a lack of vital research. Without this, any quality improvements could prove an ineffectual use of vital resources.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:15 AM PDT
Probiotic bacteria are rapidly gaining ground as healthy food supplements. However, the production of this "functional food" has its pitfalls: only few probiotic bacterial strains are robust enough to survive conventional production processes. Researchers have now developed a particularly gentle method that allows the use of thus far unutilized probiotics. The outcome is beneficial for both manufacturers and consumers: it's energy and cost efficient -- and it makes probiotics less perishable.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 07:15 AM PDT
It's like a Brownie camera for the digital age: The microscopic device fits on the head of a pin, contains no lenses or moving parts, costs pennies to make -- and this camera could revolutionize an array of science from surgery to robotics.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:44 AM PDT
Engineers have developed a new device that helps the blind to move independently.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:43 AM PDT
To the human eye, carbon nanotubes usually appear as a black powder. They can hardly be forced to emit light, as they are excellent electrical conductors and capture the energy from other luminescent chemical species placed nearby. Researchers recently developed a relatively simple method allowing the nanotubes exposed to UV to emit red light.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:43 AM PDT
A new safe soil tester, a portable lab with a satellite link, offers an efficient and cost-effective way to test for a safe environment. The high-tech tester uses micro-organisms to detect toxicity of soils within minutes and maps the toxic hotspots with high precisions using its link to EU's Galileo satellite system.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:43 AM PDT
Solar nitrogen is very different from that of meteorites or the Earth. Scientists reached this conclusion after analyzing samples of solar wind collected by the Genesis space mission launched by NASA in 2001. They succeeded in determining the isotopic composition of the Sun, its "DNA", which reflects the composition of the cloud of gas and dust that gave rise to the solar system. This work could help to elucidate the phenomena behind the origin of the solar system.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:43 AM PDT
Nanoscientists are working on a new microsystem for more efficient testing of pharmaceutical drugs to treat diseases such as cystic fibrosis, MG (myasthenia gravis) and epilepsy.
Posted: 06 Jul 2011 06:43 AM PDT
Researchers have succeeded in providing evidence that a protein is capable of creating a water molecule chain for a few milliseconds for the directed proton transfer. The combination of vibrational spectroscopy and biomolecular simulations enabled the elucidation of the proton pump mechanism of a cell-membrane protein in atomic detail. The researchers demonstrated that protein-bound water molecules play a decisive role in the function.

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