Friday 30 December 2011

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Molecular mechanism links temperature with sex determination in some fish species

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 05:30 PM PST

Researchers have found the epigenetic mechanism that links temperature and gonadal sex in fish. High temperature increases DNA methylation of the gonadal aromatase promoter in females.

More complete picture of kidney cancer: Cancer subtypes distinguished and promising new drug targets suggested

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 05:30 PM PST

Scientists are providing a foundation for a more complete understanding of distinct kidney cancer subtypes, which could pave the way for better treatments.

Breast cancer survivors benefit from practicing mindfulness-based stress reduction

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 05:30 PM PST

Women recently diagnosed with breast cancer have higher survival rates than those diagnosed in previous decades, according to new research. However, survivors continue to face health challenges after their treatments end. Previous research reports as many as 50 percent of breast cancer survivors are depressed. Now, researchers say a meditation technique can help breast cancer survivors improve their emotional and physical well-being.

People don't just think with their guts: Logic plays a role too

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:13 AM PST

For decades, science has suggested that when people make decisions, they tend to ignore logic and go with the gut. But a psychological scientist has a new suggestion: Maybe thinking about logic is also intuitive.

Brain's connective cells are much more than glue: Glia cells also regulate learning and memory

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:13 AM PST

New research indicates that glia cells are "the brain's supervisors." By regulating the synapses, they control the transfer of information between neurons, affecting how the brain processes information. This new finding could be critical for technologies based on brain networks, as well as provide a new avenue for research into disorders such as Alzheimer's disease and epilepsy.

Before sounding an alarm, chimps consider information available to their audience

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 10:12 AM PST

Wild chimpanzees monitor the information available to other chimpanzees and inform their ignorant group members of danger.

Nanotechnology: The art of molecular carpet-weaving

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 08:22 AM PST

Stable two-dimensional networks of organic molecules are important components in various nanotechnology processes. However, producing these networks, which are only one atom thick, in high quality and with the greatest possible stability currently still poses a great challenge. Scientists have now successfully created just such networks made of boron acid molecules.

The perils of 'bite-size' science

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:20 AM PST

Short, fast, and frequent: Those 21st-century demands on publication have radically changed the news, politics, and culture -- for the worse, many say. Now a new article aims a critique at a similar trend in psychological research.

Debris scatters in the Pacific Ocean, possibly heading to US

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:20 AM PST

Debris from the tsunami that devastated Japan in March could reach the United States as early as this winter, according to new predictions. However, they warn there is still a large amount of uncertainty over exactly what is still floating, where it's located, where it will go, and when it will arrive. Responders now have a challenging, if not impossible situation on their hands: How do you deal with debris that could now impact US shores, but is difficult to find?

New clues as to why some older people may be losing their memory

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:20 AM PST

New research links 'silent strokes,' or small spots of dead brain cells, found in about one out of four older adults to memory loss in the elderly.

Alzheimer's: Diet patterns may keep brain from shrinking

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:20 AM PST

People with diets high in several vitamins or in omega 3 fatty acids are less likely to have the brain shrinkage associated with Alzheimer's disease than people whose diets are not high in those nutrients, according to a new study.

Targeted therapy extends progression-free survival of patients with advanced ovarian cancer

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:18 AM PST

Targeted drugs, which block or disrupt particular molecules involved in the growth of tumors, have been shown to be effective treatments against many types of cancer. A new Phase 3 clinical trial has shown that a targeted therapy called bevacizumab (Avastin) effectively delayed the progression of advanced ovarian cancer. Patients with newly diagnosed advanced ovarian cancer now typically undergo surgery and chemotherapy, but the new research suggests an additional avenue of treatment.

Gene identified in increasing pancreatic cancer risk

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:18 AM PST

Mutations in the ATM gene may increase the hereditary risk for pancreatic cancer, according to new research.

Community Conservation in Zanzibar: Not just mangroves and monkeys

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:16 AM PST

The sustainable development goals of community conservation in Zanzibar raise more complex issues than just protecting monkeys and mangroves. Contingent socio-economic and cultural factors must be taken into account when planning and implementing conservation initiatives if they are to endure, let alone succeed.

New findings about the prion protein and its interaction with the immune system

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:16 AM PST

Scrapie is a neurodegenerative disease which can function as a model for other diseases caused by an accumulation of proteins resulting in tissue malformations (proteinpathies), such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. Many questions regarding these diseases still remain unanswered. A new study has uncovered a number of factors relating to the uptake of the prion protein (PrPSc) associated with the development of this disease and how this protein interacts with the immune cells in the intestines.

Great apes make sophisticated decisions

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:16 AM PST

Chimpanzees, gorillas and orangutans make decisions carefully. Great apes weigh their chances of success, based on what they know and the likelihood to succeed when guessing.

Helping wild horses and livestock survive extreme weather in Gobi desert

Posted: 29 Dec 2011 06:16 AM PST

Winters in the Gobi desert are usually long and very cold but the winter of 2009/2010 was particularly severe, a condition Mongolians refer to as "dzud". Millions of livestock died in Mongolia and the re-introduced wild Przewalski's horse population crashed dramatically. Researchers have used spatially explicit loss statistics, ranger survey data and GPS telemetry to provide insights into the effect of a catastrophic climate event on wild horses, wild asses and livestock that share the same habitat but show different patterns of spatial use.

President Obama and leading GOP presidential candidate support health research

Posted: 27 Dec 2011 11:26 AM PST

President Obama and Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich commented on important health research and prevention issues. Among the highlights: both Obama and Gingrich agree that research to improve health and prevent disease is part of the solution to rising health care costs, and boosting investment in medical research creates jobs that benefit a wide variety of industries. Their positions on embryonic stem cell research differ.

Pendant found at Irikaitz archaeological site in Spain may be 25,000 years old

Posted: 27 Dec 2011 06:29 AM PST

The recent discovery of a pendant at the Irikaitz archaeological site in Zestoa (in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa in Spain) has given rise to intense debate: it may be as old as 25,000 years, which would make it the oldest found to date at open-air excavations throughout the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. This stone is nine centimeters long and has a hole for hanging it from the neck although it would seem that, apart from being adornment, it was used to sharpen tools.

New synthetic molecules treat autoimmune disease in mice

Posted: 25 Dec 2011 11:43 AM PST

Weizmann Institute scientists "trick" the body into blocking an enzyme that is active in autoimmune disease and cancer.

Are superluminal neutrinos possible? Pions don't want to decay into faster-than-light neutrinos, study finds

Posted: 23 Dec 2011 08:41 AM PST

Physicists have put their finger on a problem with the now-famous OPERA experiment that reported faster-than-light, or superluminal neutrinos. They raise theoretical considerations that would make the creation of superluminal neutrinos impossible.

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