ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Gulf of Mexico topography played key role in bacterial consumption of Deepwater Horizon spill
• Pill some day may prevent serious foodborne illness, scientist says
• Grief over losing loved one linked to higher heart attack risks
• 9-1-1 dispatchers can save more lives by coaching bystanders in CPR
• Theory explains how new material could improve electronic shelf life
• NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: A year of achievement and success
• 'Greeley Haven' is winter workplace for Mars rover
• NASA radar to study Hawaii's most active volcano
• New light shed on how children learn to speak
• Getting cancer cells to swallow poison
• Nanoscale metallic conductivity demonstrataed in ferroelectrics
• Protein complex plays role in suppressing pancreatic tumors
• Clearest picture yet of dark matter points the way to better understanding of dark energy
• Chemical measurements confirm official estimate of Gulf oil spill rate
• 'Google Flu Trends' is a powerful early warning system for emergency departments
• Scientists solve mystery of colorful armchair nanotubes
• Unique protein organization in arteries associated with cardiovascular disease
• Nanoparticles hold promise as potential vehicle for drug delivery in brain
• Could Siberian volcanism have caused the Earth's largest extinction event?
• How does our brain know what is a face and what's not?
• Astronomers reach new frontiers of dark matter
• Tracking genes' remote controls: New method for observing enhancer activity during development
• Scientists discover a Saturn-like ring system eclipsing a sun-like star
• New cores from glacier in Eastern European Alps may yield new climate clues
• Fit females make more daughters, mighty males get grandsons
• Almost perfect: A breakthrough in superlens development
• Keeping electronics cool
• Most parents who get tested for breast cancer genes share results with their children
• Colorado mountain hail may disappear in a warmer future
• 'Couch potato pill' might stop heat stroke too
• Exercise in a pill may protect against extreme heat sensitivity

Gulf of Mexico topography played key role in bacterial consumption of Deepwater Horizon spill Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:22 PM PST When scientists reported that bacterial blooms had consumed almost all the deepwater methane plumes after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico Deepwater Horizon oil spill, some were skeptical.

Pill some day may prevent serious foodborne illness, scientist says Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:20 PM PST Modified probiotics, the beneficial bacteria touted for their role in digestive health, could one day decrease the risk of Listeria infection in people with susceptible immune systems, according to new research.

Grief over losing loved one linked to higher heart attack risks Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:20 PM PST Heart attack risks are extremely high for the bereaved in the days and weeks after losing a loved one. The first day after a loved one died, heart attack risk was 21 times higher than normal, which declined progressively over the first month. Friends and family of a bereaved person should watch for heart attack signs and help him or her maintain their medication regimen.

9-1-1 dispatchers can save more lives by coaching bystanders in CPR Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:18 PM PST Dispatchers should help 9-1-1 callers identify cardiac arrest victims and coach callers to provide immediate CPR. If more dispatchers followed these processes, thousands of lives could be saved every year. Communities should regularly evaluate 9-1-1 emergency dispatchers' performance and the overall emergency response system, according to a new American Heart Association statement.

Theory explains how new material could improve electronic shelf life Posted: 09 Jan 2012 06:15 PM PST Engineers have discovered that the new material graphene conducts heat about 20 times faster than silicon, making it an option as a semiconductor material that could produce quieter and longer-lasting computers, cellphones and other devices.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope: A year of achievement and success Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:26 PM PST The James Webb Space Telescope marked a year of significant progress in 2011 as it continues to come together as NASA's next generation space telescope. The year brought forth a pathfinder backplane to support the large primary mirror structure, mirror cryotesting, creation of mirror support structures, several successful sunshield layer tests and the creation of an assembly station within NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's cleanroom. Achievements were also made in the areas of flight and communications software and the propulsion system.

'Greeley Haven' is winter workplace for Mars rover Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:25 PM PST NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity will spend the next several months at a site informally named "Greeley Haven." The name is a tribute to planetary geologist Ronald Greeley (1939-2011), who was a member of the science team for the Mars rovers and many other interplanetary missions.

NASA radar to study Hawaii's most active volcano Posted: 09 Jan 2012 04:24 PM PST An airborne radar developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., has returned to Hawaii to continue its study of Kilauea volcano, Hawaii's current most active volcano.

New light shed on how children learn to speak Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:59 PM PST Researchers have discovered that children under the age of two control speech using a different strategy than previously thought.

Getting cancer cells to swallow poison Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:59 PM PST Researchers created a drug delivery system that is able to effectively deliver a tremendous amount of chemotherapeutic drugs to prostate cancer cells.

Nanoscale metallic conductivity demonstrataed in ferroelectrics Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:59 PM PST The prospect of electronics at the nanoscale may be even more promising with the first observation of metallic conductance in ferroelectric nanodomains.

Protein complex plays role in suppressing pancreatic tumors Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:57 PM PST A well-known protein complex responsible for controlling how DNA is expressed plays a previously unsuspected role in preventing pancreatic cancer, according to researchers.

Clearest picture yet of dark matter points the way to better understanding of dark energy Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:57 PM PST Scientists have independently made the largest direct measurements of the invisible scaffolding of the universe, using the gravitational lensing effect known as "cosmic shear" to build maps of the distribution of dark matter. Their methods show that surveys with ground-based telescopes can measure cosmic shear with enough accuracy to aid in better understanding the mysterious space-stretching effects of dark energy.

Chemical measurements confirm official estimate of Gulf oil spill rate Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:57 PM PST By combining detailed chemical measurements in the deep ocean, in the oil slick, and in the air, NOAA scientists and academic colleagues have independently estimated how fast gases and oil were leaking during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The new chemistry-based spill rate estimate, an average of 11,130 tons of gas and oil compounds per day, is close to the official average leak rate estimate of about 11,350 tons.

'Google Flu Trends' is a powerful early warning system for emergency departments Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:55 PM PST Monitoring Internet search traffic about influenza may prove to be a better way for hospital emergency rooms to prepare for a surge in sick patients compared to waiting for outdated government flu case reports.

Scientists solve mystery of colorful armchair nanotubes Posted: 09 Jan 2012 11:59 AM PST Researchers have figured out what gives armchair nanotubes their unique bright colors: hydrogen-like objects called excitons.

Unique protein organization in arteries associated with cardiovascular disease Posted: 09 Jan 2012 11:59 AM PST Researchers have now used advanced 3-D microscopic imaging technology to identify and monitor the proteins involved in the artery stiffening process. These findings could eventually help researchers and physicians understand and treat complications associated with cardiovascular disease.

Nanoparticles hold promise as potential vehicle for drug delivery in brain Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:27 AM PST In the images of fruit flies, clusters of neurons are all lit up, forming a brightly glowing network of highways within the brain. It's exactly what researchers were hoping to see: It meant that ORMOSIL, a novel class of nanoparticles, had successfully penetrated the insects' brains. And even after long-term exposure, the cells and the flies themselves remained unharmed.

Could Siberian volcanism have caused the Earth's largest extinction event? Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:27 AM PST Around 250 million years ago there was a mass extinction so severe that it remains the most traumatic known species die-off in Earth's history. Although the cause of this event is a mystery, it has been speculated that the eruption of a large swath of volcanic rock in Russia was a trigger for the extinction. New research offers insight into how this volcanism could have contributed to drastic deterioration in the global environment of the period.

How does our brain know what is a face and what's not? Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:27 AM PST Objects that resemble faces are everywhere. Whether it's New Hampshire's erstwhile granite "Old Man of the Mountain," or Jesus' face on a tortilla, our brains are adept at locating images that look like faces. However, the normal human brain is almost never fooled into thinking such objects actually are human faces. New research by neuroscientists helps explain how the brain recognizes faces.

Astronomers reach new frontiers of dark matter Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:27 AM PST For the first time, astronomers have mapped dark matter on the largest scale ever observed. New findings reveal a Universe comprising an intricate cosmic web of dark matter and galaxies spanning more than one billion light years.

Tracking genes' remote controls: New method for observing enhancer activity during development Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST Inside each cell's nucleus, genetic sequences known as enhancers act like remote controls, switching genes on and off. Scientists can now see -- and predict -- exactly when each remote control is itself activated, in a real embryo.

Scientists discover a Saturn-like ring system eclipsing a sun-like star Posted: 09 Jan 2012 08:58 AM PST A team of astrophysicists has discovered a ring system in the constellation Centaurus that invites comparisons to Saturn. This is the first system of discrete, thin, dust rings detected around a very low-mass object outside of our solar system.

New cores from glacier in Eastern European Alps may yield new climate clues Posted: 09 Jan 2012 08:58 AM PST Researchers are beginning their analysis of what are probably the first successful ice cores drilled to bedrock from a glacier in the eastern European Alps.

Fit females make more daughters, mighty males get grandsons Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:29 AM PST Females influence the gender of their offspring so they inherit either their mother's or grandfather's qualities. "High-quality" females -- those which produce more offspring -- are more likely to have daughters. Weaker females, whose own fathers were stronger and more successful, produce more sons.

Almost perfect: A breakthrough in superlens development Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:29 AM PST A new theoretical negative-index metamaterial works by overcoming the diffraction limit throughout the visible spectrum.

Keeping electronics cool Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:29 AM PST An engineering professor has made a breakthrough discovery with graphene, a material that could play a major role in keeping laptops and other electronic devices from overheating.

Most parents who get tested for breast cancer genes share results with their children Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:29 AM PST A new study has found that when parents get tested for breast cancer genes, many of them share their results with their children, even with those who are very young.

Colorado mountain hail may disappear in a warmer future Posted: 08 Jan 2012 11:35 AM PST Summertime hail could all but disappear from the eastern flank of Colorado's Rocky Mountains by 2070, according to a new modeling study. Less hail damage could be good news for gardeners and farmers, but a shift from hail to rain can also mean more runoff, which could raise the risk of flash floods, she said.

'Couch potato pill' might stop heat stroke too Posted: 08 Jan 2012 11:35 AM PST Scientists have discovered what they believe is one of the first drugs to combat heat stroke. An experimental therapy once dubbed the "couch potato pill" for its ability to mimic the effects of exercise in sedentary mice protected animals genetically predisposed to the disorder and may hold promise for the treatment of people with enhanced susceptibility to heat-induced sudden death.

Exercise in a pill may protect against extreme heat sensitivity Posted: 08 Jan 2012 11:35 AM PST A newly identified molecule may reduce the threat of heat-induced death in people with a genetic sensitivity to the ill effects of high temperatures.

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