ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• No walk in the park: Factors that predict walking difficulty in elderly
• Breast cancer spread triggered by a cleaver-wielding protein on cancer cell's surface
• Broken arm? Brain shifts quickly when using a sling or cast
• Traditional physical autopsies – not high-tech 'virtopsies' – still the gold standard for determining cause of death, experts claim
• Headphones linked to pedestrian deaths, injuries
• Biologists a step nearer to solving the Parkinson's conundrum
• Large and in charge: Powerful people overestimate their own height
• Revolutionary surgical technique for perforations of the eardrum
• 'Spooky action at distance': Physicists develop first conclusive test to better understand high-energy particles correlations
• Sugar for the brain: Mechanism to prevent programmed cell death of nerve cells deciphered
• Some like it hot: Popular yoga style cranks up the heat
• New indicator may help identify patients with increased risk from throat cancer
• Fewer children require hospitalization following drowning-related incidents
• People behave socially and 'well' even without rules
• Improved ergonomics for wheelchair users
• Biodiversity enhances ecosystem multifunctionality in global drylands
• Wood-burning stoves: Harmful or safe?
• Changes in tumor cells that lead to metastasis
• Grain crops with lower carotene levels are less affected by parasitic plants
• Planned actions improve the way we process information
• Quantum uncertainty: Are you certain, Mr. Heisenberg?
• Climate adaptation difficult for Europe's birds
• New system optimizes the performance and fuel consumption of engines operating at altitude, through laboratory tests
• Engineering team completes ambitious Antarctic expedition in the 'deep-field'
• Scientists shed new light on link between 'killer cells' and diabetes
• Brain circuits for visual categorization revealed by new experiments
• New Drug-Coated Balloon Offers Hope for PAD

No walk in the park: Factors that predict walking difficulty in elderly Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:08 PM PST Researchers have found that the likelihood of becoming disabled with age increases with the following factors: having a chronic condition or cognitive impairment; low physical activity; slower gross motor coordination; having poor lower-extremity function; and being hospitalized. Women are also more likely than men to become disabled in their later years.

Breast cancer spread triggered by a cleaver-wielding protein on cancer cell's surface Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:06 PM PST Scientists have exposed a cell pathway that breast tumor cells use to destruct local tissue neighborhood. Cancer cells may use this pathway to free themselves from mammary epithelial tissue architecture, to spread to surrounding tissues. The cell pathway, the researchers found, is a biochemical chain of events leading to activation of a protein-cleaving enzyme on the surface of the tumor cells.

Broken arm? Brain shifts quickly when using a sling or cast Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:06 PM PST Using a sling or cast after injuring an arm may cause your brain to shift quickly to adjust, according to a new study. The study found increases in the size of brain areas that were compensating for the injured side, and decreases in areas that were not being used due to the cast or sling.

Traditional physical autopsies – not high-tech 'virtopsies' – still the gold standard for determining cause of death, experts claim Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:06 PM PST TV crime shows like Bones and CSI are quick to explain each death by showing highly detailed scans and video images of victims' insides. Traditional autopsies, if shown at all, are at best in supporting roles to the high-tech equipment, and usually gloss over the sometimes physically grueling tasks of sawing through skin and bone.

Headphones linked to pedestrian deaths, injuries Posted: 16 Jan 2012 05:05 PM PST Serious injuries to pedestrians listening to headphones have more than tripled in six years, according to new research. In many cases, the cars or trains are sounding horns that the pedestrians cannot hear, leading to fatalities in nearly three-quarters of cases.

Biologists a step nearer to solving the Parkinson's conundrum Posted: 16 Jan 2012 12:43 PM PST Scientists have made a significant step forward in isolating the cause of Parkinson's disease in younger adults.

Large and in charge: Powerful people overestimate their own height Posted: 16 Jan 2012 12:40 PM PST The psychological experience of power makes people feel taller than they are, according to new research. It seems there is actually a physical experience that goes along with feeling powerful.

Revolutionary surgical technique for perforations of the eardrum Posted: 16 Jan 2012 08:26 AM PST Scientists announce a revolutionary surgical technique for perforations of the eardrum. The 20-minute procedure in outpatient clinic without general anesthetic may replace long and costly day surgery.

'Spooky action at distance': Physicists develop first conclusive test to better understand high-energy particles correlations Posted: 16 Jan 2012 08:26 AM PST Researchers have devised a proposal for the first conclusive experimental test of a phenomenon known as 'Bell's nonlocality.' This test is designed to reveal correlations that are stronger than any classical correlations, and do so between high-energy particles that do not consist of ordinary matter and light. These results are relevant to the so-called 'CP violation' principle, which is used to explain the dominance of matter over antimatter.

Sugar for the brain: Mechanism to prevent programmed cell death of nerve cells deciphered Posted: 16 Jan 2012 08:26 AM PST Scientists have deciphered a mechanism to prevent programmed cell death of nerve cells.

Some like it hot: Popular yoga style cranks up the heat Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:59 AM PST Yoga is one of the hottest fitness trends and a style known as "hot yoga" is gaining in popularity. While the practice can offer health benefits, people practicing hot yoga, especially beginners, should take certain precautions, according to an expert.

New indicator may help identify patients with increased risk from throat cancer Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Researchers have found a new indicator that may predict which patients with a common type of throat cancer are most likely have the cancer spread to other parts of their bodies.

Fewer children require hospitalization following drowning-related incidents Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Fewer children required hospitalization following a drowning incident over the last two decades, according to a new study. According to the study, pediatric hospitalizations from drowning-related incidents declined 51 percent from 1993 to 2008. The rates declined significantly for all ages and for both genders, although drowning-related hospitalizations remained higher for boys at every age.

People behave socially and 'well' even without rules Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Millions of online human interactions were assessed during a new study which included actions such as communication, founding and ending friendships, trading goods, sleeping, moving, however also starting hostilities, attacks and punishment. The game does not suggest any rules and everyone can live with their avatar (i.e. with their "game character" in the virtual world) as they choose.

Improved ergonomics for wheelchair users Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Engineers have succeeded in developing an ergonomic seat for electric wheelchairs which encourages the user to move around frequently. The aim is to enhance the freedom of movement of wheelchair users with a range of disabilities.

Biodiversity enhances ecosystem multifunctionality in global drylands Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Scientists have finished a global empirical study that suggests that preservation of plant biodiversity is crucial to buffer negative effects of climate change and desertification in drylands.

Wood-burning stoves: Harmful or safe? Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:58 AM PST Wood-burning stoves are a popular source of heating in many countries. However in recent years there has been much debate about the potential negative health effects associated with wood smoke. A researcher has now studied the influence of combustion conditions on the emissions and their health effects.

Changes in tumor cells that lead to metastasis Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:55 AM PST Researchers have identified the genetic and phenotypic changes that cause tumor progression and metastasis. The process of metastasis -- which is the main cause of cancer death -- is caused by tumor cells invading distant organs with no direct anatomical relationship with the organ originally affected.

Grain crops with lower carotene levels are less affected by parasitic plants Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:55 AM PST Grain crops that produce less carotene can produce more food, especially in Africa, as they are less affected by parasitic plants. Agricultural researchers studied processes and technologies that could improve the control of the parasitic weed Striga both in the lab and in the field. He discovered that rice plants that produce less carotene than usual are less infected by the Striga parasite.

Planned actions improve the way we process information Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:55 AM PST Preparing to act in a particular way can improve the way we process information, and this has potential implications for those with learning disabilities. Researchers have shown that using a grabbing action with our hands can help our processing of visual information.

Quantum uncertainty: Are you certain, Mr. Heisenberg? Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:55 AM PST Heisenberg's Uncertainty principle is arguably one of the most famous foundations of quantum physics. It says that not all properties of a quantum particle can be measured with unlimited accuracy. Until now, this has often been justified by the notion that every measurement necessarily has to disturb the quantum particle, which distorts the results of any further measurements. This, however, turns out to be an oversimplification, researchers now say.

Climate adaptation difficult for Europe's birds Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:55 AM PST For the past 20 years, the climate in Europe has been getting warmer. Species of bird and butterfly which thrive in cool temperatures therefore need to move further north. However, they have difficulty adapting to the warmer climate quickly enough, as shown by new research.

New system optimizes the performance and fuel consumption of engines operating at altitude, through laboratory tests Posted: 16 Jan 2012 06:55 AM PST Researchers have developed a system that, in a laboratory test bench, reproduces the pressure and temperature conditions at high altitude of the air that is sucked into a reciprocating internal combustion engine, and evaluates the engine's performance in a comfortable, safe and controlled environment.

Engineering team completes ambitious Antarctic expedition in the 'deep-field' Posted: 15 Jan 2012 07:33 PM PST A team of four British engineers has returned to the UK after completing a grueling journey to one of the most remote and hostile locations on the planet to put in place equipment and supplies for an ambitious project later this year. Enduring temperatures of minus 35 C the Subglacial Lake Ellsworth "Advance Party" has successfully paved the way to explore an ancient lake buried beneath 3 km of Antarctic ice.

Scientists shed new light on link between 'killer cells' and diabetes Posted: 15 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST Killer T-cells in the human body which help protect us from disease can inadvertently destroy cells that produce insulin, new research has uncovered.

Brain circuits for visual categorization revealed by new experiments Posted: 15 Jan 2012 11:00 AM PST Hundreds of times during a baseball game, the home plate umpire must instantaneously categorize a fast-moving pitch as a ball or a strike. Scientists have now pinpointed an area in the brain where these kinds of visual categories are encoded.

New Drug-Coated Balloon Offers Hope for PAD Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:10 PM PST Peripheral Artery Disease, also known as PAD, affects about eight million Americans. It is a narrowing of arteries in the arm or leg. The risk increases with age, and for people with high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes. The threat is even greater for smokers. People with PAD are four to five times more likely to suffer a heart attack or stroke. It can also lead to gangrene and amputation.

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