ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Scientists measure communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells
• Early spring means more bat girls
• Students more likely to be fit when physical education is mandatory
• Connected traffic system for emergency responders demonstrated
• Parents important in steering kids away from sedentary activities
• Largest known crocodile could swallow a human
• New technique could identify drugs that help fight broad range of viruses
• Are educators showing a 'positive bias' to minority students?
• Expensive hospital readmissions linked to health-care-associated infections
• Scientists identify prostate cancer stem cells among low-PSA cells
• Cell membrane is patterned like a patchwork quilt
• Scientists aim to kill lung tumors
• Ancient volcanic blast provides more evidence of water on early Mars
• Hubble to use moon as mirror to see Venus transit
• Building better asphalt with nanoclays
• Why Saturday’s 'supermoon' will be beautiful, but not super
• Less is more, for female cowbirds: Findings contradict sexual selection theory
• Light touch keeps a grip on delicate nanoparticles
• New muscular dystrophy treatment approach developed using human stem cells
• What is your dog thinking? Brain scans unleash canine secrets
• Protein signal is crucial for accurate control of insect size
• Using electrons to map nanoparticle atomic structures
• Beehive extract shows potential as prostate cancer treatment
• Nutrient supply after algal bloom determines the succession of the bacterial population
• Different recipes for success in the world of plants
• Gamma ray optics: a viable tool for a new branch of scientific discovery
• Life on mars? Mars Rover Opportunity finds some of the necessary conditions once existed
• Sifting through 'junk' to find colorectal cancer clues
• Key contribution to Melanesian blonde hair color discovered

Scientists measure communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells Posted: 04 May 2012 02:20 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel system to measure the communication between stem cell-derived motor neurons and muscle cells in a Petri dish.

Early spring means more bat girls Posted: 04 May 2012 02:20 PM PDT A study on bats suggests that bats produce twice as many female babies as male ones in years when spring comes early.

Students more likely to be fit when physical education is mandatory Posted: 04 May 2012 02:20 PM PDT Fifth graders in California public school districts that comply with the state's mandatory physical education requirement are more likely to have better fitness levels than students in districts that don't comply, according to a new study.

Connected traffic system for emergency responders demonstrated Posted: 04 May 2012 02:20 PM PDT A prototype "smart drive" connected traffic system that can clear red light signals and warn of traffic tie-ups has been completed.

Parents important in steering kids away from sedentary activities Posted: 04 May 2012 02:19 PM PDT Parents can have a significant impact in steering young children away from too much time spent in sedentary pursuits.

Largest known crocodile could swallow a human Posted: 04 May 2012 02:19 PM PDT A crocodile large enough to swallow humans once lived in East Africa, according to new research. It may have exceeded 27 feet in length. By comparison, the largest recorded Nile crocodile was less than 21 feet, and most are much smaller.

New technique could identify drugs that help fight broad range of viruses Posted: 04 May 2012 02:19 PM PDT Results of a new study demonstrate the feasibility of a novel strategy in drug discovery: screening large numbers of existing drugs — often already approved for other uses — to see which ones activate genes that boost natural immunity.

Are educators showing a 'positive bias' to minority students? Posted: 04 May 2012 11:30 AM PDT A psychology professor's research indicates that public school teachers under-challenge minority students by providing them more positive feedback than they give to white students, for work of equal merit. The study involved 113 white middle school and high school teachers in two public school districts in the N.Y./N.J./Conn. tri-state area, one middle class and white, and the other more working class and racially mixed.

Expensive hospital readmissions linked to health-care-associated infections Posted: 04 May 2012 10:59 AM PDT New research finds a strong link between healthcare-associated infections and patient readmission after an initial hospital stay. The findings suggest that reducing such infections could help reduce readmissions, considered to be a major driver of unnecessary healthcare spending and increased patient morbidity and mortality.

Scientists identify prostate cancer stem cells among low-PSA cells Posted: 04 May 2012 10:59 AM PDT Prostate cancer cells that defy treatment and display heightened tumor-generating capacity can be identified by levels of prostate specific antigen (PSA) expressed in the tumor cells, scientists have found.

Cell membrane is patterned like a patchwork quilt Posted: 04 May 2012 10:58 AM PDT As the interface between the cell and its environment, the cell membrane, which consists of fats and proteins, fulfils a variety of vital functions. Scientists have performed the first comprehensive analysis of the molecular structure of this boundary layer, and revealed precisely how it is organized. In yeast cells, the entire membrane is made up of independent domains, each containing just one or a few protein types. If a protein is relocated to an inappropriate domain, it may even fail to function. The study shows that the membrane is a kind of patchwork quilt and should help scientists to gain a better understanding of basic cellular processes.

Scientists aim to kill lung tumors Posted: 04 May 2012 10:58 AM PDT Enzyme regulates the division of tumor cells and blood vessel growth in the cancer tissue.

Ancient volcanic blast provides more evidence of water on early Mars Posted: 04 May 2012 10:57 AM PDT Georgia Tech Assistant Professor Josef Dufek's new findings provide more evidence that early Mars was saturated with water and that its atmosphere was considerably thicker, at least 20 times more dense, than it is today.

Hubble to use moon as mirror to see Venus transit Posted: 04 May 2012 10:57 AM PDT NASA's Hubble Space Telescope will study Venus's atmosphere during an upcoming opportunity where Venus is passing in front of the Sun. Hubble cannot look at the Sun directly, so astronomers are planning to point the telescope at the Moon, using it as a mirror. The next time Venus will pass in front of the Sun will be in the year 2117.

Building better asphalt with nanoclays Posted: 04 May 2012 10:57 AM PDT Using nanotechnology, researchers are paving the way for brand-new asphalt blends to fight off cracks, rutting and potholes.

Why Saturday’s 'supermoon' will be beautiful, but not super Posted: 04 May 2012 10:57 AM PDT Yes, it will be marginally brighter and larger, but Saturday's so-called "supermoon" is not going to be noticeably different from the full moon of the month before or after. An astronomer explains that a "supermoon" typically happens once a year, when the moon's elliptical orbit comes closest to Earth during a full moon. But the nickname makes it sound like a much bigger deal than it actually is.

Less is more, for female cowbirds: Findings contradict sexual selection theory Posted: 04 May 2012 08:05 AM PDT More modest male displays attract the females when it comes to brown-headed cowbirds, contrary to sexual selection theory, according to new research. While sexual selection theory predicts that females should find more flamboyant displays the most sexually attractive, the opposite holds true for brown-headed cowbirds, a small songbird common in North America.

Light touch keeps a grip on delicate nanoparticles Posted: 04 May 2012 08:05 AM PDT Using a refined technique for trapping and manipulating nanoparticles, researchers have extended the trapped particles' useful life more than tenfold. This new approach, which one researcher likens to "attracting moths," promises to give experimenters the trapping time they need to build nanoscale structures and may open the way to working with nanoparticles inside biological cells without damaging the cells with intense laser light.

New muscular dystrophy treatment approach developed using human stem cells Posted: 04 May 2012 08:05 AM PDT Researchers have effectively treated muscular dystrophy in mice using human stem cells derived from a new process that -- for the first time -- makes the production of human muscle cells from stem cells efficient and effective.

What is your dog thinking? Brain scans unleash canine secrets Posted: 04 May 2012 08:05 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new methodology to scan the brains of alert dogs and explore the minds of the oldest domesticated species. The technique uses harmless functional magnetic resonance imaging, the same tool that is unlocking secrets of the human brain. The brain images of a fully awake, unrestrained dog, thought to be the first, opens up a door for understanding canine cognition and inter-species communication.

Protein signal is crucial for accurate control of insect size Posted: 04 May 2012 08:04 AM PDT Two independent groups of researchers have identified a hormone that is responsible for keeping the growth and development of insects on track. The results suggest that Dilp8 provides an important signal to slow body growth and delay insect development. This braking effect is an essential part of normal development since it allows sufficient time for tissues to form and the correct body size, proportions and symmetry to be achieved.

Using electrons to map nanoparticle atomic structures Posted: 04 May 2012 08:04 AM PDT Scientists have shown how a form of nanocrystallography can be carried out using a transmission electron microscope -- an instrument found in many chemistry and materials science laboratories.

Beehive extract shows potential as prostate cancer treatment Posted: 04 May 2012 08:04 AM PDT An over-the-counter natural remedy derived from honeybee hives arrests the growth of prostate cancer cells and tumors in mice, according to a new article. Researchers combined traditional cancer research methods with cutting-edge proteomics to find that CAPE arrests early-stage prostate cancer by shutting down the tumor cells' system for detecting sources of nutrition.

Nutrient supply after algal bloom determines the succession of the bacterial population Posted: 04 May 2012 08:01 AM PDT Algal blooms can considerably interfere with summer holidays by the sea. In the coastal zone of temperate regions a spring algal bloom is not a sign of excessive nutrient input, but most of all a consequence of the more intense solar irradiation in spring. When algal blooms end, the algae die and their remnants constitute an important nutrient supply for the whole ecosystem. Researchers have examined an algal bloom in the North Sea and identified the microorganisms involved in the degradation of algal remnants. With their findings, the researchers discovered a solution for the so-called Plankton paradox: By specializing in different degradation processes, bacteria apparently occupy separate ecological niches in the sea.

Different recipes for success in the world of plants Posted: 04 May 2012 08:01 AM PDT In order to prevail against native plants, non-native plant species develop special strategies. These differ in part considerably from the propagation strategies of endemic plant species. These results are an argument in support of the view that the need to differentiate between native and non-native species in ecological systems remains, according to researchers.

Gamma ray optics: a viable tool for a new branch of scientific discovery Posted: 04 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT There has been a surprise discovery of 'significant' refraction of gamma rays which opens the door to nuclear photonics and the use of high energetic light beams to investigate the atomic nucleus.   Isotope specific gamma ray microscopes could remotely search for harmful nuclear materials or provide less destructive and more selective medical imaging.

Life on mars? Mars Rover Opportunity finds some of the necessary conditions once existed Posted: 04 May 2012 08:00 AM PDT Late last year, the NASA Mars Rover Opportunity found what appeared to be veins of gypsum when examining the edge of the crater dubbed "Endeavour." Gypsum is formed in water at a temperature lower than 60°C. Its presence on Mars indicates that conditions conducive to life have existed there at least temporarily. The rock of the crater edge is similar to suevite, a rock consisting partly of melted material which is typically found at meteor impact sites.

Sifting through 'junk' to find colorectal cancer clues Posted: 03 May 2012 01:20 PM PDT Analysis of non-coding "junk" DNA has identified switches capable of turning on or off genes associated with the very common cancer.

Key contribution to Melanesian blonde hair color discovered Posted: 03 May 2012 11:25 AM PDT Researchers studying pigmentation in the South Pacific have uncovered a key genetic contribution to hair color. The findings reveal a functional genetic variant which has led the islanders to have simultaneously the darkest skin pigmentation outside of Africa and the highest prevalence of blonde hair outside of Europe.

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