ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• For advanced prostate cancer, new drug slows disease
• Cancer therapy that boosts immune system ready for wider testing
• Novel way to treat drug-resistant brain tumor cells
• Computer-designed proteins programmed to disarm variety of flu viruses
• Venus Transit: June 5-6 2012
• Where have all the hummingbirds gone?
• Not all patients will pay for genetic testing, study suggests
• Northern Lights process like untangling twisted strands of spaghetti?
• Altitude training: Study puts some data behind conventional wisdom
• Skeleton key: Diverse complex networks have similar skeletons
• American teens are less likely than European teens to use cigarettes and alcohol, but more likely to use illicit drugs
• Frog embryos may yield secrets of cancer cell migration
• New combination of two previously approved FDA drugs treat lung cancer
• Integrated sensors handle extreme conditions
• Potential new approach to regenerating skeletal muscle tissue
• 'Safe' levels of arsenic in drinking water found to compromise pregnant/lactating mothers, offspring
• Baby wipes as safe as using water, study finds
• Weather patterns can be used to forecast rotavirus outbreaks
• Psychology and the sporting life
• A 'B12 shot' for marine algae?
• Structural clockwork of circadian rhythms

For advanced prostate cancer, new drug slows disease Posted: 02 Jun 2012 10:49 AM PDT A new medication proved effective in slowing the spread of metastatic prostate cancer, while helping to maintain the quality of life, in patients with advanced disease. The Phase 3 study was unblinded midway, allowing patients receiving the placebo to instead take the drug because of the favorable results.

Cancer therapy that boosts immune system ready for wider testing Posted: 02 Jun 2012 10:48 AM PDT Scientists are testing experimental drugs aimed at restoring the immune system's ability to spot and attack cancer, have shown promising early results in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer, melanoma, and kidney cancer. More than 500 patients were treated in two new studies of two drugs that target the same immune-suppressive pathway, and the investigators say there is enough evidence to support wider testing in larger groups of patients.

Novel way to treat drug-resistant brain tumor cells Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:17 PM PDT New research explains why the incurable brain cancer, glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), is highly resistant to current chemotherapies.

Computer-designed proteins programmed to disarm variety of flu viruses Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:17 PM PDT Proteins found in nature, but that do not normally bind the flu, can be engineered to act as broad-spectrum antiviral agents against many flu virus strains, including H1N1 pandemic influenza. One engineered protein has a flu-fighting potency that rivals several monoclonal antibodies. The proteins are constructed via computer modeling to fit neatly onto a nano-sized target on flu viruses, and prevent that part of the virus from changing shape to infect cells.

Venus Transit: June 5-6 2012 Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:17 PM PDT On June 5, 2012, at 6:03 PM EDT, the planet Venus will do something it has done only seven times since the invention of the telescope: cross in front of the sun. This transit is among the rarest of planetary alignments and it has an odd cycle. Two such Venus transits always occur within eight years of each other and then there is a break of either 105 or 121 years before it happens again.

Where have all the hummingbirds gone? Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:17 PM PDT The glacier lily as it's called, is a tall, willowy plant that graces mountain meadows throughout western North America. It flowers early in spring, when the first bumblebees and hummingbirds appear.

Not all patients will pay for genetic testing, study suggests Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:17 PM PDT More than one-fifth of people who have received referrals to test for cancer-causing genes say they will only undergo testing if their insurance covers the cost -- just as more insurers are instituting cost-sharing for medical services like genetic testing, according to new findings.

Northern Lights process like untangling twisted strands of spaghetti? Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:15 PM PDT Scientists have reached a milestone in describing how the northern lights work by way of a process called "magnetic reconnection." The process is best imagined as untangling twisted strands of spaghetti.

Altitude training: Study puts some data behind conventional wisdom Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:15 PM PDT With altitude training, coaches of elite runners generally fall into two camps when determining when their runners should compete after coming back from altitude, even though little research has been conducted on this question. A study by exercise physiologists finds that both camps might be right.

Skeleton key: Diverse complex networks have similar skeletons Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:15 PM PDT Researchers have discovered that very different complex networks -- ranging from global air traffic to neural networks -- share very similar backbones. By stripping each network down to its essential nodes and links, they found each network possesses a skeleton and these skeletons share common features, much like vertebrates do. The findings could be particularly useful in understanding how something -- a disease, a rumor or information -- spreads across a network.

American teens are less likely than European teens to use cigarettes and alcohol, but more likely to use illicit drugs Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:13 PM PDT The U.S. had the second-lowest proportion of students who used tobacco and alcohol compared to their counterparts in 36 European countries, a new report indicates.

Frog embryos may yield secrets of cancer cell migration Posted: 01 Jun 2012 08:13 PM PDT Developmental biologists are investigating craniofacial development in a frog model to better understand genetic control of cell migration. The work is expected to advance knowledge of how cancer cells migrate away from primary tumors to cause metastatic disease in new sites, among other processes.

New combination of two previously approved FDA drugs treat lung cancer Posted: 01 Jun 2012 10:56 AM PDT Researchers have discovered a previously unrecognized signaling network disrupted in lung cancer that can be turned back on by a novel combination of two previously approved FDA drugs. The drug combination targets a pathway to treat advanced/late stage lung cancer. The work highlights how understanding the basic mechanisms regulating cancer development and progression can lead to new uses for existing FDA approved drugs in the treatment of cancer.

Integrated sensors handle extreme conditions Posted: 01 Jun 2012 07:38 AM PDT Engineers have designed and fabricated integrated amplifier circuits that operate under extreme temperatures -- up to 600 degrees Celsius. The silicon carbide amplifiers have applications in both aerospace and energy industries.

Potential new approach to regenerating skeletal muscle tissue Posted: 01 Jun 2012 07:38 AM PDT An innovative strategy for regenerating skeletal muscle tissue using cells derived from the amniotic fluid is outlined in new research. The article shows that damaged muscle tissues can be treated with cells derived from the fluids which surround the fetus during development, leading to satisfactory regeneration and muscle activity.

'Safe' levels of arsenic in drinking water found to compromise pregnant/lactating mothers, offspring Posted: 31 May 2012 05:08 PM PDT Exposure to arsenic in drinking water at the level the US Environmental Protection Agency currently deems as safe in the United States (10 parts per billion) induces adverse health outcomes in pregnant and lactating mice and their offspring, concludes a new study.

Baby wipes as safe as using water, study finds Posted: 31 May 2012 05:07 PM PDT New research has found that a brand of baby wipes is just as safe and hydrating as using water alone on newborn skin, suggesting official guidance may need updating.

Weather patterns can be used to forecast rotavirus outbreaks Posted: 31 May 2012 05:06 PM PDT By correlating weather factors like temperature, rain and snowfall, a professor of civil and environmental engineering is able to predict the timing and intensity of rotavirus, a disease that causes extreme diarrhea, dehydration and thousands of death annually, particularly among children. Her research focused on one of the hardest-hit regions of the world, South Asia.

Psychology and the sporting life Posted: 31 May 2012 01:57 PM PDT The 2012 Olympics in London are about to start, and millions around the world will admire and ponder the mysteries of athletic performance. Psychological scientists are no exception. Researchers have examined how visual illusions improve sports performance, how attitudes and beliefs about competence determine performance and what exactly happens when we indulge in silly sports rituals.

A 'B12 shot' for marine algae? Posted: 31 May 2012 01:57 PM PDT Studying algal cultures and seawater samples from the Southern Ocean off Antarctica, marine biologists have revealed a key cog in the biochemical machinery that allows marine algae at the base of the oceanic food chain to thrive. They have discovered a previously unknown protein in algae that grabs an essential but scarce nutrient out of seawater, vitamin B12.

Structural clockwork of circadian rhythms Posted: 31 May 2012 11:58 AM PDT Scientists have determined the three-dimensional structure of two proteins that help keep the body's clocks in sync. The proteins, CLOCK and BMAL1, bind to each other to regulate the activity of thousands of genes whose expression fluctuates throughout the course of a day.

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