ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Naked mole-rats may hold clues to pain relief
• NuSTAR celebrates first 100 days
• First-ever imaging of cells growing on spherical surfaces
• Novel approach for single molecule electronic DNA sequencing
• Regular consumption of sugary beverages linked to increased genetic risk of obesity
• Providing non-caloric beverages to teens can help them avoid excessive weight gain, study shows
• Relation of poor sleep quality to resistant hypertension
• Ovarian cancer screening: Simple two-minute questionnaire that checks for six warning signs may lead to better early detection
• Researchers demonstrate 'giant' forces in super-strong nanomaterials
• Topical NSAIDs provide relief from arthritis pain
• SpaceX, NASA target Oct. 7 launch for resupply mission to International Space Station
• Wildfires in Washington State
• 'He says, she says': How characteristics of automated voice systems affect users' experience
• Growing corn to treat rare disease
• Effect of body mass index on blood pressure varies by race among children
• Mental stress: Unique solutions for unique populations
• Time to change an led light? Researchers design system to tell
• Key immune cell may play role in lung cancer susceptibility
• Prehistoric rocks contain clues for future climate
• Study outlines supply chain challenges for lithium future
• Brain: Protein that regulates key 'fate' decision in cortical progenitor cells identified
• How do we make moral judgments? Insights from Psychological Science
• Addictive properties of drug abuse may hold key to an HIV cure
• Documenting women's experiences with chromosome abnormalities found in new prenatal test
• Virtual boundaries: How environmental cues affect motivation and task-oriented behavior
• Male infertility: 'Kick-starting' male fertility with missing protein
• Suicide leading cause of injury mortality in U. S.
• Older age marker may be more appropriate for papillary thyroid cancer prognosis
• Predictors for Inpatient Pain identified
• iPhone 5: Consumers focus too much on having the latest features, finds new study
• Diet high in total antioxidants associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction in women
• Debt and income concerns deter medical students from primary care careers
• Horticultural hijacking: The dark side of beneficial soil bacteria
• Denosumab reduces burden of giant-cell tumor of the bone, study suggests
• Sifting social media for early signs of adverse drug reactions
• Dangerous dreaming: Kicking, screaming and falling out of bed might be more common than reported
• Advancing the treatment of trauma
• New 'stamping' process to pattern biomolecules at high resolution developed
• New turtle tracking technique may aid efforts to save loggerhead
• Mosquito virus could lead to new vaccines and drugs
• Giving lithium to those who need it
• Ultra fast optical amplifier: Silicon and erbium on one chip for the first time
• Squeeze light 'till it hurts' on a quantum scale: Researchers push the boundaries on ultra-precise measurement
• Psychology can explain and improve bad classroom behavior
• Remarkable enzyme points the way to reducing nitric acid use in industry
• Twenty-three nuclear power plants found to be in tsunami risk areas
• New challenges for ex-Olympians
• Brain: Multiple contacts are key to synapse formation
• 'Foreign' proteins are also implicated in Alzheimer's disease
• Unprecedented cancer 'Moon Shots Program': Effort sets new bar for eradicating cancer
• Nunavut's mysterious ancient life could return by 2100 as Arctic warms

Naked mole-rats may hold clues to pain relief Posted: 21 Sep 2012 03:07 PM PDT Naked mole-rats evolved to thrive in an acidic environment that other mammals, including humans, would find intolerable. Researchers report new findings as to how these rodents adapted, which may offer clues to relieving pain in other animals and humans.

NuSTAR celebrates first 100 days Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:42 PM PDT Sept. 21, 2012, marks 100 days since NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, launched into space from the L-1011 "Stargazer" aircraft. Since completing its 30-day checkout, the telescope has been busy making its first observations of black holes, super-dense dead stars and the glowing remains of exploded stars.

First-ever imaging of cells growing on spherical surfaces Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:23 PM PDT The potential biomedical applications of the researchers' technique include new strategies and devices for the early detection and isolation of cancer cells, facilitating new methods of treating cancer tissues.

Novel approach for single molecule electronic DNA sequencing Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:23 PM PDT A team of researchers has developed a novel approach to potentially sequence DNA in nanopores electronically at single molecule level with single-base resolution.

Regular consumption of sugary beverages linked to increased genetic risk of obesity Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:23 PM PDT Researchers have found that greater consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is linked with a greater genetic susceptibility to high body mass index (BMI) and increased risk of obesity. The study reinforces the view that environmental and genetic factors may act together to shape obesity risk.

Providing non-caloric beverages to teens can help them avoid excessive weight gain, study shows Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:23 PM PDT A new study on sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) and teens from pediatric obesity expert David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of New Balance Foundation Obesity Prevention Center Boston Children's Hospital, published 9/21 in New England Journal of Medicine. Findings show adolescents who eliminated SSBs for one year gained less weight than those who didn't, shedding light on an effective intervention to help combat adolescent obesity.

Relation of poor sleep quality to resistant hypertension Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:23 PM PDT For people who already have high blood pressure, insomnia can have serious consequences, according to a new study.

Ovarian cancer screening: Simple two-minute questionnaire that checks for six warning signs may lead to better early detection Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:16 PM PDT A simple three-question paper-and-pencil survey, given to women in the doctor's office in less than two minutes, can effectively identify those who are experiencing symptoms that may indicate ovarian cancer, according to a new study. The study represents the first evaluation of an ovarian cancer symptom-screening tool in a primary care setting among normal-risk women as part of their routine medical-history assessment.

Researchers demonstrate 'giant' forces in super-strong nanomaterials Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:14 PM PDT In a study that could lead to advances in the emerging fields of optical computing and nanomaterials, researchers report that a new class of nanoscale slot waveguides pack 100 to 1,000 times more transverse optical force than conventional silicon slot waveguides.

Topical NSAIDs provide relief from arthritis pain Posted: 21 Sep 2012 01:14 PM PDT For those suffering from osteoarthritis of the knees or hands, applying topical non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) -- in the form of creams, gels and patches -- can bring weeks of pain relief, finds a new review.

SpaceX, NASA target Oct. 7 launch for resupply mission to International Space Station Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:53 AM PDT NASA managers, Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) officials and international partner representatives Thursday announced Sunday, Oct. 7, as the target launch date for the first contracted cargo resupply flight to the International Space Station under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract. International Space Station Program managers confirmed the status and readiness of the Falcon 9 rocket and its Dragon cargo spacecraft for the SpaceX CRS-1 mission, as well as the space station's readiness to receive Dragon.

Wildfires in Washington State Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:28 AM PDT The summer of 2012 will unfortunately be known as the "Summer of Devastating Western Wildfires" and practically not one state out west was spared. Washington State has been hardest hit of late. This satellite image shows a rash of wildfires currently burning in the middle of the state.

'He says, she says': How characteristics of automated voice systems affect users' experience Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:03 AM PDT Human factors/ergonomics researchers have studied how the gender and tone selected for an interactive voice response system, or IVR, affects its user-friendliness.

Growing corn to treat rare disease Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:03 AM PDT The seeds of greenhouse-grown corn could hold the key to treating a rare, life-threatening childhood genetic disease, according to researchers.

Effect of body mass index on blood pressure varies by race among children Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:02 AM PDT Obesity in black children more severely impacts blood pressure than in white children who are equally overweight, according to a new study.

Mental stress: Unique solutions for unique populations Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT A mother in jail co-residing with her infant in a prison nursery; a war veteran still picturing the violent trauma. These scenarios are real life and dealt with each day by incarcerated mothers and returning veterans. The common link -- stress -- is the focus of new research.

Time to change an led light? Researchers design system to tell Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT In many of the nation's traffic lights, light-emitting diodes or LEDs with their brighter light and longer life have replaced standard bulbs. But knowing when to replace the signal heads has remained a guessing game. That's because LED traffic lights don't burn out -- they just lose brightness over time.

Key immune cell may play role in lung cancer susceptibility Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT New research suggests a key immune cell may play a role in lung cancer susceptibility. Working in mice, they found evidence that the genetic diversity in natural killer cells contributes to whether or not the animals develop lung cancer. The scientists now are investigating whether the same phenomenon exists in humans.

Prehistoric rocks contain clues for future climate Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT For most of the past decade, Dr. Wan Yang has spent his summers in the Bogda Mountains in northwest China, collecting rock samples that predate dinosaurs by millions of years in an effort to better understand the history of Earth's climate and perhaps gain clues about future climate change.

Study outlines supply chain challenges for lithium future Posted: 21 Sep 2012 11:01 AM PDT As demand increases for lithium, the essential element in batteries for everything from cameras to automobiles, a researcher is studying potential disruptions to the long-term supply chain the world's lightest metal.

Brain: Protein that regulates key 'fate' decision in cortical progenitor cells identified Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:46 AM PDT Researchers have solved an important piece of one of neuroscience's outstanding puzzles: How progenitor cells in the developing mammalian brain reproduce themselves while also giving birth to neurons that will populate the emerging cerebral cortex, the seat of cognition and executive function in the mature brain.

How do we make moral judgments? Insights from Psychological Science Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:46 AM PDT New research provides intriguing insights into some of the factors that influence how we make moral judgments.

Addictive properties of drug abuse may hold key to an HIV cure Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:46 AM PDT A medical researcher is on a mission to explore the gene-controlling effects of addictive drugs in pursuit of new HIV treatments.

Documenting women's experiences with chromosome abnormalities found in new prenatal test Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:45 AM PDT Surveying a small group of women participating in a larger study investigating the use of DNA microarrays to identify the possibility of prenatal chromosomal abnormalities, researchers documented the women's reactions upon learning that their child's genetic material contained chromosomal abnormalities.

Virtual boundaries: How environmental cues affect motivation and task-oriented behavior Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:45 AM PDT Much of our daily lives are spent completing tasks that involve a degree of waiting, such as remaining on hold while scheduling a doctor's appointment or standing in line at an ATM. Faced with a wait, some people postpone, avoid, or abandon their task. Others endure the wait but feel dissatisfied and frustrated by the experience.

Male infertility: 'Kick-starting' male fertility with missing protein Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:45 AM PDT Adding a missing protein to infertile human sperm can "kick-start" its ability to fertilize an egg and dramatically increase the chances of a successful pregnancy, scientists have uncovered.

Suicide leading cause of injury mortality in U. S. Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:39 AM PDT Suicide has now passed motor vehicle traffic crashes as the leading cause of injury deaths in the United States. Additionally, the disease rate has been declining while the injury rate has been rising.

Older age marker may be more appropriate for papillary thyroid cancer prognosis Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:39 AM PDT Although age 45 is used to establish staging in well-differentiated papillary thyroid cancer using the American Joint Committee on Cancer and the International Union Against Cancer TNM Classification of Malignant Tumors (TNM) staging system, a new study suggests that > 65 may be a more accurate age marker for prognosis.

Predictors for Inpatient Pain identified Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:39 AM PDT Researchers have identified reliable predictors of pain by surveying patients throughout their hospital stays about the severity of their pain and their levels of satisfaction with how their pain was managed by hospital staff. Using this data, interdisciplinary teams treating patients were able to identify patients at higher risk for pain prior to, or immediately upon, their admission to the hospital, and create and implement intervention plans resulting in patients reporting lower levels of pain and higher levels of satisfaction with their pain management.

iPhone 5: Consumers focus too much on having the latest features, finds new study Posted: 21 Sep 2012 09:39 AM PDT More than 2 million consumers got to gloat Friday about their shrewdness in procuring an iPhone 5, with its larger screen and 200 additional features through its new operating system. But once the novelty wears off, will they still enjoy their purchase? It depends on why they bought it, says new research.

Diet high in total antioxidants associated with lower risk of myocardial infarction in women Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT Coronary heart disease is a major cause of death in women. A new study has found that a diet rich in antioxidants, mainly from fruits and vegetables, can significantly reduce the risk of myocardial infarction.

Debt and income concerns deter medical students from primary care careers Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT A team of researchers has found that debt and income expectations deter med school students from entering into primary care.

Horticultural hijacking: The dark side of beneficial soil bacteria Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT It's a battleground down there — in the soil where plants and bacteria dwell. Even though beneficial root bacteria come to the rescue when a plant is being attacked by pathogens, there's a "dark side" to the relationship between the plant and its white knight, according to new research.

Denosumab reduces burden of giant-cell tumor of the bone, study suggests Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT Treatment with denosumab, a drug targeted against a protein that helps promote bone destruction, decreased the number of tumor giant cells in patients with giant-cell tumor of the bone, and increased new bone formation, according to the results of a phase II study.

Sifting social media for early signs of adverse drug reactions Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT A new research project will analyze social media, including tweets and online discussion forums, to identify adverse drug reactions -- a process that promises to be much faster and perhaps also more accurate than the existing methods of identifying such reactions.

Dangerous dreaming: Kicking, screaming and falling out of bed might be more common than reported Posted: 21 Sep 2012 08:10 AM PDT A troubling sleep disorder that causes sleepers to physically act out their dreams by kicking, screaming or falling out of bed may be more common than reported, according to specialists.

Advancing the treatment of trauma Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT With traumatic injuries claiming almost six million lives a year, improvements in care, including in the challenging areas of brain and bone injuries, and haemorrhage, are urgently needed.

New 'stamping' process to pattern biomolecules at high resolution developed Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT Researchers have used rubber stamps to pattern biomolecules in a new way. Instead of using molecular "inks" transferred from the stamps to substrates, the new method removes molecules already in place on the surface, by having them react with the stamp surface. In the new "subtractive" printing process, the rubber stamps selectively remove patterns from molecular monolayers with much higher pattern fidelity than with conventional soft lithography and can be used over and over again.

New turtle tracking technique may aid efforts to save loggerhead Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT The old adage "you are what you eat" is helping scientists better understand the threatened loggerhead turtle, which is the primary nester on Central Florida's beaches.

Mosquito virus could lead to new vaccines and drugs Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:26 AM PDT The newly discovered Eilat virus is closely related to some of the world's most dangerous pathogens but incapable of infecting non-insect hosts. This attribute could make the virus a uniquely useful tool for studying the viruses responsible for chikungunya, Venezuelan equine encephalitis, western equine encephalitis and eastern equine encephalitis. In addition, the researchers say, Eilat could also aid in the development of new vaccines, therapies and diagnostic techniques.

Giving lithium to those who need it Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:25 AM PDT Lithium is a 'gold standard' drug for treating bipolar disorder, however not everyone responds in the same way. New research finds that this is true at the levels of gene activation, especially in the activation or repression of genes which alter the level the apoptosis (programmed cell death). Most notably BCL2, known to be important for the therapeutic effects of lithium, did not increase in non-responders. This can be tested in the blood of patients within four weeks of treatment.

Ultra fast optical amplifier: Silicon and erbium on one chip for the first time Posted: 21 Sep 2012 06:25 AM PDT Within optical microchips, light finds its way through channels, waveguides, made of silicon. Light from a glass fiber, for example, is led through a structure of optical channels with splitters and couplers. Silicon is the workhorse for this, but it is still passive conduction of light, with some losses as well. To be able to amplify the signal, or even to include a light source on the chip, extra steps are necessary. Other types of semiconductors, like Gallium Arsenide, are an option. But materials doped with the rare earth material erbium have good amplification properties as well.

Squeeze light 'till it hurts' on a quantum scale: Researchers push the boundaries on ultra-precise measurement Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:35 AM PDT Physicists has pushed the boundaries on ultra-precise measurement by harnessing quantum light waves in a new way. It is one thing to be able to measure spectacularly small distances using "squeezed" light, but it is now possible to do this even while the target is moving around.

Psychology can explain and improve bad classroom behavior Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:35 AM PDT A new monograph brings together evidence from psychological research to help readers understand the causes of anti-social behavior and what can be done to curb it.

Remarkable enzyme points the way to reducing nitric acid use in industry Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:35 AM PDT An enzyme in the bacterium that causes potato scab could help create new, environmentally-benign biocatalysts with the potential to cut use of the highly corrosive chemical nitric acid.

Twenty-three nuclear power plants found to be in tsunami risk areas Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:32 AM PDT Tsunamis are synonymous with the destruction of cities, and homes and since the Japanese coast was devastated in March 2011 we now know that they cause nuclear disaster, endanger the safety of the population and pollute the environment. As such phenomena are still difficult to predict, a team of scientists has assessed "potentially dangerous" areas that are home to completed nuclear plants or those under construction.

New challenges for ex-Olympians Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:32 AM PDT When elite-level athletes retire, they often struggle to adapt to their new lives. When finding that the characteristics that were valuable in sport are not equally useful in 'ordinary' life, they often start experiencing disorientation, depression, self-doubt or even illness.

Brain: Multiple contacts are key to synapse formation Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:31 AM PDT Multiple synaptic contacts between nerve cells facilitate the creation of a new contact, as neuroscientists report. An integral mechanism of memory foundation is the formation of additional contacts between neurons in the brain. However, until now it was not known what conditions lead to the development of such synapses and how they are stabilized once created. By studying mathematical models, the scientists found a simple explanation for how and when synapses form -- or disappear -- in the brain.

'Foreign' proteins are also implicated in Alzheimer's disease Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:31 AM PDT Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's or Parkinson's are characterised by the loss of nerve cells and the deposition of proteins in the brain tissue. Scientists have now demonstrated that Alzheimer's disease does not just – as previously believed – involve the proteins that are attributed to Alzheimer's, but instead the condition can involve a mixture of interacting proteins from different neurodegenerative diseases.

Unprecedented cancer 'Moon Shots Program': Effort sets new bar for eradicating cancer Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:28 AM PDT The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center announces the launch of the Moon Shots Program, an unprecedented effort to dramatically accelerate the pace of converting scientific discoveries into clinical advances that reduce cancer deaths.

Nunavut's mysterious ancient life could return by 2100 as Arctic warms Posted: 21 Sep 2012 05:28 AM PDT Global climate change means that recently discovered ancient forests in Canada's extreme north could one day return, research suggests.

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