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ScienceDaily: Latest Science News
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Breaking science news and articles on global warming, extrasolar planets, stem cells, bird flu, autism, nanotechnology, dinosaurs, evolution -- the latest discoveries in astronomy, anthropology, biology, chemistry, climate & environment, computers, engineering, health & medicine, math, physics, psychology, technology, and more -- from the world's leading universities and research organizations.
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Concealed Glaciers Discovered On Mars At Mid-latitudes
Vast Martian glaciers of water ice under protective blankets of rocky debris persist today at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on Mars, says new research using ground-penetrating radar on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The discovery is an encouraging sign for scientists searching for life beyond Earth. The water ice might also provide a useful resource for human explorers visiting the red planet.
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Brain Reorganizes To Adjust For Loss Of Vision
A new study shows that when patients with macular degeneration focus on using another part of their retina to compensate for their loss of central vision, their brain seems to compensate by reorganizing its neural connections. Age--related macular degeneration is the leading cause of blindness in the elderly. The study appears in the journal Restorative Neurology and Neuroscience.
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Shellfish Inspire New Adhesives
Adhesive shellfish proteins bind regardless of how many binding elements they contain. This has potential for the development of new kinds of binding agents.
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Why Only Some Former Smokers Develop Lung Cancer
Canadian researchers are trying to answer why some smokers develop lung cancer while others remain disease free, despite similar lifestyle changes.
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Extreme Makeover: Photos Realistically Embedded Within Videos
Stanford artificial intelligence researchers have developed software that makes it easy to reach inside an existing video and place a photo on the wall so realistically that it looks like it was there from the beginning. The photo is not pasted on top of the existing video, but embedded in it. It works for videos as well; you can play a video on a wall inside your video.
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Brain Compound 'Throws Gasoline Onto The Fire' Of Schizophrenia
New research has traced elevated levels of a specific compound in the brain to problem-solving deficits in patients with schizophrenia. The finding suggests that drugs used to suppress the compound, called kynurenic acid, might be an important supplement to antipsychotic medicines, as these adjuncts could be used to treat the disorder's most resistant symptoms -- cognitive impairments.
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Pluripotent Stem Cells Shown To Generate New Retinal Cells Necessary For Vision, Study Finds
Pluripotent stem cells -- those, like embryonic stem cells, that give rise to almost every type of cell in the body -- can be converted into the different classes of retinal cells necessary for vision, according to a new study.
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'4-D' Microscope Revolutionizes The Way We Look At Nano World
More than a century ago, the development of the earliest motion picture technology made what had been previously thought "magical" a reality: capturing and recreating the movement and dynamism of the world around us. A breakthrough technology based on new concepts has now accomplished a similar feat, but on an atomic scale by allowing, for the first time, the real-time, real-space visualization of fleeting changes in the structure and shape of matter barely a billionth of a meter in size.
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Misreading Of Damaged DNA May Spur Tumor Formation
Cells can turn on tumor-promoting growth circuits by falsely reporting critical genetic information during the process of transcription: making RNA from DNA. Damage to the DNA making up a gene can lead to a misreading of the gene as it is made into RNA, a process called transcriptional mutagenesis. Transcriptional mutagenesis could represent an additional way DNA damage contributes to tumor formation.
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Birds Singing In Slow Motion Help Reveal Brain Locations Responsible For Timing
As anyone who watched the Olympics can appreciate, timing matters when it comes to complex sequential actions. It can make a difference between a perfect handspring and a fall, for instance. But what controls that timing? Scientists are closing in on the brain regions responsible, thanks to some technical advances and some help from songbirds.
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Faster Test For Food Protein That Triggers Celiac Disease
Researchers are reporting development of a faster test for identifying the food protein that triggers celiac disease, a difficult-to-diagnose digestive disease involving the inability to digest protein called gluten that occurs in wheat, oats, rye, and barley. The finding could help millions of people avoid diarrhea, bloating, and other symptoms that occur when they unknowingly eat foods containing gluten.
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Rock Avalanches And Landslides: Modeling When The Mountain Slides Down Into The Valley
Rock avalanches and landslides, rock falls and slope slips are all contained in the concept of mass movements. The ever more intensive usage of the mountainous regions and the climate change are some of the causes for these natural erosion processes from high alpine regions to the hill country, and they are not insignificant causes. Engineering geologists are modeling mass movements with specially adapted computer programs. Their know-how is helpful for the risk assessment of imminent landslides and slope slips.
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Stress Hinders Rats' Decision-making Abilities
A single exposure to uncontrollable stress impairs decision making in rats for several days, making them unable to reliably seek out the larger of two rewards.
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Pure Insulin-producing Cells Produced In Mice
Researchers have developed an unlimited number of pure insulin-producing cells from mouse embryonic stem cells. The cells, which have the same sub-cellular structures as the insulin-producing cells naturally found in the pancreas, were highly effective in treating diabetes in the mouse model.
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Link Between Nicotine Addiction And Autism Found
Scientists have identified a relationship between two proteins in the brain that has links to both nicotine addiction and autism. The finding has led to speculation that existing drugs used to curb nicotine addiction might serve as the basis for potential therapies to alleviate the symptoms of autism. The discovery identified a defining role for a protein made by the neurexin-1 gene, which is located in brain cells and assists in connecting neurons as part of the brain's chemical communication system.
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Healthful Plant Nutrients Also Found In Meat And Milk
Counterintuitive as it may seem, those healthful phytoestrogen nutrients that consumers usually associate with fruits and vegetables also exist in foods of animal origin. After all, "phyto" means "plant." Now the first comprehensive study of phytoestrogen content in foods has identified the best sources of these nutrients.
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Cases Of Extensively Drug-resistant TB Declining Each Year In The US, But New Cases Still
A new report suggests that the number of cases of extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis in the U.S. has declined in the past fifteen years, but new cases continue to be reported. Researchers note the decrease in the number of XDR-TB cases coincides with improved TB and HIV/AIDS control.
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Elderly People Require Better Fire Prevention, Report Finds
If you are over seventy years old, your chances of dying in a fire at home are four times as high as they are for the rest of the population. It is also a fact that half of all women who die in house fires are 70 or older. These are among the results of a report from SINTEF Norwegian Fire Laboratories.
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Bottoms Up: Individualists More Likely To Be Problem Drinkers
What makes residents of certain states or countries more likely to consume more alcohol? According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, high levels of individualism lead to more problem drinking.
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Researchers Make New Electronics -- With A Twist
Scientists have made electronics that can bend. They've made electronics that can stretch. And now, they've reached the ultimate goal -- electronics that can be subjected to any complex deformation, including twisting. Researchers have improved their so-called "pop-up" technology to create circuits that can be twisted. Such electronics could be used in places where flat, unbending electronics would fail, like on the human body.
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Dangerous 'Two-faced' Protein Crucial To Breast Cancer Spread And Growth Identified
Two critical properties of cancer cells are their ability to divide without restraint and to spread away from the primary tumor to establish new tumor sites. Now, researchers have found a protein they say acts as a deadly master switch, both freeing cancer cells from a tumor while ramping up new growth.
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New Life Beneath Sea And Ice
Scientists have long known that life can exist in some very extreme environments. But Earth continues to surprise us.
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Diuretic Reduces Risk For A Type Of Heart Failure That Is More Common Among Women, Study Suggests
New research shows that a medication for high blood pressure called a diuretic or water pill is particularly effective at reducing the risk for a type of heart failure that affects women more often than men.
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Formula For Predicting Climate Change Impact On Salmon Stocks Established
Scientists have found a way to accurately predict the impact of climate change on imperiled Pacific salmon stocks that could result in better management strategies.
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Put On A Happy Face: It Helps You See The Big Picture
That photo of your smiling kids on the refrigerator door might do more than just make you feel good; you might make healthier food choices after looking at it. A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research shows that positive moods can increase our ability to understand the big picture.
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Discovery Of Giant Roaming Deep Sea Protist Provides New Perspective On Animal Evolution
Groove-like tracks on the ocean floor made by giant deep-sea single-celled organisms could lead to new insights into the evolutionary origin of animals, according to biologists.
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Genetic Risk Factors May Tailor Prostate Cancer Screening Approaches
Five genetic risk markers for prostate cancer may allow physicians to adapt screening approaches for men at high-risk, particularly African-American men, according to new research.
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Protecting Puerto Rico's Unique Freshwater Fisheries
Scientists have made an enormous advance in understanding Puerto Rico's most remarkable ecosystems by conducting the first comprehensive study of the island's freshwater fish species. Many of these species "are hidden gems that have been largely ignored," the scientist who led the research said.
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Long-term Secondary Prevention Program May Help Reduce Cardiovascular Risks After Heart Attack
An intensive, comprehensive, long-term secondary prevention program lasting up to three years after cardiac rehabilitation appears to reduce the risk of a second non-fatal heart attack and other cardiovascular events, according to a new article.
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Tillage, Rotation Impacts Peanut Crops
A recent study looked at the different effects of tillage and rotation practices on peanut crops in the southern United States to determine if the rising trend towards reduced tillage would have an effect on yields and the occurrence of pests. Peanut farmers have thus far been reluctant to incorporate reduced tillage as it has not been seen as a viable practice for this particular crop.
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I'm Sticking With My Brand: Loyal Customers Perceive Competitor Ads Differently
What does it take for marketers to reach customers who are already loyal to a particular brand? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research examines brand loyalty and the way it affects perceptions of advertising.
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Darwin Was Right About How Evolution Can Affect Whole Group
Worker ants of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your fertility. The highly specialized worker castes in ants represent the pinnacle of social organization in the insect world. As in any society, however, ant colonies are filled with internal strife and conflict. So what binds them together? More than 150 years ago, Charles Darwin had an idea and now he's been proven right.
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Biomarkers Used To Predict Chronological And Physiological Age
How old are you really? Chronological age is easy -- count forward from birth. But establishing physiological age is purely subjective, based on how someone looks, feels and functions. Research in nematode worms is providing a crucial first step toward the development of biomarkers to predict chronological and physiological age in humans. This technology could facilitate testing of anti-aging therapies as well as give physicians a means of tracking how individuals "withstand the tests of time."
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Works Of Art Shed New Light On Climate Change
Paintings, watercolors and prints can be used by those who manage Britain's coastlines to look back in time and better understand the threat of rising sea levels and climate change.
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What Controls Critical 'Go-to' Enzyme: Findings May Hold Key To Better Treatments For Many Disorders
Scientists have gained new insights into regulation of one of the body's enzyme workhorses called calpains. As the cell's molecular overachievers, calpains function in many cellular processes, including the movement of cells in tissues, the death of damaged cells, insulin secretion, and brain cell and muscle function. The downside of this broad set of responsibilities is that defective or overactive calpains have been linked to an array of disorders, including a form of muscular dystrophy, Type 2 diabetes, gastric cancers, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases, cataracts, and the death of both heart muscle in heart attacks and of brain tissue in stroke and traumatic brain injury.
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'Enlightened' Atoms Stage Nano-riot Against Uniformity
Theorists say atoms in a crystal can be made to behave in an unexpected way, a way that can be exploited to create tiny computer components that emit less heat and new sensors to detect bio-hazards and medical conditions.
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Crisis Of Illicit Alcohol In Central And Eastern Europe, Report Finds
The consumption of illicit or noncommercial alcohol is widespread in central and eastern Europe and contributes significantly to the region?s high levels of alcohol-related problems, according to a new report. While illegal alcohol consumption in western Europe is relatively low, the report finds the level of noncommercial alcohol in central and eastern Europe is so high that it renders statistics on official alcohol sales nearly useless.
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Potential Sources Of 'Rain-Making' Bacteria In The Atmosphere Identified
Scientists recently found evidence that bacteria and biological cells are the most efficient ice-forming catalysts in precipitation from locations around the globe. The formation of ice in clouds is important in the processes that lead to snow and rain. Ice-nucleating bacteria -- which have been referred to as "rain-making bacteria" -- may be significant triggers of freezing in clouds and influence the water cycle.
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Neurons Derived From Embryonic Stem Cells Restore Muscle Function After Injury
Researchers have discovered that embryonic stem cells may play a critical role in helping people with nerve damage and motor neuron diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), regain muscular strength.
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The Tooth Whisperers
The phrase, "the eyes are the windows to the soul," is attributed to several authors and philosophers. But the phrase, "your teeth are the windows to your health," can be attributed to Mohamed Bassiouny, DMD, MSc, PhD, who has been studying how teeth provide important clues to his patients' overall health for more than 30 years.
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Deep Brain Mapping To Isolate Evidence Of Gulf War Syndrome
As a congressionally mandated report reveals one of every four veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf conflict suffers from Gulf War syndrome, statistical scientists are analyzing brain scan images from a nationwide sample of veterans displaying symptoms.
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Scientists Reshape Future Of Drug Discovery With Next Generation Man-Made Molecules
Scientists have devised a new way to create the next generation of man-made molecules in a breakthrough that could revolutionize drug development.
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Attending Religious Services Sharply Cuts Risk Of Death, Study Suggests
A new study strongly suggests that regular attendance at religious services reduces the risk of death by approximately 20 percent.
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Removing Part Of Brain Controls Girl's Epilepsy
Surgeons told Jessica Nelson one of the scariest things she will ever hear as a parent: they wanted to treat her daughter's epilepsy by cutting out or disconnecting half of her brain. Then something extraordinary happened: it worked.
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Two New Compounds Show Promise For Eliminating Breast Cancer Tumors
Two new compounds show early promise for destroying breast cancer tumors. Researchers have observed no negative side effects so far. The compounds disrupt bonding of a cancer-related protein.
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Site List Narrows For NASA's Next Mars Landing
Four intriguing places on Mars have risen to the final round as NASA selects a landing site for its next Mars mission, the Mars Science Laboratory. The agency had a wider range of possible landing sites to choose from than for any previous mission, thanks to the Mars Science Laboratory's advanced technologies, and the highly capable orbiters helping this mission identify scientifically compelling places to explore.
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Gene Silencing May Improve Success Of Islet Cell Transplants For Diabetes
Scientists in Tennessee are reporting that a gene therapy technique called gene silencing shows promise for improving the effectiveness and expanded use of transplants of insulin-producing cells to treat diabetes.
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Toward A New Generation Of Paper-thin Loudspeakers
In research that may redefine ear buds, earphones, stereo loudspeakers, and other devices for producing sound, researchers in China are reporting development of flexible loudspeakers thinner than paper that might be inserted into the ears with an index finger or attached to clothing, walls, or windows. Their report on what may be the world's thinnest loudspeakers, made from transparent carbon nanotube films, is scheduled for the December 10 issue of Nano Letters.
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