ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Monday, April 25, 2011

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Monday, April 25, 2011

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Optical microscope without lenses produces high-resolution 3-D images on a chip (April 25, 2011) -- Researchers have redesigned the concept of a microscope, by removing the lens, to create a system small enough to fit in the palm of a hand, but powerful enough to create 3-D tomographic, or sectional, images of miniscule samples. The advance represents the first demonstration of lens-free optical tomographic imaging on a chip, a technique capable of producing high resolution 3-D images of large volumes of microscopic objects. ... > full story

Brain cell migration during normal development may offer insight on how cancer cells spread (April 25, 2011) -- By shedding new light on how cells migrate in the developing brain, researchers also may have found a new mechanism by which other types of cells, including cancer cells, travel within the body. ... > full story

Using duck eggs to track climate change (April 25, 2011) -- Julie DeJong can't set foot on the ground of an Oregon marsh to gather duck eggs on a spring day in 1875. But Charles Bendire did. And thanks to a research project that is the next best thing to time travel, DeJong is measuring the duck eggs in several museum collections. When her project is done, DeJong will have assembled and analyzed a metrics database on perhaps 60,000 duck eggs representing at least 40 species and subspecies of ducks found in North America. ... > full story

Drug effective in treating kidney disease in diabetic patients, study suggests (April 25, 2011) -- Researchers have published promising results of a clinical study using an experimental anti-fibrotic and anti-inflammatory drug called pirfenidone to treat patients with diabetic nephropathy. ... > full story

Missing link in plant defense against fungal disease found (April 25, 2011) -- Scientists report on a discovery in a key component in the signaling pathway that regulates the production of phytoalexins to kill the disease-causing fungus Botrytis cinerea. ... > full story

Ban bodychecking in youth hockey to prevent concussions, expert argues (April 25, 2011) -- Bodychecking in youth hockey leagues should be banned to prevent concussions which can cause serious repercussions, experts argue in a new analysis. ... > full story

Development in fog harvesting process may make water available to the world’s poor (April 25, 2011) -- An engineer and aspiring entrepreneur works on fog harvesting, the deployment of devices that, like the beetle, attract water droplets and corral the runoff. This way, poor villagers could collect clean water near their homes, instead of spending hours carrying water from distant wells or streams. ... > full story

Taking aim at tumors (April 25, 2011) -- Many of the newest weapons in the war on cancer come in the form of personalized therapies that can target specific changes in an individual's tumor. By disrupting molecular processes in tumor cells, these drugs can keep the tumor from growing and spreading. Researchers are now deploying a new tool in their study of an enzyme called tubulin tyrosine ligase, or TTL. ... > full story

Molecular mechanism contributing to neuronal circuit formation found (April 25, 2011) -- Scientists have discovered how sensory and motor fibers interact during development of neuronal circuits in the limbs: Both types of nerve fibers can guide this process. With this finding, the researchers have made an important contribution to understanding how neural networks are formed during embryonic development and have found a new approach to explaining neurological disorders. ... > full story

Presenting cancer treatment options in small doses yields smarter choices, study finds (April 25, 2011) -- Women who choose among different breast cancer treatment options make smarter choices when getting the information and making decisions in small doses rather than all at once, as is customary, a new study found. ... > full story

Data miners dig for corrosion resistance (April 25, 2011) -- A better understanding of corrosion resistance may be possible using a data-mining tool. This tool may also aid research in other areas where massive amounts of information exist. ... > full story

Television 'breakups' cause some viewers distress (April 25, 2011) -- Even temporary "breakups" can be distressing for some people -- at least when it comes to their favorite television programs. A new study examined how college-aged television viewers reacted when their favorite shows went off the air or were replaced with reruns as a result of the television writers' strike of 2007-08. ... > full story

Fossil sirenians, related to today's manatees, give scientists new look at ancient climate (April 24, 2011) -- What tales they tell of their former lives, these old bones of sirenians, relatives of today's dugongs and manatees. And now, geologists have found, they tell of the waters in which they swam. While researching the evolutionary ecology of ancient sirenians -- commonly known as sea cows -- scientists unexpectedly stumbled across data that could change the view of climate during the Eocene Epoch, some 50 million years ago. ... > full story

Brain bypass surgery sparks restoration of lost brain tissue (April 24, 2011) -- Neurosurgeons have for the first time initiated the restoration of lost brain tissue through brain bypass surgery in patients where blood flow to the brain is impaired by cerebrovascular disease. ... > full story

Decoding human genes is goal of new open-source encyclopedia (April 24, 2011) -- A massive database cataloging the functional components of the human genome is being made available as an open resource to scientists, classrooms, science writers, and the public, thanks to an international team of scientists. ... > full story

Discovery of relationship between proteins may impact development of cancer therapies (April 24, 2011) -- By identifying a surprising association of two intracellular proteins, researchers have laid the groundwork for the development of new therapies to treat B cell lymphomas and autoimmune disease. ... > full story

Supercomputers: 'Data deluge' is changing, expanding supercomputer-based research (April 24, 2011) -- The exponentially increasing amount of digital information, along with new challenges in storing valuable data and massive datasets, are changing the architecture of today's newest supercomputers as well as how researchers will use them to accelerate scientific discovery, experts say. ... > full story

Move over Prozac: New drug offers hope for depression (April 24, 2011) -- The brain chemistry that underlies depression is incompletely understood, but research suggests that aberrant signaling by a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor through its receptor TrkB, may contribute to anxiety and depression. Here, researchers describe a screen for stable small molecules that could specifically inhibit TrkB action. They identified one they dubbed ANA-12, which had potent behavioral effects when administered to mice that suggest it will have antidepressant and anti-anxiety activity in humans. ... > full story

Gravitational tug of war warps spiral shape of galaxy (April 24, 2011) -- A pair of galaxies in a new image display some curious features, demonstrating that each member of the duo is close enough to feel the distorting gravitational influence of the other. The gravitational tug of war has warped the spiral shape of one galaxy, NGC 3169, and fragmented the dust lanes in its companion NGC 3166. Meanwhile, a third galaxy, NGC 3165, has a front-row seat to the gravitational twisting and pulling. ... > full story

Dietary, lifestyle changes can significantly reduce triglycerides (April 24, 2011) -- Diet and lifestyle changes that include substituting healthy fats for unhealthy saturated and trans fats, engaging in regular physical activity and losing excess weight can reduce triglycerides -- a blood fat -- by 20 percent to 50 percent. New clinical recommendations include reducing the optimal triglyceride level from ... > full story

Evolution can cause a rapid reduction in genome size (April 24, 2011) -- It would appear reasonable to assume that two closely related plant species would have similar genetic blueprints. However, scientists have now decoded, for the first time, the entire genome of the lyre-leaved rock cress (Arabidopsis lyrata), a close relative of the thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana), the model plant used by geneticists. They discovered that the genome of the lyre-leaved rock cress is fifty percent bigger than that of the thale cress. Moreover, these changes arose over a very short period in evolutionary terms. ... > full story

Study suggests another look at testosterone-prostate cancer link (April 24, 2011) -- The long-standing prohibition against testosterone therapy in men with untreated or low-risk prostate cancer merits reevaluation, according to a new study. ... > full story

A tool to predict crowd turbulence (April 24, 2011) -- Recent crowd disasters, such as those seen in 2006 during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca and in 2010 at the Love Parade in Duisburg, have underlined the need to better understand what determines the collective behavior of crowds. A new model suggests that a pedestrian seeks simply to minimize congestion in his visual field by walking towards the empty spaces he can see, while at the same time adjusting his speed in order to maintain a safe distance from the nearest obstacle. ... > full story

Professional hockey: Days lost per concussion in NHL increasing (April 24, 2011) -- A major study of concussions, conducted over seven National Hockey League seasons indicates that while the rate of injuries leveled out over the study period, the number of days lost per concussion has increased. ... > full story

Brown recluse spider: Range could expand in N. America with changing climate (April 23, 2011) -- One of the most feared spiders in North America -- the brown recluse -- is the subject a new study that aims to predict its distribution and how that distribution may be affected by climate changes. Researchers believe that the range may expand northward, potentially invading previously unaffected regions. Newly influenced areas may include parts of Nebraska, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, South Dakota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. ... > full story

Liver-cell transplants show promise in reversing genetic disease affecting liver and lungs (April 23, 2011) -- Transplanting cells from healthy adult livers may work in treating a genetic liver-lung disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, according to a new animal study. ... > full story

Starting a new metabolic path: New technique will help metabolic engineering (April 23, 2011) -- Researchers have demonstrated a new technique that speeds up and improves the identification and quantification of proteins within a cell or micoorganism. Called "targeted proteomics," the new technique is expected to be an important new tool for the fields of metabolic engineering and synthetic biology. ... > full story

Study adds weight to link between calcium supplements and heart problems (April 23, 2011) -- New research adds to mounting evidence that calcium supplements increase the risk of cardiovascular events, particularly heart attacks, in older women. ... > full story

How molecules get to the right place at the right time (April 23, 2011) -- Active transport processes in cells ensure that proteins with specialized local functions reach their intracellular destinations. Impaired transport causes cellular dysfunction or even cell death. Scientists have now revealed how such a transport complex recognizes its cargo and assembles. ... > full story

For family violence among adolescents, mattering matters (April 23, 2011) -- Teens and adolescents who believe that they matter to their family -- that is, they feel the make a difference in the family's daily doings -- are significantly less likely to threaten or engage in family violence, according to a new study. ... > full story

Scientists engineer nanoscale vaults to encapsulate 'nanodisks' for drug delivery (April 23, 2011) -- The first steps toward the development of the vault nanoparticle into a versatile and effective DDS are reported in this paper. The ability to encapsulate therapeutic compounds into the vault is a critical and fundamental obstacle in their development for small-molecule drug delivery. Recombinant vaults are engineered to encapsulate the highly insoluble and toxic hydrophobic compound all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA) using a vault-binding lipoprotein complex that forms a lipid bilayer nanodisk. ... > full story

New approach to defeating flu shows promise (April 23, 2011) -- New research on mice has shown that pulmonary administration of granulocyte macrophage-colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) significantly reduces flu symptoms and prevents death after a lethal dose influenza virus. While GM-SCF therapy for humans as a flu prophylaxis or treatment may be years away, the study results were striking: All of the mice treated with GM-SCF survived after being infected with the influenza virus, whereas untreated mice all died from the same infection. ... > full story

Frog embryos lead to new understanding of cardiac development (April 23, 2011) -- During embryonic development, cells migrate to their eventual location in the adult body plan and begin to differentiate into specific cell types. There is now new insight into how these processes regulate tissues formation in the heart. ... > full story

C. difficile colonization accompanied by changes in gut microbiota: Study hints at probiotics as treatment (April 23, 2011) -- Asymptomatic colonization by Clostridium difficile, absent the use of antibiotics, is common in infants and when it happens changes occur in the composition of the gut microbiota, according to new research. ... > full story

Large Hadron Collider sets world record beam intensity (April 23, 2011) -- CERN's Large Hadron Collider (LHC) has set a new world record for beam intensity at a hadron collider, exceeding the previous world record set by the US Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory's Tevatron collider in 2010, and marks an important milestone in LHC commissioning. ... > full story

Democrats and Republicans increasingly divided over global warming, study finds (April 23, 2011) -- Despite the growing scientific consensus that global warming is real, Americans have become increasingly polarized on the environmental problem, according to a first-of-its-kind study. ... > full story

Functioning synapse created using carbon nanotubes: Devices might be used in brain prostheses or synthetic brains (April 22, 2011) -- Engineering researchers have made a significant breakthrough in the use of nanotechnologies for the construction of a synthetic brain. They have built a carbon nanotube synapse circuit whose behavior in tests reproduces the function of a neuron, the building block of the brain. ... > full story

Anti-depressants boost brain cells after injury in early studies (April 22, 2011) -- When neurosurgeons noticed that patients with brain injuries who had been prescribed anti-depressants were doing better in unexpected ways than their counterparts who were not taking such medications, scientists took a closer look. Early results in mice indicate that anti-depressants may help spur the creation and survival of new brain cells after brain injury. ... > full story

Worm studies shed light on human cancers (April 22, 2011) -- Research in the worm is shedding light on a protein associated with a number of different human cancers, and may point to a highly targeted way to treat them. ... > full story

Parasite strategy offers insight to help tackle sleeping sickness (April 22, 2011) -- Fresh insight into the survival strategy of the parasite that causes sleeping sickness could help inform new treatments for the disease. ... > full story

Lawn of native grasses beats traditional lawn for lushness, weed resistance (April 22, 2011) -- A lawn of regionally native grasses would take less resources to maintain while providing as lush a carpet as a common turfgrass used in the South, according to a new study. ... > full story

Quality of parent-toddler relationship could affect risk for childhood obesity (April 22, 2011) -- Toddlers who do not have a secure emotional relationship with their parents, and particularly their mothers, could be at increased risk for obesity by age 4 and a half, according to new research. The study suggests that children at age 24 months who show insecure attachment patterns have at least 30 percent higher odds for obesity by age 4 and a half. ... > full story

Jurassic spider from China is largest fossil specimen discovered (April 22, 2011) -- With a leg span of more than five inches, a recently named Jurassic period spider from China is the largest fossil specimen discovered, and one that has modern relatives in tropical climates today. ... > full story

Toward new medications for chronic brain diseases (April 22, 2011) -- A needle-in-the-haystack search through nearly 390,000 chemical compounds had led scientists to a substance that can sneak through the protective barrier surrounding the brain with effects promising for new drugs for Parkinson's and Huntington's disease. The substance blocks the formation of cholesterol in the brain. ... > full story

'Time machine' made to visually explore space and time in videos: Time-lapse GigaPans provide new way to access big data (April 22, 2011) -- Researchers have leveraged the latest browser technology to create GigaPan Time Machine, a system that enables viewers to explore gigapixel-scale, high-resolution videos and image sequences by panning or zooming in and out of the images while simultaneously moving back and forth through time. ... > full story

Athletes at risk: New, inexpensive test for 'sudden death syndrome' (April 22, 2011) -- A cardiologist has developed a new, inexpensive test for "sudden death syndrome" that's already being used by doctors in America -- and it can be done at the patient's bedside. ... > full story

Clouds, clouds, burning bright (April 22, 2011) -- High up in the sky near the poles some 50 miles above the ground, silvery blue clouds sometimes appear, shining brightly in the night. These are noctilucent or "night shining" clouds. Since 2007, a NASA mission called Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM) has shown that the cloud formation is changing year to year, a process they believe is intimately tied to the weather and climate of the whole globe. ... > full story

Antidepressants may not improve all symptoms of depression, researchers find (April 22, 2011) -- Even people who show a clear treatment response with antidepressant medications continue to experience symptoms like insomnia, sadness and decreased concentration, researchers have found after analyzing data from the largest study on the treatment of depression. ... > full story

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