ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

The better to see you with: Scientists build record-setting metamaterial flat lens

Fri, 24 May 2013 13:17:17 EDT

For the first time, scientists working at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have demonstrated a new type of lens that bends and focuses ultraviolet (UV) light in such an unusual way that it can create ghostly, 3D images of objects that float in free space. The easy-to-build lens could lead to improved photolithography, nanoscale manipulation and manufacturing, and even high-resolution three-dimensional imaging, as well as a number of as-yet-unimagined applications in a diverse range of fields.

Promising strategy to help vaccines outsmart HIV

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:20:20 EDT

New research highlights an ingenious method to ensure the body effectively reacts when infected with the highly-evasive HIV virus that causes AIDS. The method involves the use of cytomegalovirus as a vector to help a vaccine better instruct T cells how to identify and fight the virus.

Youth with type 2 diabetes at much higher risk for heart, kidney disease

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:20:20 EDT

The news about youth and diabetes keeps getting worse. The latest data shows that children with type 2 diabetes are at high risk to develop heart, kidney and eye problems faster and at a higher rate than adults with diabetes.

New fluorescent tools for cancer diagnosis

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:20:20 EDT

Researchers have developed a multicolor fluorescence labeling method that can be used to visualize miRNAs in tissue sections, such as those recovered from biopsies.

Modulating the immune system to combat metastatic cancer

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:20:20 EDT

Researchers have found that regulatory T cells that infiltrate tumors express proteins that can be targeted with therapeutic antibodies.

Hormone levels may provide key to understanding psychological disorders in women

Fri, 24 May 2013 12:17:17 EDT

Women at a particular stage in their monthly menstrual cycle may be more vulnerable to some of the psychological side-effects associated with stressful experiences, according to a study from UCL.

Monkey teeth help reveal Neanderthal weaning

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:48:48 EDT

Most modern human mothers wean their babies much earlier than our closest primate relatives. But what about our extinct relatives, the Neanderthals? A team of U.S. and Australian researchers reports that they can now use fossil teeth to calculate when a Neanderthal baby was weaned. The new technique is based in part on knowledge gained from studies of teeth from human infants and from monkeys.

Proteins in migration: New animal model provides important clues on mechanisms of Parkinson's disease

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:48:48 EDT

Scientists have developed a novel experimental model that reproduces for the first time this pattern of alpha-synuclein brain spreading and provides important clues on the mechanisms underlying this pathological process. They triggered the production of human alpha-synuclein in the lower rat brain and were able to trace the spreading of this protein toward higher brain regions. The new experimental paradigm could promote the development of ways to halt or slow down disease development in humans.

Detection of the cosmic gamma ray horizon: Measures all the light in the universe since the Big Bang

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:46:46 EDT

Radiation from all galaxies that ever existed suffuses the universe with a diffuse extragalactic background light (EBL). Measuring the EBL is as fundamental to cosmology as measuring heat from the Big Bang (cosmic microwave background) at radio wavelengths. Researchers describe the best measurement yet of the evolution of the EBL over the past 5 billion years, based on observations from radio waves to gamma rays from NASA spacecraft and ground-based telescopes.

Young children who miss well-child visits are more likely to be hospitalized

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:46:46 EDT

Young children who missed more than half of recommended well-child visits had up to twice the risk of hospitalization compared to children who attended most of their visits, according to a new study.

Hormone replacement therapy: British Menopause Society and Women's Health Concern release updated guidelines

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:46:46 EDT

The British Menopause Society and Women's Health Concern have released updated guidelines on Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) to provide clarity around the role of HRT, the benefits and the risks. The new guidelines appear in the society's flagship title, Menopause International, published by SAGE.

New recommendations for management of high blood glucose in hospitalized patients

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:46:46 EDT

High blood glucose is associated with poor outcomes in hospitalized patients, and use of intensive insulin therapy (IIT) to control hyperglycemia is a common practice in hospitals. But the recent evidence does not show a consistent benefit and even shows harms associated with the use of IIT, according to the American College of Physicians.

Cause of infantile amnesia revealed: New neuron formation could increase capacity for new learning, at expense of old memories

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:46:46 EDT

New research presented today shows that formation of new neurons in the hippocampus -- a brain region known for its importance in learning and remembering -- could cause forgetting of old memories by causing a reorganization of existing brain circuits. Researchers argue this reorganization could have the positive effect of clearing old memories, reducing interference and thereby increasing capacity for new learning.

New method for predicting cancer virulence

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:42:42 EDT

A new way of tackling cancer and predicting tumor virulence are has been reported by a team of researchers. The scientists have shown that, in all cancers, an aberrant activation of numerous genes specific to other tissues occurs. For example, in lung cancers, the tumorous cells express genes specific to the production of spermatozoids, which should be silent.

Expedition to study ancient continental breakup west of Spain

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:42:42 EDT

An international team of scientists has embarked on a shipboard expedition to study how the Earth's crust was pulled apart in an area beneath the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Spain.

Discovery of how a key enzyme of the spliceosome exerts its controlling function

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:42:42 EDT

To sustain life, processes in biological cells have to be strictly controlled both in time and in space. Researchers have elucidated a previously unknown mechanism that regulates one of the essential processes accompanying gene expression in higher organisms. In humans, errors in this control mechanism can lead to blindness.

Researchers design photobioreactor to produce biofuel from algae

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:41:41 EDT

Researchers have patented a new device that allows more efficiently to cultivate microalgae and can be used as raw material for biofuel or for other valuable substances in the agri-food or pharmaceutical industry.

Help at hand for schizophrenics

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:41:41 EDT

How can healthy people who hear voices help schizophrenics? Finding the answer for this is at the center of research conducted by a group of scientists in Norway.

Scientists put bowel cancer under the microscope

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:41:41 EDT

Researchers have begun a two-year study which could help prolong the lives of people with colorectal tumors.

A new strategy required in the search for Alzheimer's drugs?

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:40:40 EDT

In the search for medication against Alzheimer's disease, scientists have focused on -- among other factors -- drugs that can break down Amyloid beta (A-beta). After all, it is the accumulation of A-beta that causes the known plaques in the brains of Alzheimer's patients. The starting point for the formation of A-beta is APP.

Immune cell activation in multiple sclerosis: New indicator molecules visualize activation of auto-aggressive T cells

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:40:40 EDT

Biological processes are generally based on events at the molecular and cellular level. To understand what happens in the course of infections, diseases or normal bodily functions, scientists would need to examine individual cells and their activity directly in the tissue. The development of new microscopes and fluorescent dyes in recent years has brought this scientific dream tantalizingly close. Scientists from the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried have now presented two studies introducing new indicator molecules which can visualize the activation of T cells. Their findings provide new insight into the role of these cells in the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis (MS). The new indicators are set to be an important tool in the study of other immune reactions as well.

Nano-needles for cells: Tiny needles can force medicine into cells, even when they resist taking it

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:40:40 EDT

Nano-sized needles developed by researchers in Norway can force medicine into cells, even when the cell membranes offer resistance. The needles will make it easier to study the effects of medicines on cells.

New insights contradict promising Alzheimer's research

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:40:40 EDT

Approximately a year ago, the journal Science published an article about bexarotene as a potential Alzheimer's drug -- a significant breakthrough and an important starting point for further Alzheimer's research. Now other researchers have tested this candidate drug in various Alzheimer's animal test models. Their results were different, as were those of two American study groups. Therefore, they have recommended that bexarotene should not be tested on patients.

New microsphere-based methods for detecting HIV antibodies

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:40:40 EDT

Detection of HIV antibodies is used to diagnose HIV infection and monitor trials of experimental HIV/AIDS vaccines. New, more sensitive detection systems being developed use microspheres to capture HIV antibodies and can measure even small amounts of multiple antibodies at one time.

Why early human ancestors took to two feet

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:40:40 EDT

A new study by archaeologists challenges evolutionary theories behind the development of our earliest ancestors from tree dwelling quadrupeds to upright bipeds capable of walking and scrambling.

More than one in five parents believe they have little influence in preventing teens from using illicit substances

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:35:35 EDT

A new report indicates that more than one in five parents of teens aged 12 to 17 (22.3 percent) think what they say has little influence on whether or not their child uses illicit substances, tobacco, or alcohol. This report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) also shows one in ten parents said they did not talk to their teens about the dangers of using tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs -- even though 67.6 percent of these parents who had not spoken to their children thought they would influence whether their child uses drugs if they spoke to them.

Infantile myofibromatosis: First drug targets in childhood genetic tumor disorder

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:35:35 EDT

Two mutations central to the development of infantile myofibromatosis (IM) -- a disorder characterized by multiple tumors involving the skin, bone, and soft tissue—may provide new therapeutic targets, according to researchers.

Research aims for insecticide that targets malaria mosquitoes

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:35:35 EDT

A team of scientists is working toward an insecticide that would target malaria-carrying mosquitoes but do no harm to other organisms.

Researchers search for best feed for the 'king' of the rivers

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:35:35 EDT

The red mahseer is highly sought after by anglers and high end restaurants. Breeding them may be a bit easier now that researchers in Malaysia have found the best feed combination.

Observation of skyrmions (magnetic vortex structures) in a ferromagnet with centrosymmetry

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:34:34 EDT

Researchers using Lorentz electron microscopy have shown that magnetic skyrmions are spontaneously formed as nanomagnetic clusters in a ferromagnetic manganese oxide with centrosymmetry.

New coating method accelerates bonding with bone three times faster

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:34:34 EDT

Researchers in Japan have developed a coating method which accelerates bonding with bone by three times.

Formation of functionalized nanowires by control of self-assembly using multiple modified amyloid peptides

Fri, 24 May 2013 10:34:34 EDT

Researchers in Japan and US have developed a new technique for efficiently creating functionalized nanowires for the first time ever.

Scientists make breast cancer advance that turns previous thinking on its head

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:38:38 EDT

Scientists have made an advance in breast cancer research which shows how some enzymes released by cancerous cells could have a protective function.

King Richard III found in 'untidy lozenge-shaped grave'

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:37:37 EDT

A new article on the archaeology of the Search for Richard III reveals for the first time specific details of the grave dug for King Richard III and discovered under a car park in Leicester.

Future doctors unaware of their obesity bias

Thu, 23 May 2013 22:37:37 EDT

Two out of five medical students have an unconscious bias against obese people, according to a new study.

It's not your imagination: Memory gets muddled at menopause

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:13:13 EDT

Don't doubt it when a woman harried by hot flashes says she's having a hard time remembering things. A new study published online in Menopause, the journal of the North American Menopause Society, helps confirm with objective tests that what these women say about their memory is true.

Research identifies a way to make cancer cells more responsive to chemotherapy

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:13:13 EDT

Breast cancer characterized as "triple negative" carries a poor prognosis, with limited treatment options. In some cases, chemotherapy doesn't kill the cancer cells the way it's supposed to. New research explains why some cancer cells don't respond to chemotherapy, and identifies a mechanism to rectify that.

Heart healthy lifestyle may cut kidney disease patients' risk of kidney failure

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:13:13 EDT

Compared with kidney disease patients who had zero or one heart healthy lifestyle component in the ideal range, those with two, three, and four ideal factors had progressively lower risks for kidney failure over four years. No kidney disease patients with five to seven ideal factors developed kidney failure. Patients' risk of dying during the study followed a similar trend.

Atomic-scale investigations solve key puzzle of LED efficiency

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:03:03 EDT

From the high-resolution glow of flat screen televisions to light bulbs that last for years, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) continue to transform technology. The celebrated efficiency and versatility of LEDs -- and other solid-state technologies including laser diodes and solar photovoltaics -- make them increasingly popular. Their full potential, however, remains untapped, in part because the semiconductor alloys that make these devices work continue to puzzle scientists. Scientists have now used electron microscopy imaging techniques to settle a solid-state controversy and raise new experimental possibilities.

Technique to detect breast cancer in urine developed

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:03:03 EDT

Medical researchers have developed a new screening method that uses urinalysis to diagnose breast cancer – and determine its severity – before it could be detected with a mammogram.

Noninvasive detection, diagnosis of oral cancer

Thu, 23 May 2013 18:03:03 EDT

More effective detection and diagnosis of oral cancer could result from an advance in noninvasive imaging of epithelial tissue. The research is thought to have the potential to change the way doctors look for precancerous and cancerous areas in a patient’s mouth.

Genomic analysis lends insight to prostate cancer

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:23:23 EDT

Researchers have used next generation genomic analysis to determine that some of the more aggressive prostate cancer tumors have similar genetic origins, which may help in predicting cancer progression.

When oxygen is short, EGFR prevents maturation of cancer-fighting miRNAs

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:22:22 EDT

Even while being dragged to its destruction inside a cell, a cancer-promoting growth factor receptor fires away, sending signals that thwart the development of tumor-suppressing microRNAs before it's dissolved, researchers have reported.

Scientists discover how rapamycin slows cell growth

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:22:22 EDT

University of Montreal researchers have discovered a novel molecular mechanism that can potentially slow the progression of some cancers and other diseases of abnormal growth. In the May 23 edition of the prestigious journal Cell, scientists have explained how they found that the anti-cancer and anti-proliferative drug rapamycin slows down or prevents cells from dividing.

Vaccine blackjack: IL-21 critical to fight against viral infections

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:22:22 EDT

Scientists have shown that an immune regulatory molecule called IL-21 is needed for long-lasting antibody responses in mice against viral infections.

Cradle turns smartphone into handheld biosensor

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:22:22 EDT

Researchers and physicians in the field could soon run on-the-spot tests for environmental toxins, medical diagnostics, food safety and more with their smartphones. Researchers have developed a cradle and app for the iPhone that uses the phone's built-in camera and processing power as a biosensor to detect toxins, proteins, bacteria, viruses and other molecules. Although the cradle holds only about $200 of optical components, it performs as accurately as a large $50,000 spectrophotometer in the laboratory.

Reforestation study shows trade-offs between water, carbon and timber

Thu, 23 May 2013 16:22:22 EDT

More than 13,000 ships per year transit the Panama Canal each year. Each time a ship passes through, more than 55 million gallons of water are used. The advent of large “super” cargo ships has demanded expansion of the canal, leaving the authority to consider how meet increased demand for water. One proposed measure is the reforestation of the watershed.

New filtration material could make petroleum refining cheaper, more efficient

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:41:41 EDT

A newly synthesized material might provide a dramatically improved method for separating the highest-octane components of gasoline.

Earth's mantle affects long-term sea-level rise estimates

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

New findings reveal that the U.S. shoreline -- from Virginia to Florida -- has been uplifted by more than 210 feet, meaning less ice melted than expected. This is big news for scientists who use the coastline to predict future sea-level rise.

Scientists offer first definitive proof of bacteria-feeding behavior in green algae

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

Researchers have captured images of green alga consuming bacteria, offering a glimpse at how early organisms dating back more than 1 billion years may have acquired free-living photosynthetic cells. This acquisition is thought to be a critical first step in the evolution of photosynthetic algae and land plants, which, in turn, contributed to the increase in oxygen levels in Earth's atmosphere and ocean and provided one of the conditions necessary for animal evolution.

Ferrets, pigs susceptible to H7N9 avian influenza virus

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

Chinese and US scientists have used a virus isolated from a person who died from H7N9 avian influenza infection to determine whether the virus could infect and be transmitted between ferrets. Ferrets are often used as a mammalian model in influenza research, and efficient transmission of influenza virus between ferrets can provide clues as to how well the same process might occur in people.

Cinnamon compound has potential ability to prevent Alzheimer's

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

Cinnamon: Can the red-brown spice with the unmistakable fragrance and variety of uses offer an important benefit? The common baking spice might hold the key to delaying the onset of -- or warding off -- the effects of Alzheimer's disease.

Biophysicists measure mechanism that determines fate of living cells

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:37:37 EDT

For the first time, biophysicists have measured the molecular force required to mechanically transmit function-regulating signals within a cell. A new laboratory method, named the tension gauge tether approach, has made it possible to detect and measure the mechanics of the single-molecule interaction by which human cell receptors are activated.

A quantum simulator for magnetic materials

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:36:36 EDT

Physicists have developed a quantum simulator that allows arranging atoms in a way that they mimic the behavior of electrons in magnetic materials. The experiment opens up the possibility of systematically studying poorly understood properties of novel materials. The fresh insights might lead to designs for new magnetic materials.

Tomatoes: The world's favorite fruit, only better-tasting and longer-lasting

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:35:35 EDT

Research with GM purple tomatoes could lead to improved varieties of tomatoes with consumer and commercial benefits through conventional breeding or GM. The findings could also be applied to other soft fruit such as strawberries.

Gold nanocrystal vibration captured on billion-frames-per-second film

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:35:35 EDT

A billon-frames-per-second film has captured the vibrations of gold nanocrystals in stunning detail for the first time.

Drug reverses Alzheimer's disease deficits in mice

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:35:35 EDT

An anti-cancer drug reverses memory deficits in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model, new research shows. The article reviewed previously published findings on the drug bexarotene, approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for use in cutaneous T cell lymphoma.

Discarded immune cells induce the relocation of stem cells

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:35:35 EDT

The study reveals a surprising coordination between two fundamental body systems, the immune and the hematopoietic. The study has implications for the understanding of metastasis, because malignant stem cells involved in tumor formation could take advantage of this mechanism.

Molecule that triggers sensation of itch discovered

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:33:33 EDT

Scientists report they have discovered in mouse studies that a small molecule released in the spinal cord triggers a process that is later experienced in the brain as the sensation of itch.

New target to boost plant resistance to insects and pathogens identified

Thu, 23 May 2013 14:33:33 EDT

Plants have evolved unique and sophisticated immune systems to defend themselves against insects and pathogens. Plant hormones called jasmonates play an important role in this defense, but jasmonates have been found to also be important for plant growth. Now, researchers have discovered a gene in the jasmonate pathway that controls plant defenses but does not play a detectable role in plant development. These findings could be applied to improve crop resistance in agriculture.