ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• One in six fast-food customers cut calories after US food labeling system introduction
• Concern over intensive treatment for patients with Type 2 diabetes
• Children born after unplanned pregnancy are slower to develop, UK study finds
• Social networking elephants never forget
• Seeing the wood for the trees: New study shows sheep in tree-ring records
• Vitamin D relieves joint, muscle pain for breast cancer patients
• Eliminating protein in specific brain cells blocks nicotine reward
• Got flow cytometry? All you need is five bucks and a cell phone
• To help doctors and patients, researchers are developing a 'vocabulary of pain'
• Researchers capture breakthrough data on cervical spine injuries
• Scientists induce hibernation at will: Discovery puts scientists closer to human application
• How the modular structure of proteins permits evolution to move forward
• Treating obesity via brain glucose sensing
• New tuberculosis drug-resistance test shows promise but needs investment for those diagnosed to be cured
• Afghanistan's health system shows improvements, but staff and patient protection remains a concern
• Are cancers newly evolved species?
• New study sheds light on role of genetics in recovering from eating disorders
• More powerful 'lab-on-a-chip' made for genetic analysis
• Man to receive kidney from brother with different blood type: Novel blood-cleaning procedure used for kidney transplant
• Detecting occult metastases in lymph nodes not associated with overall survival in breast cancer
• Rate of chronic health problems for low-birth-weight children does not increase in adolescence
• Medicare Part D associated with reduction in nondrug medical spending
• Researchers identify genetic mutations associated with diseases of the esophagus
• Genes play greater role in heart attacks than stroke, researchers say
• Operations research models of hepatitis B prove decisive in treating millions in US, China
• Sea squirt cells shed light on cancer development
• Reforestation's cooling influence is a result of farmers' past choices
• Researchers graft olfactory receptors onto nanotubes
• Adding a stent during minimally invasive surgery to repair aneurysms prevents recurrence, study suggests
• Engineers develop one-way transmission system for sound waves
• Worrying can impact interpersonal relationships, study finds
• Self-healing, self-cooling, metamaterials: Vascular composites enable dynamic structural materials
• Scientists design nano-sized drug transporter to fight disease
• Scientists developing new therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer
• Targeting PTEN may prevent skin cancer
• Local efforts can stem the increasing unnecessary Cesarean sections
• Brain autopsies of four former football players reveal not all get chronic traumatic encephalopathy
• Quality of life for children with ADHD and their families worsens with greater disease severity
• Modeling plant metabolism to optimize oil production
• Corporal punishment may have long-term negative effects on children's intelligence
• Hormone therapy may be hazardous for men with heart conditions, study suggests
• IVF treatment and multiple births: Free-market patient rights versus government regulation
• Testing fumigant films that keep the air clean
• Does menopause matter when it comes to diabetes?
• Biological interface using piezotronics: Nanowires allow electrical signals to be produced from mechanical actions
• High-throughput screen finds compounds that regulate cancer cell invasion
• Enceladus rains water onto Saturn
• Hubble constant: A new way to measure the expansion of the universe
• Elliptical galaxies are not dead
• Adrenaline use in cardiac arrest
• Coho salmon at risk in U.S. urbanizing watersheds
• Single-dose H1N1 vaccine not reliable protection for pediatric liver transplant patients
• How testosterone protects against inflammation
• Vessel-damaging activation of the 'intracellular waste disposal' mechanism found in smokers
• 3-D atomic structure of popular drug target determined
• Little crayfish is big glutton in Arctic waters
• Nano sensor detects minute traces of plastic explosives: Scientists enable inexpensive, reliable checks for explosives
• Zinc lozenges may shorten common cold duration, Finnish research suggests
• Scientists complete final scan of space shuttle heat shield
• Increased risk of Parkinson's disease in methamphetamine users, study finds

One in six fast-food customers cut calories after US food labeling system introduction Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Around a sixth of fast food customers used calorie information and, on average, bought food with lower calories since the introduction of a labeling system in the US, says a new study.

Concern over intensive treatment for patients with Type 2 diabetes Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Doctors should be cautious about prescribing intensive glucose lowering treatment for patients with Type 2 diabetes as a way of reducing heart complications, a new study concludes.

Children born after unplanned pregnancy are slower to develop, UK study finds Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Children born after unplanned pregnancies tend to have a more limited vocabulary and poorer non-verbal and spatial abilities; however this is almost entirely explained by their disadvantaged circumstances, according to a new study from the UK. The same study reported no adverse effects of infertility treatment on the children.

Social networking elephants never forget Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Asian elephants typically live in small, flexible, social groups centered around females and calves while adult males roam independently. However, new research shows that while Asian elephants in Sri Lanka may change their day to day associations they maintain a larger, stable, network of friends from which they pick their companions.

Seeing the wood for the trees: New study shows sheep in tree-ring records Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:34 PM PDT Nibbling by herbivores can have a greater impact on the width of tree rings than climate, new research has found. The study could help increase the accuracy of the tree ring record as a way of estimating past climatic conditions.

Vitamin D relieves joint, muscle pain for breast cancer patients Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT High-dose vitamin D relieves joint and muscle pain for many breast cancer patients taking estrogen-lowering drugs, according to a new study.

Eliminating protein in specific brain cells blocks nicotine reward Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT Removing a protein from cells located in the brain's reward center blocks the anxiety-reducing and rewarding effects of nicotine, according to a new animal study. The findings may help researchers better understand how nicotine affects the brain.

Got flow cytometry? All you need is five bucks and a cell phone Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT Researchers have demonstrated the integration of an imaging cytometry and florescent microscopy on a cell phone using a compact, light-weight and cost-effective optofluidic attachment. The cell phone enabled optofluidic imaging flow cytometer could be used for rapid and sensitive imaging of bodily fluids for conducting various cell counts or rare cell analysis.

To help doctors and patients, researchers are developing a 'vocabulary of pain' Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT A psychiatrist is attempting to help patients suffering from chronic pain and their doctors by drawing on ontology, the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of being or existence.

Researchers capture breakthrough data on cervical spine injuries Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT A high school football player's broken neck -- from which he's recovered -- has yielded breakthrough biomechanical data on cervical spine injuries that could ultimately affect safety and equipment standards for athletes.

Scientists induce hibernation at will: Discovery puts scientists closer to human application Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:01 PM PDT Hibernation is an essential survival strategy for some animals and scientists have long thought it could also hold promise for human survival. But how hibernation works is largely unknown. Scientists have successfully induced hibernation at will, showing how the process is initiated.

How the modular structure of proteins permits evolution to move forward Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT A new study compares the development of the egg laying organ in two species of nematodes; with its results providing support for the theory of developmental systems drift. This theory maintains that, over the course of evolution, analogous organs of different species can retain the same shape and function while the regulative mechanisms underlying their development can change considerably.

Treating obesity via brain glucose sensing Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT The past two decades have witnessed an epidemic spread of obesity-related diseases in Western countries. Elucidating the biological mechanism that links overnutrition to obesity could prove crucial in reducing obesity levels. A new study finds that a defect in the brain's glucose-sensing process contributes to the development of obesity and related disease. Importantly, correction of this defect can normalize the whole-body energy balance and treat obesity.

New tuberculosis drug-resistance test shows promise but needs investment for those diagnosed to be cured Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT Two research studies suggest that a new automated DNA test for tuberculosis (Xpert MTB/RIF), which can detect TB within 2 hours and has been endorsed by the World Health Organization, can significantly increase TB detection rate compared to other tests, particularly in HIV positive patients who have a high risk of being infected with TB, including multidrug resistant TB.

Afghanistan's health system shows improvements, but staff and patient protection remains a concern Posted: 26 Jul 2011 04:00 PM PDT After a basic package of health services was introduced by Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health, the development and performance of Afghanistan's health care services improved dramatically in many areas between 2004 and 2008, particularly in health service capacity and delivery of care. However, experts warn of the dangers of security issues for health staff and patients, which is seriously hampering progress, and argue that the likelihood of Afghanistan emerging from its fragile status is far from certain.

Are cancers newly evolved species? Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:35 PM PDT A molecular biologists has long believed that cancer results from chromosome disruption rather than a handful of gene mutations, which is the dominant theory today. That idea has led him to propose that cancers have actually evolved new chromosomal karyotypes that qualify them as autonomous species, akin to parasites and much different from their human hosts.

New study sheds light on role of genetics in recovering from eating disorders Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:35 PM PDT A substantial number of people with eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa have a chronic course. They are severely underweight and have a high likelihood of dying from malnutrition. No treatment has been found that helps people who are chronically ill. Now, a new study sheds light on the reason that some people have poor outcome.

More powerful 'lab-on-a-chip' made for genetic analysis Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:35 PM PDT Researchers have invented a silicone chip that could make genetic analysis far more sensitive, rapid, and cost-effective by allowing individual cells to fall into place like balls in a pinball machine. The device -- about the size of a nine-volt battery -- allows scientists to simultaneously analyze 300 cells individually by routing fluid carrying cells through microscopic tubes and valves. By facilitating such "single-cell analysis," the device could accelerate genetic research and hasten the use of far more detailed tests for diagnosing cancer.

Man to receive kidney from brother with different blood type: Novel blood-cleaning procedure used for kidney transplant Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT St. Michael's Hospital is the first in North America to use a novel blood-cleaning procedure for a kidney patient that will allow the patient to receive a transplant from a donor with a different blood type.

Detecting occult metastases in lymph nodes not associated with overall survival in breast cancer Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT Sentinel lymph node metastases detected with the diagnostic procedure of immunohistochemical staining were not associated with overall survival among women with early-stage breast cancer receiving breast-conserving therapy, according to a new study.

Rate of chronic health problems for low-birth-weight children does not increase in adolescence Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT In a follow-up of extremely low-birth-weight children, the rates of chronic health conditions overall, and asthma specifically, did not change between the ages of 8 and 14 years, although the rate of obesity did increase, according to a new study.

Medicare Part D associated with reduction in nondrug medical spending Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT Among elderly Medicare beneficiaries with limited prior drug coverage, implementation of Medicare Part D was associated with significant reductions in nondrug medical spending, such as for inpatient and skilled nursing facility care, according to a new study.

Researchers identify genetic mutations associated with diseases of the esophagus Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT Mutations in three genes have been identified that are more prevalent in patients with esophageal cancer and Barrett esophagus, a premalignant metaplasia (change in cells or tissue) caused by chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease, according to preliminary research.

Genes play greater role in heart attacks than stroke, researchers say Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:34 PM PDT People are more likely to inherit a predisposition to heart attack than to stroke, according to a new study. The finding supports earlier research that showed genes influencing stroke risk are largely those involved in regulating blood pressure. Researchers say heart and stroke risk should be assessed separately in healthy people.

Operations research models of hepatitis B prove decisive in treating millions in US, China Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:01 PM PDT With hepatitis B infecting as many as 10 percent of people of Asian descent, operations researchers collaborated with a liver transplant surgeon to develop mathematical models that verified the cost effectiveness of hepatitis B interventions. These interventions now successfully screen, treat, and vaccinate millions of Asian and Pacific Islander adults in the US and millions of children in China, according to a new paper.

Sea squirt cells shed light on cancer development Posted: 26 Jul 2011 01:01 PM PDT Specialized structures that cancer cells use to invade tissue also could help them escape protection mechanisms aimed at eliminating them, scientists have discovered. The findings may change the way scientists look at cancer formation and offer new targets for cancer therapies.

Reforestation's cooling influence is a result of farmers' past choices Posted: 26 Jul 2011 11:43 AM PDT Decisions by farmers to plant on productive land with little snow enhances the potential for reforestation to counteract global warming, concludes new research. Previous research has led scientists and politicians to believe that regrowing forests on Northern lands that were cleared in order to grow crops would not decrease global warming. But these studies did not consider the importance of the choices made by farmers in the historical past.

Researchers graft olfactory receptors onto nanotubes Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:24 AM PDT Researchers have developed a nanotech device that combines carbon nanotubes with olfactory receptor proteins, the cell components in the nose that detect odors.

Adding a stent during minimally invasive surgery to repair aneurysms prevents recurrence, study suggests Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:24 AM PDT The addition of a simple stent can help prevent potentially lethal blood vessel bulges in the brain from recurring after they are repaired in a minimally invasive "coiling" procedure, according to physicians. A report on the research could make coiling a more viable option for the 30,000 people diagnosed with brain aneurysms each year in the United States, the investigators say.

Engineers develop one-way transmission system for sound waves Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:24 AM PDT While many hotel rooms, recording studios, and even some homes are built with materials to help absorb or reflect sound, mechanisms to truly control the direction of sound waves are still in their infancy. However, researchers have now created the first tunable acoustic diode -- a device that allows acoustic information to travel only in one direction, at controllable frequencies.

Worrying can impact interpersonal relationships, study finds Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:24 AM PDT Most people worry from time to time. A new research study shows that worrying can be so intrusive and obsessive that it interferes in a person's life and endangers the health of social relationships.

Self-healing, self-cooling, metamaterials: Vascular composites enable dynamic structural materials Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:23 AM PDT Researchers have developed vascularized structural composites, creating materials that are lightweight and strong with potential for self-healing, self-cooling, stealth and more. The team developed a class of sacrificial fibers that degrade after composite fabrication, leaving hollow vascular tunnels that can transport liquids or gases through the composite.

Scientists design nano-sized drug transporter to fight disease Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:23 AM PDT Scientists seeking to improve cancer treatments have created a tiny drug transporter that maximizes its ability to silence damaging genes by finding the equivalent of an expressway into a target cell. The transporter, called a nanocarrier, is a lipid-based structure containing a piece of RNA. Lipids are fatty molecules that help maintain the structure of cell membranes.

Scientists developing new therapy for HER2-positive breast cancer Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:23 AM PDT Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer may have an alternative therapy when they develop resistance to trastuzumab, also known as Herceptin, according to a new laboratory finding.

Targeting PTEN may prevent skin cancer Posted: 26 Jul 2011 10:23 AM PDT The tumor suppressor PTEN played key role in radiation damage repair. Skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States.

Local efforts can stem the increasing unnecessary Cesarean sections Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT Providing prenatal education and support programs, computer patient decision-aids, decision-aid booklets and intensive group therapy to women have not been shown to decrease Cesarean sections effectively.

Brain autopsies of four former football players reveal not all get chronic traumatic encephalopathy Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT Preliminary results from four brains donated to research, reveal that two of the four former Canadian Football League players suffered from a brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), while two did not show signs of CTE.

Quality of life for children with ADHD and their families worsens with greater disease severity Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT The greater the severity of a child's attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, the more negative impacts on the child's health-related quality of life from the perspective of the child and the parent, a new study has found.

Modeling plant metabolism to optimize oil production Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT Scientists have developed a computational model for analyzing the metabolic processes in rapeseed plants -- particularly those related to the production of oils in their seeds. Their goal is to find ways to optimize the production of plant oils that have widespread potential as renewable resources for fuel and industrial chemicals.

Corporal punishment may have long-term negative effects on children's intelligence Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT Children in a school that uses corporal punishment performed significantly worse in tasks involving "executive functioning" -- psychological processes such as planning, abstract thinking, and delaying gratification -- than those in a school relying on milder disciplinary measures such as time-outs, according to a new study involving two private schools in a West African country.

Hormone therapy may be hazardous for men with heart conditions, study suggests Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT Adding hormone therapy to radiation therapy has been proven in randomized clinical trials to improve overall survival for men with intermediate- and high-risk prostate cancer. However, adding hormone therapy may reduce overall survival in men with pre-existing heart conditions, even if they have high-risk prostate cancer according to a new study.

IVF treatment and multiple births: Free-market patient rights versus government regulation Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT How many embryos can be safely placed in a uterus, and once determined, how could decisions in this matter be regulated?

Testing fumigant films that keep the air clean Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:11 AM PDT Researchers have found a way to help growers minimize emissions of fumigants used as soil treatments. Researchers used specially designed chambers to test the permeability of dozens of films used to cover fumigated soil.

Does menopause matter when it comes to diabetes? Posted: 26 Jul 2011 08:10 AM PDT Menopause has little to no impact on whether women become more susceptible to diabetes, according to a one-of-a-kind study that provides good news for older women. Postmenopausal women had no higher risk for diabetes whether they experienced natural menopause or had their ovaries removed, according to the U.S. national clinical trial of women, ages 40 to 65.

Biological interface using piezotronics: Nanowires allow electrical signals to be produced from mechanical actions Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:17 AM PDT Taking advantage of the unique properties of zinc oxide nanowires, researchers have demonstrated a new type of piezoelectric resistive switching device in which the write-read access of memory cells is controlled by electromechanical modulation.

High-throughput screen finds compounds that regulate cancer cell invasion Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:17 AM PDT Scientists screened a collection of pharmacologically active compounds to identify those that regulate invadopodia formation, a driving force behind cancer metastasis. First, the team identified several new invadopodia inhibitors that target a family of enzymes called cyclin-dependent kinases. Secondly, one of the pro-invadopodia compounds identified in the screen was the chemotherapeutic agent paclitaxel -- a finding that might impact the drug's use in treating cancer.

Enceladus rains water onto Saturn Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:17 AM PDT The Herschel space observatory has shown that water expelled from the moon Enceladus forms a giant torus of water vapor around Saturn. The discovery solves a 14-year mystery by identifying the source of the water in Saturn's upper atmosphere.

Hubble constant: A new way to measure the expansion of the universe Posted: 26 Jul 2011 07:17 AM PDT Using a measurement of the clustering of the galaxies surveyed, plus other information derived from observations of the early universe, researchers have measured the Hubble constant with an uncertainly of less than 5 percent. The new work draws on data from a survey of more than 125,000 galaxies.

Elliptical galaxies are not dead Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:31 AM PDT Initial results from research carried out as part of the Atlas3D project on two elliptical galaxies could, if they are confirmed, call into question the current model of the formation of galaxies.

Adrenaline use in cardiac arrest Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:31 AM PDT Adrenaline has kept its place in cardiac arrest guidelines despite limited evidence for or against its use. The PACA (Placebo versus Adrenaline versus Cardiac Arrest) study provides the best evidence to date supporting the use of adrenaline to treat cardiac arrest.

Coho salmon at risk in U.S. urbanizing watersheds Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:31 AM PDT For a decade researchers in Seattle have worked to solve the mystery of why adult coho salmon are dying prematurely in urban streams when they return from the ocean to mate and spawn. The researchers have now used models to estimate the potential impact of urban land development on the salmon population in the decades ahead.

Single-dose H1N1 vaccine not reliable protection for pediatric liver transplant patients Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:31 AM PDT Researchers from Australia determined that pediatric liver transplant patients who received a single-dose of the H1N1 vaccine were not adequately protected against the virus compared to healthy children. This study found that a second vaccination was needed to elicit an effective immune response in children 10 and older who had recently received a liver transplant.

How testosterone protects against inflammation Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:31 AM PDT Pharmacists have shown that cells from men and women react in a different manner to inflammatory stimuli. They found that in male cells the enzyme phospholipase D is less active than in the female ones. Based on these findings, the pharmacists concluded that the male sex hormones play a key role in the modulation of the immune response.

Vessel-damaging activation of the 'intracellular waste disposal' mechanism found in smokers Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:31 AM PDT Researchers have found that substances found in cigarette smoke lead to blood vessels' endothelial cells constantly digesting themselves. This permanent damage to the interior surface of the blood vessels leads, amongst others, to calcification of the arteries, as the recently published study confirms.

3-D atomic structure of popular drug target determined Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:29 AM PDT Scientists have revealed the complete three-dimensional atomic structure of an activated GPCR (beta-2AR) in a complex with its G protein. G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are popular drug targets, accounting for about one-third of approved drugs and many hundreds of drugs currently in development.

Little crayfish is big glutton in Arctic waters Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:29 AM PDT For years, the copepod Metridia has managed to remain hidden from science. However, this spring, during fieldwork at the Arctic Station, for the very first time researchers succeeded in filming how this constantly feeding little crayfish catches its prey.

Nano sensor detects minute traces of plastic explosives: Scientists enable inexpensive, reliable checks for explosives Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:29 AM PDT Materials scientists in Germany have developed an extremely sensitive explosives sensor that is capable of detecting even slight traces of the high-explosive chemical compound pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN). Terrorists had employed PETN in several attacks on commercial aircraft.

Zinc lozenges may shorten common cold duration, Finnish research suggests Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:29 AM PDT Depending on the total dosage of zinc and the composition of lozenges, zinc lozenges may shorten the duration of common cold episodes by up to 40%, according to a Finnish study.

Scientists complete final scan of space shuttle heat shield Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:22 AM PDT After Columbia's debris-damaged heat shield failed in 2003, causing the tragic accident that took the lives of all seven on board, researchers in the U.S. developed a laser dynamic range imager, or LDRI, which generates 3-D images from 2-D video.

Increased risk of Parkinson's disease in methamphetamine users, study finds Posted: 26 Jul 2011 06:21 AM PDT People who abused methamphetamine or other amphetamine-like stimulants are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than those who do not, according to a new study.

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