ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Last dinosaur before mass extinction discovered
• Newly discovered molecule essential to resetting 'body clocks'
• Family planning in conflict
• Brainy lizards pass test for birds
• Male flirts less happy at work
• Menopausal women don't need 'fixing', psychotherapist argues
• Life in 'inner space': Joint mission to film marine life three kilometers down
• Younger age associated with greater treatment response in children with amblyopia
• Study evaluates eye findings after use of intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma
• Half of patients with Parkinson's disease and psychosis treated with antipsychotic agents, including drugs that may worsen Parkinson symptoms
• Positron emission tomography may help identify the presence of Alzheimer's disease lesions in the brain
• Neighborhood fast food availability related to an individual's fast food consumption
• Not all U.S. hospitals are following guidelines for percutaneous revascularization procedures for some patients with an occluded artery following a heart attack
• Study investigates association between intake of sodium and potassium and deaths among U.S. adults
• Advice to drink eight glasses of water a day 'nonsense,' argues doctor
• No substantial link between swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barre syndrome, experts confirm
• Accentuating the positive may eliminate the negative in teenagers with anxiety
• Hubble's Neptune anniversary pictures
• Alternative methods of smear collection are effective at diagnosing TB
• Researchers suggest ways for physicians to individualize cost-effectiveness of treatments
• Popular fungicides failing, may cause hard choices for apple growers
• Family meals remain important through teen years, expert says
• Wireless power could cut cord for patients with implanted heart pumps
• Higher prevalence of pressure ulcers among black high-risk nursing home residents is related to site of care, study finds
• Higher U.S. Medicaid payments to dentists associated with increased rate of dental care among children
• Invasive diagnostic procedure for children with cystic fibrosis does not improve outcomes, study finds
• Updating family history of cancer associated with need for earlier or more intense cancer screening, study finds
• Heart ultrasound helps determine risk of heart attack, death in HIV patients
• Supramolecules get time to shine: Technique reveals interactions between nanotubes, photoluminescent materials
• Pesticide pathways into the atmosphere
• When it comes to population growth, Houston is No. 1
• Biologists identify new strategy used by bacteria during infection
• Low dose naltrexone: Harnessing the body's own chemistry to treat human ovarian cancer
• Researchers urge awareness of dietary iodine intake in postpartum Korean-American women who consume brown seaweed soup
• Scientists model physics of a key dark-energy probe: Simulations improve characterization of cosmology’s 'standard ruler’
• Indirubin, component Of Chinese herbal remedy, might block brain tumor's spread, study suggests
• How the connection to the future self impacts financial decision-making
• Severity of spinal cord injury has no impact on how adults rate their health, study finds
• Your mother was right: Good posture makes you tougher
• Deeper insight in the activity of cortical cells
• Goalies tend to dive right in World Cup penalty shoot-outs when their team is behind ... why?
• Computer learns language by playing games
• Cancer mortality rates are higher in men than women in U.S., study finds
• An often illegal sales tactic contributed to housing crash
• New means of overcoming antiviral resistance in influenza
• Cat litter to become an edible product?
• People at risk for panic buffered from stressor by high levels of physical activity
• Scleroderma study identifies roadblocks to employment
• New genetic risk factor for sudden cardiac death
• Consortium warns U.S. policymakers against clear-cutting selected science budgets
• New switch in resistance to plant diseases discovered
• Switch from corn to grass would raise ethanol output, cut emissions
• Border fences pose threats to wildlife on US-Mexico border, study shows
• First-ever review finds smoking causes serious birth defects; March of Dimes urges women to quit smoking to save babies
• HPV infection highly prevalent among organ transplant recipients, study reveals
• Long distance: Research shows ancient rock under Haiti came from 1,000+ miles away
• Biomarker for autism discovered
• Orchids and fungi: An unexpected case of symbiosis
• Popular TV shows teach children fame is most important value, psychologists report; Being kind to others fell dramatically in importance over 10 years
• African-American women stress compounded

Last dinosaur before mass extinction discovered Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:10 PM PDT A team of scientists has discovered the youngest dinosaur preserved in the fossil record before the catastrophic meteor impact 65 million years ago. The finding indicates that dinosaurs did not go extinct prior to the impact and provides further evidence as to whether the impact was in fact the cause of their extinction.

Newly discovered molecule essential to resetting 'body clocks' Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:10 PM PDT A new study exploring the mechanism behind resetting the internal "body clocks" of insects has found a new molecule essential to the resynchronization process.

Family planning in conflict Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:10 PM PDT Many areas of the world are at war and both the conflict and aftermath have dire consequences for the health of people affected. Researchers report that while women in war-torn areas want access to family planning, these services are often not available at local hospitals or health centers. This can lead to further deprivation and unintended pregnancy.

Brainy lizards pass test for birds Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:10 PM PDT Tropical lizards may be slow. But they aren't dumb. They can do problem-solving tasks just as well as birds and mammals, a new study shows. A new experiment tested Puerto Rican anoles on several cognitive tasks and found they can learn and remember to solve a problem they've never faced before.

Male flirts less happy at work Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:09 PM PDT Men who flirt at work tend to be less satisfied with their job, according to new research.

Menopausal women don't need 'fixing', psychotherapist argues Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:09 PM PDT Menopause shouldn't be seen as a medical problem that needs fixing but as a life-affirming and normal process that women go through. This is one of the findings by psychotherapist Sue Brayne, who is presenting her insights into the lived, felt experiences of women going through menopause.

Life in 'inner space': Joint mission to film marine life three kilometers down Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:09 PM PDT Undiscovered 'alien' life forms that thrive without sunlight in temperatures approaching boiling point may soon come to light, thanks to a groundbreaking Irish-led marine research mission aboard the national research vessel RV Celtic Explorer. In collaboration with scientists from the UK's National Oceanography Centre, the researchers are due to sail from Galway for the mid-Atlantic Ridge July 13. The voyage is being filmed for the National Geographic Channel for inclusion in an upcoming series about the ocean.

Younger age associated with greater treatment response in children with amblyopia Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:24 PM PDT Treatment for amblyopia (commonly known as lazy eye) was associated with better response among younger children (3 to 7 years of age) than older children, according to a meta-analysis of previous studies.

Study evaluates eye findings after use of intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:22 PM PDT In a study examining eight eyes that were removed following intra-arterial chemotherapy (IAC) for treatment of retinoblastoma (a tumor of the retina of the eye), there was variable response of the tumor to therapy but also evidence of ocular complications.

Half of patients with Parkinson's disease and psychosis treated with antipsychotic agents, including drugs that may worsen Parkinson symptoms Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:21 PM PDT Half of patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) and psychosis receive prescriptions for anti-psychotic (AP) agents, including drugs that have the potential to worsen Parkinson symptoms, and the frequency of use of these agents has not changed since a warning about using these drugs in patients with dementia and PD was issued, according to a new study.

Positron emission tomography may help identify the presence of Alzheimer's disease lesions in the brain Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:20 PM PDT The use of positron emission tomography (PET) imaging may help identify findings in brain tissue associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD), according to two articles.

Neighborhood fast food availability related to an individual's fast food consumption Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:19 PM PDT Living near fast-food restaurants appears related to an individual's consumption of these foods whereas living near grocery stores and supermarkets appears generally unrelated to dietary quality, according to a new study.

Not all U.S. hospitals are following guidelines for percutaneous revascularization procedures for some patients with an occluded artery following a heart attack Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:18 PM PDT Guideline recommendations for the appropriate use of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) for patients who have an occluded coronary artery after having a myocardial infarction (heart attack) appear not to have been fully incorporated in clinical practice, according to a new study.

Study investigates association between intake of sodium and potassium and deaths among U.S. adults Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:16 PM PDT A high sodium intake, especially when combined with a low potassium intake, is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and mortality, according to a new study.

Advice to drink eight glasses of water a day 'nonsense,' argues doctor Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:08 PM PDT The recommendation to drink six to eight glasses of water a day to prevent dehydration "is not only nonsense, but is thoroughly debunked nonsense," an expert argues in a new article.

No substantial link between swine flu vaccine and Guillain-Barre syndrome, experts confirm Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:08 PM PDT Adjuvanted vaccines used during the 2009 swine flu pandemic did not increase the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome substantially, if at all, finds a large Europe-wide study.

Accentuating the positive may eliminate the negative in teenagers with anxiety Posted: 12 Jul 2011 04:05 PM PDT Researchers say intervening early during teen years may help to prevent adult problems later

Hubble's Neptune anniversary pictures Posted: 12 Jul 2011 02:45 PM PDT Today, Neptune has arrived at the same location in space where it was discovered nearly 165 years ago. To commemorate the event, NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has taken these "anniversary pictures" of the blue-green giant planet.

Alternative methods of smear collection are effective at diagnosing TB Posted: 12 Jul 2011 02:45 PM PDT Two new studies have important implications for the ways in which diagnosis for the endemic infectious disease, tuberculosis (TB), can be done in poor countries.

Researchers suggest ways for physicians to individualize cost-effectiveness of treatments Posted: 12 Jul 2011 02:45 PM PDT In an era of skyrocketing health-care costs and finite financial resources, health economists are increasingly called upon to determine which medical treatments are the most cost-effective. Now two researchers suggest a way to tailor this cost-benefit analysis (more accurately known as an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, or ICER) more precisely to individuals by assessing the outcome of each treatment on smaller subgroups of patients.

Popular fungicides failing, may cause hard choices for apple growers Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT Orchard growers have started finding that some of the most commonly used fungicides are no longer effective at controlling apple scab, according to a new study.

Family meals remain important through teen years, expert says Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT As children become teenagers, it may be more challenging to regularly include them in family meals, but doing so is key to heading off such problems as eating disorders, obesity, and inadequate nutrition in adolescence, according to a new study. The results showed that teens who eat at least five meals a week with their families are 35 percent less likely to engage in disordered eating than teens who don't.

Wireless power could cut cord for patients with implanted heart pumps Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT A new system to send electricity over short distances has been shown to reliably power a mechanical heart pump. The system could free patients from being tethered to a battery or external power source, lowering their chance of infection and improving their quality of life.

Higher prevalence of pressure ulcers among black high-risk nursing home residents is related to site of care, study finds Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT Among nursing home residents at high risk for pressure ulcers, black residents had higher prevalence rates than white residents from 2003 through 2008, with the disparity largely related to the higher rates among nursing homes that disproportionately serve black residents, according to a new study.

Higher U.S. Medicaid payments to dentists associated with increased rate of dental care among children Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT Children and adolescents from states that had higher Medicaid payment levels to dentists between 2000 and 2008 were more likely to receive dental care, although children covered by Medicaid received dental care less often than children with private insurance, according to a new study.

Invasive diagnostic procedure for children with cystic fibrosis does not improve outcomes, study finds Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT Compared to a standard diagnostic procedure, infants with cystic fibrosis who received treatment based on a diagnostic procedure involving obtaining and culturing fluid samples from the lungs did not have a lower prevalence of lung-damaging infection or structural lung injury at 5 years of age, according to a new study.

Updating family history of cancer associated with need for earlier or more intense cancer screening, study finds Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT In an analysis to examine how often throughout adulthood clinically significant changes occur in a patient's family history of cancer, researchers found substantial changes in family history of colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer between the ages of 30 and 50 years, which would result in recommendations for earlier or more intense cancer screening. The authors suggest that a patient's family history of cancer be updated at least every 5 to 10 years.

Heart ultrasound helps determine risk of heart attack, death in HIV patients Posted: 12 Jul 2011 01:28 PM PDT A heart ultrasound called stress echocardiography can help determine heart attack and death risk in people with HIV and heart disease, according to new research. People with HIV who have a normal "stress test" have about the same risk of heart attack or death in the next year as the general, healthy population. People with HIV who have abnormal test results have a higher risk of heart attack and death compared to the general population and to people without HIV who have abnormal results.

Supramolecules get time to shine: Technique reveals interactions between nanotubes, photoluminescent materials Posted: 12 Jul 2011 12:22 PM PDT What looks like a spongy ball wrapped in strands of yarn -- but a lot smaller -- could be key to unlocking better methods for catalysis, artificial photosynthesis or splitting water into hydrogen, according to chemists who have created a platform to analyze interactions between carbon nanotubes and a wide range of photoluminescent materials.

Pesticide pathways into the atmosphere Posted: 12 Jul 2011 12:22 PM PDT Scientists have found that herbicide volatilization consistently resulted in herbicide losses that exceed losses from field runoff.

When it comes to population growth, Houston is No. 1 Posted: 12 Jul 2011 12:22 PM PDT New York, Los Angeles and Chicago are still America's largest metropolitan areas, but none of the nation's 366 metropolitan areas added more people during the past decade than Houston. Based on a new extensive analysis of the 2000 and 2010 censuses, researchers say the Greater Houston metropolitan area grew by a whopping 1.2 million people and increased by more than 123,000 per year over the decade.

Biologists identify new strategy used by bacteria during infection Posted: 12 Jul 2011 12:22 PM PDT Biologists identified a new way in which bacteria hijack healthy cells during infection, which could provide a target for new antibiotics.

Low dose naltrexone: Harnessing the body's own chemistry to treat human ovarian cancer Posted: 12 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT Researchers have discovered that a low dose of the opioid antagonist naltrexone (LDN) markedly suppresses progression of human ovarian cancer transplanted into mice. LDN's antitumor action was comparable to that of chemotherapy (cisplatin, taxol). LDN combined with cisplatin but not taxol had an additive inhibitory action on tumorigenesis. LDN offers a non-toxic and efficacious biologic pathway-related treatment that may benefit patients with this deadly cancer.

Researchers urge awareness of dietary iodine intake in postpartum Korean-American women who consume brown seaweed soup Posted: 12 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT Researchers have brought attention to the potential health impacts for Korean and Korean-American women and their infants from consuming brown seaweed soup.

Scientists model physics of a key dark-energy probe: Simulations improve characterization of cosmology’s 'standard ruler’ Posted: 12 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT Researchers are leveraging powerful supercomputers to investigate one of the key observational probes of "dark energy." The project focuses on simulations created on Ohio Supercomputer Center systems to simplify and better characterize a subtle dark-matter clustering feature. The new model allows cosmologists to gain a more accurate understanding of certain aspects of large-scale structure, such as the effect of the expansion of the universe on the growth of density fluctuations.

Indirubin, component Of Chinese herbal remedy, might block brain tumor's spread, study suggests Posted: 12 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT Indirubin, the active ingredient in a traditional Chinese herbal medicine, might offer a new strategy for treating glioblastoma, a deadly form of brain cancer. A new study shows that indirubin both blocks the migration of glioblastoma cells, preventing their spread to other areas of the brain, and the migration of endothelial cells, preventing them from forming the new blood vessels the tumor needs to grow.

How the connection to the future self impacts financial decision-making Posted: 12 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT A new study reveals how consumers feeling or not feeling connected to their future selves impacts their spending and savings decisions. Researchers conducted a series of experiments, manipulating the degree to which subjects felt connected to their future selves.

Severity of spinal cord injury has no impact on how adults rate their health, study finds Posted: 12 Jul 2011 11:30 AM PDT Severity of spinal cord injury in adults is not related to how they rate their health, researchers have found.

Your mother was right: Good posture makes you tougher Posted: 12 Jul 2011 10:33 AM PDT Mothers have been telling their children to stop slouching for ages. It turns out that mom was onto something and that poor posture not only makes a bad impression, but can actually make you physically weaker. According to a new study, adopting dominant versus submissive postures actually decreases your sensitivity to pain.

Deeper insight in the activity of cortical cells Posted: 12 Jul 2011 10:33 AM PDT Scientists can now image the processing of information deeper in the cortex with the help of a new multi-photon microscope design.

Goalies tend to dive right in World Cup penalty shoot-outs when their team is behind ... why? Posted: 12 Jul 2011 10:33 AM PDT In the quarterfinal of the 2006 Soccer World Cup, England and Portugal played for 90 tense minutes and 30 minutes extra time without a single goal being scored. This led them to a penalty shoot-out; as one by one, players went against the opposing team's goalie. After four shots by each team, Portugal was ahead 2-1. Portugal's star Cristiano Ronaldo shot to English goalkeeper Paul Robinson's left, but Robinson dove right. Portugal scored, won the game, and went on to the semifinal. When Robinson dove to his right, he was making a common choice for our right-oriented brains, according to a new study.

Computer learns language by playing games Posted: 12 Jul 2011 10:33 AM PDT Researchers have created a system that allows a computer to learn to play a computer game by learning the language required to read the manual.

Cancer mortality rates are higher in men than women in U.S., study finds Posted: 12 Jul 2011 10:33 AM PDT Overall cancer mortality rates are higher for men than women in the United States, according to a new study.

An often illegal sales tactic contributed to housing crash Posted: 12 Jul 2011 09:24 AM PDT A study of home purchases during the real estate boom years in Chicago shows how one ethically murky -- and sometimes illegal -- tactic used to sell homes may have contributed to the housing crash. The tactic was inflating the selling price of a home, but offering the buyer some incentive -- often cash back -- to accept the inflated price. The buyer could then use the cash-back for a mortgage down payment or other purposes.

New means of overcoming antiviral resistance in influenza Posted: 12 Jul 2011 09:24 AM PDT Researchers have found a new approach to the creation of customized therapies for virulent flu strains that resist current antiviral drugs.

Cat litter to become an edible product? Posted: 12 Jul 2011 09:24 AM PDT Sepiolite is a porous clay material used for example in cat litter that absorbs more liquid than any other known mineral. A Franco-Spanish team of scientists has analyzed twenty different sepiolites extracted from mines around the world, using X-ray and electron diffraction. The results open the path to industrial synthesis of sepiolites and to the design of completely new materials for use in catalysis, energy storage and food.

People at risk for panic buffered from stressor by high levels of physical activity Posted: 12 Jul 2011 09:24 AM PDT People at risk for experiencing panic attacks respond with less anxiety to a panic-inducing stressor if they have been regularly engaging in high levels of physical activity, suggests a new study. High levels of physical activity appeared to buffer against panic-inducing stress -- inhalation of carbon dioxide-enriched air -- among people typically afraid of the nausea, dizziness, racing heart and shortness of breath that characterize panic episodes, according to psychologists.

Scleroderma study identifies roadblocks to employment Posted: 12 Jul 2011 08:27 AM PDT Systemic scleroderma has slowed Tracy Zinn but it has not stopped her from working. Thanks in part to determination and an accommodating employer, Zinn is now in her 13th year as an account executive for a firm that produces educational software. But, many with the incapacitating disease are not as fortunate.

New genetic risk factor for sudden cardiac death Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:58 AM PDT In a large and comprehensive investigation into the underlying causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD) -- a surreptitious killer of hundreds of thousands annually in the United States -- researchers have discovered a variation in the genome's DNA sequence that is linked to a significant increase in a person's risk of SCD.

Consortium warns U.S. policymakers against clear-cutting selected science budgets Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:58 AM PDT More than 140 scientific societies and universities today sent a letter urging U.S. policymakers, in their need to cut spending, to avoid singling out specific programs -- such as the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences -- and to refrain from bypassing independent peer review.

New switch in resistance to plant diseases discovered Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:58 AM PDT Powdery mildew is a tricky pathogen: The fungus can manipulate barley in a way that it is not only granted entry into the plant, but also gets the plant's cells to supply it with nutrients. A team of researchers in Germany has just identified, on a molecular level, how the fungus manages this feat -- and how barley can fight back.

Switch from corn to grass would raise ethanol output, cut emissions Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:23 AM PDT Growing perennial grasses on the least productive farmland now used for corn ethanol production in the US would result in higher overall corn yields, more ethanol output per acre and better groundwater quality, researchers report in a new study. The switch would also slash emissions of two potent greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide.

Border fences pose threats to wildlife on US-Mexico border, study shows Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:23 AM PDT Current and proposed border fences between the United States and Mexico pose significant threats to wildlife populations, with those animals living in border regions along the Texas Gulf and California coasts showing some of the greatest vulnerability, a new study shows.

First-ever review finds smoking causes serious birth defects; March of Dimes urges women to quit smoking to save babies Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:23 AM PDT The first-ever comprehensive review of 50 years of studies has established that maternal smoking causes serious birth defects including heart defects, missing/deformed limbs, clubfoot, gastrointestinal disorders, and facial disorders, such as cleft lip/palate. Smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for premature birth and the March of Dimes urges pregnant women and those planning a pregnancy to quit smoking to reduce their chance of having a baby born prematurely or with a serious birth defect.

HPV infection highly prevalent among organ transplant recipients, study reveals Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:23 AM PDT A new study reveals an association between the human papillomavirus (betaPV) infection and cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) in organ transplant recipients.

Long distance: Research shows ancient rock under Haiti came from 1,000+ miles away Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:23 AM PDT Earthquakes and volcanoes are known for their ability to transform Earth's surface, but new research in the Caribbean has found they can also move ancient Earth rock foundations more than 1,000 miles.

Biomarker for autism discovered Posted: 12 Jul 2011 07:23 AM PDT Siblings of people with autism show a similar pattern of brain activity to that seen in people with autism when looking at emotional facial expressions. Researchers have now identified the reduced activity in a part of the brain associated with empathy and argue it may be a "biomarker" for a familial risk of autism.

Orchids and fungi: An unexpected case of symbiosis Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:42 AM PDT The majority of orchids are found in habitats where light may be a limiting factor. However, orchids are found in a wide range of habitats and range in their photosynthetic capabilities. For those orchids that are fully photosynthetic, and presumably capable of acquiring their own organic carbon, are they less reliant on a specific suite of mycorrhizal fungi? A new study that examines fungal diversity in orchids in open sunny habitats, questions this assumption.

Popular TV shows teach children fame is most important value, psychologists report; Being kind to others fell dramatically in importance over 10 years Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:42 AM PDT Fame is the No. 1 value emphasized by television shows popular with 9-11 year-olds -- a dramatic change in 10 years, psychologists report in a new study. From 1997 to 2007, being kind/helping others fell from 2 to 13, and tradition dropped from 4 to 15. The study assessed the values of popular television shows from 1967 to 2007, from "Andy Griffith" and "The Lucy Show" to "American Idol" and "Hannah Montana."

African-American women stress compounded Posted: 12 Jul 2011 06:42 AM PDT Using incense or lighting a candle may seem like good ways to let go of racial stress, but a recent study found that might not be the case in terms of racial tension among women. In fact, some coping strategies employed by African-American women may actually increase their stress instead of alleviate it, according to a recent study.

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