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Nicotine drives cell invasion that contributes to plaque formation in coronary arteries

Research on human and rat vascular smooth muscle cells provides evidence of a link between nicotine and atherosclerosis, major cause of heart attacks.

First molecular missteps discovered leading to Alzheimer's disease

Additional evidence has been gained indicating that the massive brain cell death of Alzheimer's disease is result of mature neurons mistakenly re-entering the cell cycle. They fail to divide and eventually die.

Scientists identify molecular biomarkers of vaccine immunity

Scientists have taken an important step toward making a "vaccine gene chip," by comparing the molecular signatures induced by five very different vaccines in the immune systems of human volunteers.

'Superbugs' found breeding in sewage plants

Tests at wastewater treatment plants in China revealed antibiotic-resistant bacteria were not only escaping purification but also breeding and spreading their dangerous cargo.

Nearby failed stars may harbor planet

Astronomers took precise measurements of the closest pair of failed stars to the Sun, which suggest that the system harbors a third, planetary-mass object.

Brain waves encode information as time signals

A research team has examined the synaptic mechanisms of rhythmic brain waves. This was made possible through custom-design tools developed in collaboration with the institute's machine shop.

Mothers see their youngest as shorter than they are

Many parents say when their second child is born that their first child suddenly appears to have grown overnight. Now, researchers have an explanation: until the birth of the new child, those parents were subject to a "baby illusion," routinely misperceiving their youngest child as smaller (and younger) than he or she really was.

Canadian youth choosing transit-rich urban cores over suburbs

Young adults want to live close to transit, high-density housing, and urban amenities, says Canadian research.

Affordable Care Act offers opportunities to strengthen trauma systems

Traumatic injuries are the leading cause of death and disability for people under the age of 45 and the fourth-leading cause of death for people of all ages. Authors of a review believe more work is needed to ensure the right patient gets to the right place at the right time, and that the Affordable Care Act may offer opportunities to strengthen trauma systems.

Elective early-term deliveries increase complications for baby, mother

Enduring the last few weeks of pregnancy can be physically and emotionally challenging for some women. The aches and pains, the swelling of the limbs and the anxiety of when labor may start are part of the natural gestation process, but they also can seem unbearable. It may seem easier to relieve symptoms associated with late pregnancy by electing to deliver early, but researchers caution that there can be an increased risk of complications to the mother and the newborn associated with early-term deliveries.

Team reduces toxicity of Lou Gehrig's disease in animal models

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a devastating illness that gradually robs sufferers of muscle strength and eventually causes a lethal, full-body paralysis. Working with a powerful fruit fly model of the disease, researchers reduced disease toxicity and slowed the dysfunction of neurons. Their discoveries offer the possibility of a new strategy for treating ALS.

Giant star cluster in the making

W49A might be one of the best-kept secrets in our galaxy. This star-forming region shines 100 times brighter than the Orion nebula, but is so obscured by dust that very little visible or infrared light escapes. Astronomers have peered through the dusty fog to provide the first clear view of this stellar nursery.

World e-waste map reveals national volumes, international flows

The first 'E-Waste World Map' has been created by UN organizations, industry, governments, non-government and science organizations through their 'Solving the E-Waste Problem (StEP)' initiative. By 2017, world volumes of end-of-life e-products is expected to be 33 percent higher than 2012 and weigh the equivalent of eight Great Egyptian Pyramids. A complementary new EPA-funded StEP report by MIT and NCER characterizes US domestic and transboundary flows of used electronics.

How household dogs protect against asthma and infection

Children's risk for developing allergies and asthma is reduced when they are exposed in early infancy to a dog in the household, and now researchers have discovered a reason why.

Discovery of 1.4 million-year-old fossil human hand bone closes human evolution gap

Scientists have found a new hand bone from a human ancestor who roamed the earth in East Africa approximately 1.42 million years ago. The discovery of this bone is the earliest evidence of a modern human-like hand, indicating that this anatomical feature existed more than half a million years earlier than previously known.

Cat domestication traced to Chinese farmers 5,300 years ago

Five-thousand years before it was immortalized in a British nursery rhyme, the cat that caught the rat that ate the malt was doing just fine living alongside farmers in the ancient Chinese village of Quanhucun, new research has shown.

Microprinting leads to low-cost artificial cells

Easily manufactured, low-cost artificial cells manufactured using microprinting may one day serve as drug and gene delivery devices and in biomaterials, biotechnology and biosensing applications, according to biomedical engineers. These artificial cells will also allow researchers to explore actions that take place at the cell membrane.

Lost freshwater may double climate change effects on agriculture

A new analysis combining climate, agricultural, and hydrological models finds that shortages of freshwater used for irrigation could double the detrimental effects of climate change on agriculture.

Neanderthals buried their dead

Neanderthals, forerunners to modern humans, buried their dead, an international team of archaeologists has concluded after a 13-year study of remains discovered in southwestern France.

Cellulose nanocrystals possible 'green' wonder material

The same tiny cellulose crystals that give trees and plants their high strength, light weight and resilience, have now been shown to have the stiffness of steel. The nanocrystals might be used to create a new class of biomaterials with wide-ranging applications, such as strengthening construction materials and automotive components.

Recognizing the elephant in the room: Future climate impacts across sectors

A pioneering collaboration within the international scientific community has provided comprehensive projections of climate change effects, ranging from water scarcity to risks to crop yields. This interdisciplinary effort, employing extensive model inter-comparisons, allows research gaps to be identified, whilst producing the most robust possible findings. The results provide crucial insights for decision-making regarding mitigation efforts in the face of potential impact cascades.

Global warming: Four degree rise will end vegetation 'carbon sink'

New research suggests that a temperature increase of four degrees is likely to "saturate" areas of dense vegetation with carbon, preventing plants from helping to balance CO2 escalation -- and consequently accelerating climate change.

Four new mammal species discovered in Democratic Republic of Congo

Scientists have discovered four new species of small mammals in the eastern section of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Recipe to fine-tune diameter of silica rods devised

By controlling the temperature of silica rods as they grow, researchers could be setting the stage for advances in anti-reflective solar cells, computer monitors, TV screens, eye glasses and more.

Computer security: Reducing risks of malware infections

Installing computer security software, updating applications regularly and making sure not to open emails from unknown senders are just a few examples of ways to reduce the risk of infection by malicious software, or "malware". However, even the most security-conscious users are open to attack through unknown vulnerabilities, and even the best security mechanisms can be circumvented as a result of poor user choices.

Graphene nanoribbons an ice-melting coat for radar

A composite of graphene nanoribbons and polyurethane paint is a robust, light, cost-effective coating to keep radar domes free of ice.

Golden trap: Highly sensitive system to detect individual molecules

Medical diagnostics is searching for substances capable of documenting whether a disease is developing. In many cases, the treacherous molecules are present only in trace amounts -- which is why sensitive methods of detection are needed. Researchers have come up with a method of detection, which allowed them to notice the presence of only 17 dye molecules. The method might be used to scan a tiny drop of blood for potential diseases.

Ultrafast heating of water: This pot boils faster than you can watch it

Scientists have devised a novel way to boil water in less than a trillionth of a second. The theoretical concept, which has not yet been demonstrated in practice, could heat a small amount of water by as much as 600 degrees Celsius in just half a picosecond (a trillionth of a second). This would make the technique the fastest water-heating method on Earth.

SOFs take to water: First soluble 2-D supramolecular organic frameworks created

Researchers have unveiled the first two-dimensional SOFs -- supramolecular organic frameworks -- that self-assemble in solution, an important breakthrough that holds implications for sensing and separation technologies, energy sciences, and biomimetics.

Innovative instrument probes close binary stars, may soon image exoplanets

Close binary stars cannot be resolved with today's optical telescopes, despite adaptive optics that removes the fuzziness caused by atmospheric turbulence. An international team of astronomers has built and mounted on a 3-meter California telescope a fibered optic imager that combines AO and interferometry to resolve for the first time close binaries such as Capella, and have mounted an improved imager on an 8-meter Subaru telescope that may one day resolve planets around dwarf stars.

Piece-by-piece approach to emissions policies can be effective, study finds

New analysis shows that policies addressing energy consumption and technology choices individually can play an important part in reducing emissions.

When will Earth lose its oceans?

The natural increase in solar luminosity -- a very slow process unrelated to current climate warming -- will cause the Earth's temperatures to rise over the next few hundred million years. This will result in the complete evaporation of the oceans. The first three-dimensional climate model able to simulate the phenomenon predicts that liquid water will disappear on Earth in approximately one billion years, extending previous estimates by several hundred million years.

Loudspeaker is first-ever 3-D-printed consumer electronic

Researchers have 3-D printed a working loudspeaker, seamlessly integrating the plastic, conductive and magnetic parts, and ready for use almost as soon as it comes out of the printer.

Small size enhances charge transfer in quantum dots

Scientists show that shrinking the core of a quantum dot can enhance the ability of a surrounding polymer to extract electric charges generated in the dot by the absorption of light.

Traffic jams lend insight into emperor penguin huddle

Emperor penguins maintain the tight huddle that protects them from the harsh conditions of an Antarctic winter with stop-and-go movements like cars in a traffic jam, a new study has shown.

Spurred by food allergies, two esophagus conditions stump doctors

Researchers found that two on-the-rise esophagus conditions are so similar that even a biopsy is not enough to distinguish one disease from the other.

Do patients in a vegetative state recognize loved ones?

Patients in a vegetative state do not respond to what is happening around them and exhibit no signs of conscious awareness. Now research has shown that the brains of patients in a vegetative state emotionally react to photographs of people they know personally as though they recognize them.

Massive stars mark out Milky Way's 'missing arms'

A 12-year study of massive stars has reaffirmed that our Galaxy has four spiral arms, following years of debate sparked by images taken by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope that only showed two arms.

Ancestor of snakes, lizards likely gave birth to live young

The ancestor of snakes and lizards likely gave birth to live young, rather than laid eggs, and over time species have switched back and forth in their preferred reproductive mode, according to new research.

Pain drugs used in prostate gland removal linked to cancer outcome, study finds

The methods used to anesthetize prostate cancer patients and control pain when their prostate glands are surgically removed for adenocarcinoma may affect their long-term cancer outcomes, a study found.

New control pathways in synthesis of plant chemical defences

A scientific study reveals a new mechanism to control saponin biosynthesis. Saponins are essential in the adaptation of many plants to the environment and have high biomedical and industrial interest.

Poor owner knowledge of cat sex life linked to 850,000 unplanned kittens every year

Widespread ignorance among cat-owners about the sex lives of their pets may be leading to more than 200,000 unplanned litters -- or more than 850,000 kittens every year in the UK, finds research.

Teaching residents to provide cost-conscious care

Despite a national consensus among policy makers and educators to train residents to be more conscious of the cost of care, less than 15 percent of internal medicine residency programs have a formal curriculum addressing it.

Study indicates oral garlic not useful in treating vaginal thrush

In a world-first study, researchers have found garlic does not significantly reduce vaginal candida (thrush).

Smoking changes our genes

We inherit our genes from our parents at birth. Later in life the genetic material can be changed by epigenetic modifications, i.e. chemical alterations of the DNA the affect the activity of the genes. Such alterations are normally caused by aging, but can also result from environmental factors and lifestyle. New research findings show that smoking alters several genes that can be associated with health problems for smokers, such as increased risk for cancer and diabetes.

Fungal pathogen shows profound effects from spaceflight

In a new study, the first global gene expression profiling and phenotypic characterization of a fungal pathogen during spaceflight is revealed.

Sharpening focus in quantum photolithography

Photolithography uses light beams to design thin geometric patterns on the substrates of semiconductors used in microelectronic devices. This is achieved using a chemical reaction on a light-sensitive chemical, called photoresist. The trouble is that the phenomenon of light diffraction does not permit highly accurate patterns. Now, a scientist has developed a quantum lithography protocol designed to improve the resolution of this technology.

Brain neurons subtract images, use differences

Ten million bits -- that's the information volume transmitted every second with every quick eye movement from the eye to the cerebrum. Researchers describe the way those data are processed by the primary visual cortex, the entry point for the visual information into the brain. Deploying novel optical imaging methods, they demonstrated that the brain does not always transmit the entire image information. Rather, it uses the differences between current and previously viewed images.

Hubble watches super star create holiday light show

This festive NASA Hubble Space Telescope image resembles a holiday wreath made of sparkling lights. The bright southern hemisphere star RS Puppis, at the center of the image, is swaddled in a gossamer cocoon of reflective dust illuminated by the glittering star. Hubble took a series of photos of light flashes rippling across the nebula in a phenomenon known as a "light echo."

Infrared sheds light on single protein complexes

Nanoscience researchers employ nano-FTIR spectroscopy for label-free chemical and structural imaging of proteins with nanoscale spatial resolution and with sensitivity to single protein complexes of less than one attogram (10-18 gram), and discuss these results in a recently published article.

Research backs risk-reduction surgery for ovarian cancer

A study backs preventative surgery to improve survival for women who are at greater risk of getting ovarian cancer and suggests it appears helpful for women at risk of getting breast cancer because of genetic faults.

Radioactivity muddles alphabet of DNA

Researchers have shown natural radioactivity within DNA can alter chemical compounds, providing a new pathway for genetic mutation. The research for the first time looked at natural radioactivity within human DNA on the atomic-scale. While radioactivity occurs naturally in our bodies as well as in every living organism across the planet, it was never before thought to affect our DNA in such a direct way.

Ear acupuncture can help shed pounds

Ear acupuncture can help shed the pounds, indicates a small study, recently published.

Regenerative medicine: New tool for transplanting stem cells

Researchers have developed a specialized catheter for transplanting stem cells into the beating heart. The novel device includes a curved needle and graded openings along the needle shaft, allowing for increased distribution of cells. The result is maximized retention of stem cells to repair the heart.

Loggerhead sea turtle nesting activity driven by recent climate conditions

New research indicates that for loggerhead sea turtles in the Northwest Atlantic, the number of returning nesting females in the population and favorable climate conditions in the year or two prior to the nesting year are strongly related to the number of nests produced by these animals in a given year. Also, in what may be good news for loggerheads, nesting increases since 2008 may be a recovery response in this threatened population.

Retinoblastoma dysfunction promotes pancreatic cancer cell growth, study shows

Cancer researchers have discovered that a protein that normally suppresses tumors actually promotes the growth and spread of pancreatic cancer.

Researchers discover mechanism controlling development of myelodysplastic syndromes

Researchers have discovered a control mechanism that can trigger the development of myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a group of blood cancers. This finding may lead to therapies capable of preventing the progression of these diseases.

Rainforest rodents risk their lives to eat

Hungry rodents that wake up early are much more likely to be eaten by ocelots than rodents getting plenty of food and shut-eye, according to new results.

Never forget a face: New algorithm uses subtle changes to make a face more memorable without changing a person's overall appearance

A new algorithm uses subtle changes to make a face more memorable without changing a person's overall appearance.

Discovery of 'teen gene' could hold promise for combating severe mental illnesses

Researchers have isolated a gene, DCC, which is responsible for dopamine connectivity in the medial prefrontal cortex during adolescence. Working with mice models, they have shown that dysfunction of this gene during adolescence has behavioral consequences which carry into adulthood.

Drug residues in Swedish sewage water

Chemists in Sweden have been able to trace narcotics substances and prescription drugs in measurements of wastewater from 33 Swedish sewage treatment plants. Cocaine, amphetamine, and methamphetamine, in measurable concentrations, were found in a total of half of the locations.

Drought and climate change: an uncertain future?

Drought frequency may increase by more than 20% in some regions of the globe by the end of the 21st century, but it is difficult to be more precise as we don't know yet how changes in climate will impact on the world's rivers.

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Tuesday, December 17, 2013

First molecular missteps discovered leading to Alzheimer's disease

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