|  Powerful ancient explosions explain new class of supernovae  | Astronomers have discovered two of the brightest and most distant supernovae ever recorded, 10 billion light-years away and a hundred times more luminous than a normal supernova. | Read More » Animal vaccine study yields insights that may advance HIV vaccine research  | A vaccine study in monkeys designed to identify measurable signs that the animals were protected from infection by SIV, the monkey version of HIV, as well as the mechanism of such protection has yielded numerous insights that may advance HIV vaccine research. | Read More » Scientists solve a decades-old mystery in Earth's upper atmosphere  | New research resolves decades of scientific controversy over the origin of ultra-relativistic electrons in the Earth's near space environment, and is likely to influence our understanding of planetary magnetospheres throughout the universe. | Read More » Mountain erosion accelerates under a cooling climate  | The Earth's continental topography reflects the balance between tectonics, climate, and their interaction through erosion. However, understanding the impact of individual factors on Earth's topography remains elusive. Scientists have now investigated the effect of global cooling and glaciation on topogrpahy over the last two to three million years. Their data show that mountain erosion rates have increased since circa 6 million years and most rapidly in the last 2 million years. Moreover, alpine glaciers play a significant role in the increase of erosion rates under a cool climate. | Read More » Neanderthal genome shows early human interbreeding, inbreeding  | Population geneticists have produced the first high-quality genome of a Neanderthal, allowing comparison with the genomes of modern humans and Denisovans. The analysis shows a long history of interbreeding among these early humans and a fourth, previously unknown group. The Neanderthal, from Denisova cave, also shows evidence of inbreeding. About 87 genes in modern humans were found to be significantly different from related genes in Neanderthals and Denisovans. | Read More » Seven distinct African crocodile species, not just three, biologists show  | African crocodiles, long thought of as just three known species, are among the most iconic creatures in Africa. But recent research now finds that there are at least seven distinct African crocodile species. | Read More » Sugar beet genome sequenced and analyzed  | Scientists have sequenced and analyzed the sugar beet genome. | Read More » Europe's billion-star surveyor is ready for launch  | Europe's billion-star surveyor, Gaia, is due to be launched into space on Thursday 19 December 2013, where it will embark on its mission to create a highly accurate 3D map of our galaxy. | Read More » Growers the big winners in Malawi's tobacco industry  | Tobacco growers are the big winners, while the environment and people who have lost land to tobacco estates are the major losers in Malawi's expanding tobacco industry. The author of this study believes that concerted and coordinated efforts are needed to solve the related dilemmas faced by this African country. | Read More » Study challenges long-held hypothesis that iron promotes atherosclerosis  | A research team has found no evidence of an association between iron levels in the body and the risk of atherosclerosis, the hardening and narrowing of the arteries that leads to cardiovascular disease, the number one killer in the U.S. The discovery contradicts a long-held hypothesis about the role of iron in the disease and carries important implications for patients with chronic kidney disease or anemia related to inflammatory disorders, many of whom receive high-dose iron supplementation therapy. | Read More » Total smoking bans work best  | Completely banning tobacco use inside the home – or more broadly in the whole city – measurably boosts the odds of smokers either cutting back or quitting entirely. | Read More » Patient satisfaction with clinical services can affect treatment outcomes  | Patient assessment of clinical services quality was shown to be an independent predictor of survival for colorectal cancer patients in a study recently published. | Read More » Improved patient education increases satisfaction with day surgery  | Satisfaction expressed by day-surgery patients can be enhanced by improving the quality of information they receive and also help assure successful post-operative recovery without the need for outpatient follow-up, according to research. | Read More » Residents of poorer nations find greater meaning in life  | While residents of wealthy nations tend to have greater life satisfaction, new research shows that those living in poorer nations report having greater meaning in life. The findings suggest that meaning in life may be higher in poorer nations as a result of greater religiosity: as countries become richer, religion becomes less central to people's lives and they lose a sense of meaning in life. | Read More » Saving Fiji's coral reefs linked to forest conservation upstream  | The health of coral reefs offshore depend on the protection of forests near the sea, according to a new study that outlines the importance of terrestrial protected areas to coastal biodiversity. | Read More » Research shows coral reefs worth saving  | Scientists study a reef off Little Cayman Island for 14 years and find damaged reefs can recover, if left alone. | Read More » Radiation therapy to treat uterine cancer linked to increased risk of bladder cancer later in life  | Radiation therapy used to treat uterine cancer may increase a patient's risk of developing bladder cancer. That is the conclusion of a recent study published. The findings indicate the importance of monitoring patients for potential signs of bladder cancer to ensure early diagnosis and treatment. | Read More » Stem cells offer clues to reversing receding hairlines  | Regenerative medicine may offer ways to banish baldness that don't involve toupees. A trio of papers has been published that describes some of the factors that determine when hair grows, when it stops growing and when it falls out. | Read More » Role for sugar uptake in breast cancer revealed  | Researchers have shown that aerobic glycolysis -- glucose metabolism in the presence of oxygen -- is not the consequence of the cancerous activity of malignant cells, as has been widely believed, but is itself a cancerous event. | Read More » Modest weight loss may reduce heart disease, diabetes risks in middle-aged women  | Sustaining a modest weight loss for 2 years in overweight or obese, middle-aged women may reduce risk factors for heart disease and diabetes. Women who lost 10 percent or more of their body weight reduced almost every measure of cardiometabolic health. | Read More » Subject to discrimination from first day on job  | When starting out in their careers, young women already earn less money than young men for doing the same work, research confirms. | Read More » Heart disease linked with dementia in older postmenopausal women  | Heart disease is linked with decreased brain function in older postmenopausal women. Women who have high blood pressure or diabetes may also be at higher risk for decreasing brain function over time. | Read More » 3D technology from film industry improves rehab for stroke patients  | Researchers have been using 3D technology from the film industry to analyze the everyday movements of stroke patients. The results indicate that computerized motion analysis increases our knowledge of how stroke patients can improve their ability to move through rehabilitation. | Read More » Freezing semen doubles chances of fatherhood for men after treatment for Hodgkin lymphoma  | Men with Hodgkin lymphoma who want to become fathers after their cancer treatment have greatly increased chances of doing so if they have frozen and stored semen samples beforehand, according to research published. | Read More » Scientists provide new insights into cause of human neurodegenerative disease  | A recent study opens a possible new route for treatment of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), a devastating disease that is the most common genetic cause of infant death and also affects young adults. As there is currently no known cure for SMA, the new discovery gives a strong boost to the fight against SMA. | Read More » Debate continues on impact of artificial sweeteners  | New research has added to the debate about how our bodies respond to artificial sweeteners and whether they are good, bad or have no effect on us. | Read More » Different parents, different children: bladder cancers arise from different stem cells  | A study published shows that progenitor cells that create dangerous, muscle-invasive bladder cancer are different than the progenitor cells that create non-muscle invasive bladder cancer. Though these two cancers grow at the same site, they are different diseases. | Read More » Silencing synapses to deal with addictions  | Imagine kicking a cocaine addiction by simply popping a pill that alters the way your brain processes chemical addiction. New research suggests that a method of biologically manipulating certain neurocircuits could lead to a pharmacological approach that would weaken post-withdrawal cocaine cravings. | Read More » HPV home tests could identify cancer risk  | HPV self-testing is as effective as tests done by doctors, according to a study. Simple HPV home tests could therefore complement existing screening program, and identify more women at risk for cervical cancer. | Read More » Computer-controlled table could direct radiotherapy to tumors while sparing vital organs  | Swivelling patients around on a computer-controlled, rotating table could deliver high doses of radiotherapy to tumors more quickly than current methods, while sparing vulnerable organs such as the heart, brain, eyes and bowel. Sophisticated computer modelling could be used to slowly move the table -- known as a couch -- and a radiation source in three dimensions to direct radiation precisely to the patient's tumor, researchers have suggested. | Read More » Lemur babies of older moms less likely to get hurt  | A long-term study of aggression in lemurs finds that infants born to older mothers are less likely to get hurt than those born to younger mothers. The findings come from an analysis of detailed medical records for more than 240 ring-tailed lemurs that were monitored daily from infancy to adulthood over a 35-year period. | Read More » Biomechanics of how marine snail larvae swim  | Equipped with high-speed, high-resolution video, scientists have discovered important new information on how marine snail larvae swim, a key behavior that determines individual dispersal and ultimately, survival. | Read More » Robotic grasp: Robot picks up castors as fast as blueberries  | The robot effortlessly picks up one castor after another from the pile in the box and puts them into the channel. No matter how the wheels are lying, the robot manages to get an exact grip. | Read More » New magnetic behaviour in nanoparticles could lead to even smaller digital memories  | Researchers have created a new behavior in magnetic core/shell nanoparticles. It could lead to the creation of even smaller and higher capacity digital memories. | Read More » Lonely this Christmas? Hire an 18th century hermit  | For those who are wondering what to buy the person who has everything this Christmas, an academic has suggested one of history's most bizarre garden accessories: an 'ornamental' hermit. | Read More » World's first text message using vodka: Messages sent via molecules can aid communication underground, underwater or inside the body  | Scientists have created a molecular communications system for the transmission of messages and data in challenging environments such as tunnels, pipelines, underwater and within the body. | Read More » Water in cells behaves in complex, intricate ways  | In a sort of biological "spooky action at a distance," water in a cell slows down in the tightest confines between proteins and develops the ability to affect other proteins much farther away, researchers have discovered. | Read More » Big data project reveals where carbon-stocking projects in Africa provide greatest benefits  | One way to reduce concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is to ensure that carbon is stored on the ground to the greatest extent possible. But how do you quantify the potential of landscapes to stock carbon? Researchers now present the first continental-scale assessment of which areas may provide the greatest direct and indirect benefits from carbon storage reforestation projects in Africa. | Read More » Small talk skills improve with practice  | Small talk is far from "small" or trivial, says one expert. It is the "cornerstone of civility." "Small talk is really, really important. It helps us connect with people, and not just at holiday gatherings. If you make connections with people, it makes it much more difficult for you to treat them in an uncivil way. If you think about being kind to and connecting with people, people you engage in conversation, you're going to open a door for them, you'll let them step in front of you in line. You'll engage in more acts of kindness and fewer acts of rudeness." | Read More » Researchers identify genetic marker of resistance to key malaria drug  | An international team of researchers has discovered a way to identify, at a molecular level, malaria-causing Plasmodium falciparum parasites that are resistant to artemisinin, the key drug for treating this disease. | Read More » Immune avoidance mechanism could lead to treatments for deadly mosquito-borne viruses  | A mosquito-borne virus that kills about half of the people it infects uses a never-before-documented mechanism to "hijack" one of the cellular regulatory systems of its hosts to suppress immunity, according scientists. The discovery could aid in the development of vaccines and treatments for eastern equine encephalitis virus. | Read More » Brain area attacked by Alzheimer's links learning, rewards  | One of the first areas of the brain to be attacked by Alzheimer's disease, the posterior cingulate cortex, or PCC, has been found to step in during a cognitive challenge to improve the brain's performance. This small study in monkeys establishes a role for the PCC in learning and its connection to the brain's reward system. | Read More » Obese children have higher stress hormone levels than normal weight peers  | Obese children naturally produce higher levels of a key stress hormone than their normal weight peers, according to new research. | Read More » Stress reaction gene linked to death, heart attacks  | A genetic trait known to make some people especially sensitive to stress also appears to be responsible for a 38 percent increased risk of heart attack or death in patients with heart disease, scientists report. | Read More » Contraception program effectively manages bison population  | A new study reports that a contraception program proved effective in managing a bison herd's numbers. Previously, more than two-thirds of the cows delivered calves every year. After receiving the contraceptive, the calving rate dropped to 10.4 percent in the first year and 3.3 percent the following year. | Read More » H1N1-triggered narcolepsy may stem from 'molecular mimicry'  | In genetically susceptible people, narcolepsy can sometimes be triggered by a similarity between a region of a protein called hypocretin and a portion of a protein from the pandemic H1N1 virus, according to a new study. | Read More » Sure it's white now, but what about Christmas?  | Cornell Climate Center uses half century of data to predict best cities for a White Christmas and a dry New Year's Eve. | Read More » Diet rich in tomatoes may lower breast cancer risk  | A tomato-rich diet may help protect at-risk postmenopausal women from breast cancer, according to new research. | Read More » Improving pollen forecasting for better quality of life for allergy sufferers  | New measurements on the properties and spread of airborne pollen to improve the forecasting of this natural allergen, which affects human health as well as the Earth's temperature, have been published in a new international study. | Read More » Healthier happy meals  | What would happen if a fast-food restaurant reduces the calories in a children's meal by 104 calories, mainly by decreasing the portion size of French fries? Would children compensate by choosing a more calorie dense entrée or beverage? Researchers analyzed transaction data from 30 representative McDonald's restaurants to answer that question. | Read More » Chewing gum is often culprit for migraine headaches in teens  | A researcher has found that gum-chewing teenagers, and younger children as well, are giving themselves headaches with this habit. These findings could help treat countless cases of migraine and tension headaches in adolescents without the need for additional testing or medication. | Read More » Monthly appointments with pharmacists improve medication adherence  | Patients are more likely to take chronic medications when they meet monthly with pharmacists to coordinate medication schedules and treatments, according to a study. | Read More » First cancer operation room with navigator is created  | A team of researchers have started the first cancer operation room with a navigator. This image-guided system will allow for increased intraoperative radiotherapy safety. | Read More » | |
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