| Student engagement more complex, changeable than thought  | A student who shows up on time for school and listens respectfully in class might appear fully engaged to outside observers, including teachers. But other measures of student engagement, including the student's emotional and cognitive involvement with the course material, may tell a different story -- one that could help teachers recognize students who are becoming less invested in their studies, according to a new study. | Read More »  Light and nanoprobes detect early signs of infection  | Biomedical engineers and genome researchers have developed a proof-of-principle approach using light to detect infections before patients show symptoms. | Read More » Factors that influence spinach contamination pre-harvest determined  | Scientists have identified a variety of factors that influence the likelihood of E. coli contamination of spinach on farms prior to harvest. | Read More » How did a third radiation belt appear in the Earth's upper atmosphere?  | How did a third radiation belt appear in the Earth's upper atmosphere, and then almost completely disappear? | Read More » Solar splashdown provide new insights into how young stars grow by sucking up nearby gas  | On June 7, 2011, our sun erupted, blasting tons of hot plasma into space. Some of that plasma splashed back down onto the sun's surface, sparking bright flashes of ultraviolet light. This dramatic event may provide new insights into how young stars grow by sucking up nearby gas. | Read More » Hong Kong skyscrapers appear to fall in real-world illusion  | No matter how we jump, roll, sit, or lie down, our brain manages to maintain a visual representation of the world that stays upright relative to the pull of gravity. But a new study of rider experiences on the Hong Kong Peak Tram, a popular tourist attraction, shows that specific features of the environment can dominate our perception of verticality, making skyscrapers appear to fall. | Read More » New method for achieving nonlinear optical effects: Method could be a step toward quantum computing  | In a step forward for quantum computing, researchers have theorized a new method for making photons interact. | Read More » Study of insect bacteria reveals genetic secrets of symbiosis  | Microbiologists recently delved deeper into the genes involved in the "tripartite nested mealybug symbiosis." The researchers discovered the already complex three-way symbiosis actually depends on genes from six different organisms -- three more than the number of species that currently exist in the symbiosis. | Read More » Autophaser improves sample analysis in areas such as cancer, Alzheimer's and oil spills  | A new software package allows researchers to vastly improve the performance of one of the key tools used to analyse medical and environmental samples. | Read More » Sleep deprivation in teens linked to poor dietary choices  | Well-rested teenagers tend to make more healthful food choices than their sleep-deprived peers, according to a new study. The finding may be key to understanding the link between sleep and obesity. | Read More » Study on fragile newborns challenges current practices  | One of the largest clinical trials done in infants with congenital heart diseases shows that the increasingly common practice of using the drug clopidogrel (Plavix) to reduce shunt-related blood flow issues is not effective in the dose studied. | Read More » The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction  | Biologists quote Lewis Carroll when arguing that survival is a constant struggle to adapt and evolve. Is that true, or do groups die out because they experience a run of bad luck? Biologists tested these hypotheses using mammals that arose and died out (or are now dying out) in the past 66 million years, and found that it's not luck but failure to adapt to a deteriorating environment. | Read More » Cities are a new kind of complex system: Part social reactor, part network  | Scientists have derived a series of mathematical formulas that describe how cities' properties vary in relation to their population size, and then posits a novel unified, quantitative framework for understanding how cities function and grow. The resulting theoretical framework predicts very closely dozens of statistical relationships observed in thousands of real cities around the world for which reliable data are available. | Read More » How a mutated protein outwits evolution and fuels leukemia  | Scientists have discovered the survival secret to a genetic mutation that stokes leukemia cells, solving an evolutionary riddle and paving the way to a highly targeted therapy for leukemia. A new article describe how a mutated protein, called Fbxw7, behaves differently when expressed in cancer cells versus healthy cells. | Read More » Total amount of exercise important, not frequency, research shows  | Getting at least 150 minutes of exercise per week is paramount for health but choosing how to schedule the exercise is not. | Read More » Flowers: Pistil leads pollen in life-and-death dance  | Pollination, essential to much of life on earth, requires the explosive death of the male pollen tube in the female ovule. In new research, scientists describe the genetic and regulatory factors that compel the male's role in the process. Finding a way to tweak that performance could expand crop cross-breeding possibilities. | Read More » Key player in the genesis of human intestinal immunity identified  | Better treatments for people suffering from compromised intestinal immunity may emerge from a small-animal model of human intestinal immune development. | Read More » Bigbrain: An ultra-high resolution 3-D roadmap of the human brain  | A landmark three-dimensional digital reconstruction of a complete human brain, called the BigBrain, now for the first time shows the brain anatomy in microscopic detail -- at a spatial resolution of 20 microns, smaller than the size of one fine strand of hair -- exceeding that of existing reference brains presently in the public domain. | Read More » Women's facial features can determine length of relationship  | Men in relationships prefer women with more feminine faces for a fling. | Read More » Men who can't produce sperm face increased cancer risk  | Men who are diagnosed as azoospermic -- infertile because of an absence of sperm in their ejaculate -- are more prone to developing cancer than the general population, urologists have found. And a diagnosis of azoospermia before age 30 carries an eight-fold cancer risk, the study says. | Read More » Chlamydia promotes gene mutations  | Chlamydia trachomatis is a human pathogen that is the leading cause of bacterial sexually transmitted disease worldwide with more than 90 million new cases of genital infections occurring each year. About 70 percent of women infected with Chlamydiaremain asymptomatic and these bacteria can establish chronic infections for months, or even years. Even when it causes no symptoms, Chlamydia can damage a woman's reproductive organs. | Read More » Herding cancer cells to their death  | Scientists have developed a therapeutic strategy that manipulates a mechanism driving cellular heterogeneity to treat advanced melanoma. | Read More » New regulator discovered for information transfer in the brain  | The protein mSYD1 has a key function in transmitting information between neurons. | Read More » Sequentially expressed genes in neural progenitors create neural diversity  | Biologists have found that a series of genes sequentially expressed in brain stem cells control the generation of neural diversity in visual system of fruit flies. | Read More » Are Dogs 'Kids?': Owner-dog relationships share striking similarities to parent-child relationships  | People have an innate need to establish close relationships with other people. But this natural bonding behavior is not confined to humans: many animals also seem to need relationships with others of their kind. For domesticated animals the situation is even more complex and pets may enter deep relationships not only with conspecifics but also with their owners. Scientists have investigated the bond between dogs and their owners and have found striking similarities to the parent-child relationship in humans. | Read More » Solitary mutation destroys key 'window' of brain development  | Scientists have shown in animal models that brain damage caused by the loss of a single copy of a gene during very early childhood development can cause a lifetime of behavioral and intellectual problems. | Read More » Scientists discover previously unknown requirement for brain development: Brain requires thalamic input as well as genetics  | Scientists have demonstrated that sensory regions in the brain develop in a fundamentally different way than previously thought, a finding that may yield new insights into visual and neural disorders. | Read More » Two-dimensional atomically-flat transistors show promise for next generation green electronics  | Researchers have demonstrated the first n-type field effect transistors on monolayer tungsten diselenide with excellent performance. | Read More » Compound enhances SSRI antidepressant's effects in mice  | A synthetic compound is able to turn off "secondary" vacuum cleaners in the brain that take up serotonin, resulting in the "happy" chemical being more plentiful, scientists have discovered. Their study points to novel targets to treat depression. | Read More » Graphene-based system could lead to improved information processing  | Researchers have proposed a new system that combines ferroelectric materials -- the kind often used for data storage -- with graphene, a two-dimensional form of carbon known for its exceptional electronic and mechanical properties. The resulting hybrid technology could eventually lead to computer and data-storage chips that pack more components in a given area and are faster and less power-hungry. | Read More » Help for African rhino poaching survivors  | In Africa hundreds of rhinos are shot or immobilised by poachers every year to supply ground up horn for the Asian medicine market. It is reputed to make men virile and treat anything from stomach ache to cancer - all just a myth. | Read More » A cheaper drive to 'cool' fuels  | Chemists have developed an inexpensive catalyst that uses the electricity generated from solar energy to convert carbon dioxide into synthetic fuels. | Read More » Potentially life-saving cooling treatment rarely used for in-hospital cardiac arrests  | Therapeutic hypothermia is rarely being used in patients who suffer cardiac arrest while in the hospital, despite its proven potential to improve survival and neurological function, researchers report. | Read More » Why closely related species do not eat the same things  | Closely related species consume the same resources less often than more remotely related species. In fact, it is the competition for resources, and not their kinship, which determines the food sources of the species of a community. Under the effect of this competition, closely related species have specialized on different food resources. | Read More » When green algae run out of air: Single cell organisms need haemoglobin to survive in an oxygen-free environment  | When green algae "can't breathe," they get rid of excess energy through the production of hydrogen. Biologists have found out how the cells notice the absence of oxygen. For this, they need the messenger molecule nitric oxide and the protein haemoglobin, which is commonly known from red blood cells of humans. | Read More » Daily iron during pregnancy linked to improved birth weight  | Taking iron daily during pregnancy is associated with a significant increase in birth weight and a reduction in risk of low birth weight, finds a new study. | Read More » Building operating system provides brain for smarter cities  | A new digital building operating system integrates all building operating systems into one, easy-to-use cockpit control interface for desktops and portable devices. | Read More » Scientists solve riddle of strangely behaving magnetic material  | Materials scientists have found an accurate way to explain the magnetic properties of a lanthanum-cobalt-oxygen compound that has mystified the scientific community for decades. | Read More » Beyond silicon: Transistors without semiconductors  | Scientists have built a nanoscale transistor that works at room temperature. The device, only 20 nanometers wide, is made of gold quantum dots mounted on boron nitride nanotubes. | Read More » Fighting infectious disease the modern way - with robots  | Hospitals are synonymous with cleanliness and now an academic medical center is taking disinfection to futuristic levels. Nicknamed "little Joe" a 3-foot upright cylindrical robots provide the finishing touches to room sanitation. A rotating telescopic head emits cidal ultraviolet (UV) rays for 15 minutes in closed, unoccupied rooms to systematically kill germs dead. | Read More » Alzheimer's disease protein controls movement in mice  | Researchers have revealed that a protein well known for its role in Alzheimer's disease controls spindle development in muscle and leads to impaired movement in mice when the protein is absent or treated with inhibitors. | Read More » Blockade in cellular waste disposal: Scientists show how protein aggregates disrupt the molecular balance of the cell  | Proteins can only perform their complex functions in the cell when they assume a specific three-dimensional structure for each respective task. Because misfolded proteins are often toxic, they are immediately refolded or degraded. Scientists have now shown in the yeast model that specific protein aggregates block an important degradation pathway for defective proteins – and thus disrupt the fragile molecular balance of the cell. | Read More » Clot-buster trial reveals long-term benefits for stroke patients  | Patients given a clot-busting drug within six hours of a stroke are more likely to have a long-lasting recovery than those who do not receive the treatment, new research has found. | Read More » Emergency helicopter airlifts help the seriously injured  | Patients transferred to hospital via helicopter ambulance tend to have a higher survival rate than those who take the more traditional road route, despite having more severe injuries. The research suggests that air ambulances are both effective and worthy of investment. | Read More » Stress from 9/11 linked to nationwide resurgence in smoking among Americans who had quit  | The 9/11 attacks on America appear to have caused about one million former smokers across the country to take up the habit again and maintain it, according to a public health study. | Read More » Bacterial DNA may integrate into human genome more readily in tumor tissue  | Bacterial DNA may integrate into the human genome more readily in tumors than in normal human tissue, according to a new study. Researchers analyzed genomic sequencing data available from the Human Genome Project, the 1,000 Genomes Project and The Cancer Genome Atlas. They considered the phenomenon of lateral gene transfer, the transmission of genetic material between organisms in the absence of sex. | Read More » Huge falls in diabetes mortality in UK and Canada since mid-1990s  | Both the UK and Canada have experienced huge falls in diabetes-related mortality since the mid-1990s, with the result that the gap in mortality risk between those with and without diabetes has narrowed substantially. | Read More » 'Good' bacteria can battle 'bad' bacteria in eye infections  | Like animal predators attacking their prey, some bacteria consume and kill other bacteria. Scientists report progress in putting predator microbes to work, attacking antibiotic resistant bacteria that cause infections that lead to blindness. | Read More » Climate change to shrink bison, profit  | A researcher finds that during the next 50 years, future generations of bison will be smaller in size and weigh less. Climate is likely to reduce the nutritional quality of grasses, causing the animals to grow more slowly. | Read More » New gene involved in obesity: Link between telomeres and obesity discovered  | The discovery of an unexpected function for a gene that was associated to another process in the organism might be a solution in search of a problem, a clue to unsuspected connections. That is what has happened with RAP1, a gene that protects telomeres -- the ends of chromosomes -- after researchers surprisingly discovered its key role in obesity. | Read More » Why our prehistoric, parasitic 'jumping' genes don't send us into meltdown  | A new study reveals for the first time how the movement and duplication of segments of DNA known as transposons, is regulated. This prevents a genomic meltdown, and instead enables transposons to live in harmony with their hosts — including humans. | Read More » | |
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