| Rotation-resistant rootworms owe their success to gut microbes  | Researchers say they now know what allows some Western corn rootworms to survive crop rotation, a farming practice that once effectively managed the rootworm pests. The answer to the decades-long mystery of rotation-resistant rootworms lies -- in large part -- in the rootworm gut, the team reports. | Read More »  Two mutations triggered an evolutionary leap 500 million years ago  | Scientists have discovered two key mutations that sparked a hormonal revolution 500 million years ago. In a feat of "molecular time travel," the researchers resurrected and analyzed the functions of the ancestors of genes that play key roles in modern human reproduction, development, immunity and cancer. | Read More » Resilience in the wake of Superstorm Sandy  | Researchers have released results of a major survey exploring resilience of people and neighborhoods directly affected by Superstorm Sandy. The study reveals the importance of social factors such as neighborhood bonds and social supports in coping with the storm and its aftermath. | Read More » Giving children non-verbal clues boosts vocabularies  | The clues that parents give toddlers about words can make a big difference in how deep their vocabularies are when they enter school, new research shows. By using words to reference objects in the visual environment, parents can help young children learn new words, according to the research. | Read More » Breastfeeding boosts ability to climb social ladder  | Breastfeeding not only boosts children's chances of climbing the social ladder, but it also reduces the chances of downwards mobility, suggests a large study. | Read More » Babies know when a cuddle is coming  | Babies as young as two months know when they are about to be picked up and change their body posture in preparation, according to new research. | Read More » Three planets in habitable zone of nearby star -- Gliese 667c  | Astronomers have combined new observations of Gliese 667C with existing data to reveal a system with at least six planets. A record-breaking three of these planets are super-Earths lying in the zone around the star where liquid water could exist, making them possible candidates for the presence of life. This is the first system found with a fully packed habitable zone. | Read More » New theory: Emotions arise through the integration of perceptual and cognitive information  | A life without feelings -- unimaginable. Although emotions are so important, philosophers are still discussing what they actually are. According to a new theory, emotions are not just special cases of perception or thought but a separate kind of mental state which arises through the integration of feelings of bodily processes and cognitive contents. | Read More » A slimy marine organism fit for biofuel and salmon feed  | It sounds too good to be true: a common marine species that consumes microorganisms and can be converted into much-needed feed for salmon or a combustible biofuel for filling petrol tanks. And it can be cultivated in vast amounts: 200 kg per square metre of ocean surface area. | Read More » From tiny to massive: Mammal size evolution explained  | Scientists have added another piece to the evolutionary puzzle to explain why certain mammal families evolved to be very large, while others remained tiny. | Read More » New study on popular prostate cancer protein provides insight into disease progression  | Researchers have uncovered for the first time the vital role a popular protein plays in the stroma, the cell-lined area outside of a prostate tumor. | Read More » Feeling stressed? Oxytocin could help you reach out to others for support  | Scientists have shown that reaching out to other people during a stressful event is an effective way to improve your mood, and researchers suggest that the hormone oxytocin may help you accomplish just that. | Read More » Vitamin D improves mood and blood pressure in women with diabetes  | In women who have type 2 diabetes and show signs of depression, vitamin D supplements significantly lowered blood pressure and improved their moods. Vitamin D even helped the women lose a few pounds. | Read More » New palm-sized microarray technique grows 1,200 individual cultures of microbes  | A new palm-sized microarray that holds 1,200 individual cultures of fungi or bacteria could enable faster, more efficient drug discovery, according to a new study. | Read More » Weight loss's effect on heart disease risks  | A landmark study investigating the long-term effects of weight loss on the risks of cardiovascular disease among patients with Type 2 diabetes has now concluded, with significant results. | Read More » Exercise benefits patients with type 2 diabetes  | Moderate-intensity exercise reduces fat stored around the heart, in the liver and in the abdomen of people with type 2 diabetes mellitus, even in the absence of any changes in diet, according to a new study. | Read More » Ten thousandth near-Earth object discovered in space  | More than 10,000 asteroids and comets that can pass near Earth have now been discovered. The 10,000th near-Earth object, asteroid 2013 MZ5, was first detected on the night of June 18, 2013, by the Pan-STARRS-1 telescope, located on the 10,000-foot (convert) summit of the Haleakala crater on Maui. | Read More » Hunger affects decision-making and perception of risk  | Hungry people are often difficult to deal with. A good meal can affect more than our mood, it can also influence our willingness to take risks. This phenomenon is also apparent across a very diverse range of species in the animal kingdom. Experiments conducted on the fruit fly, Drosophila, have shown that hunger not only modifies behavior, but also changes pathways in the brain. | Read More » New kind of signalling mechanism in plant cells discovered  | Plants possess receptors which are similar to the glutamate receptors in the brain of humans and animals. Biochemists have discovered that these receptors do not, however, recognize the amino acid glutamate, but many other different amino acids. | Read More » Programming model for supercomputers of the future  | The demand for even faster, more effective, and also energy-saving computer clusters is growing in every sector. The new asynchronous programming model GPI from Fraunhofer ITWM might become a key building block towards realizing the next generation of supercomputers. | Read More » Addiction relapse might be thwarted by turning off brain trigger  | A new study offers encouraging findings that researchers hope may one day lead to a treatment option for people who suffer from alcohol abuse disorders and other addictions. | Read More » How size-related food labels impact how much we eat  | Portions -- such as 8, 12 or 16 ounces -- are given different labels -- small, medium or large -- at different restaurants. However, how a portion is described size-wise impacts how much we eat and how much we're willing to pay for our food, a new study finds. | Read More » Laser guided codes advance single pixel terahertz imaging  | By using a laser beam to send a detailed set of instructions that create a coded aperture, researchers have enabled a new method that may help tame terahertz waves in order to create new imaging technology. | Read More » Kids' reading success boosted by long-term individualized instruction  | Students who consistently receive individualized reading instruction from first through third grade become better readers than those who don't, according to new research. | Read More » Spatial training boosts math skills  | Training young children in spatial reasoning can improve their math performance, according to a groundbreaking study. | Read More » Autism in children affects not only social abilities, but also a broad range of sensory and motor skills  | Scientists are shedding a new light on the effects of autism on the brain. Researchers have identified that connectivity between the thalamus, a deep brain structure crucial for sensory and motor functions, and the cerebral cortex, the brain's outer layer, is impaired in children with autism spectrum disorders. | Read More » Symptoms of Prader-Willi syndrome associated with interference in circadian, metabolic genes  | Researchers have found that Prader-Willi syndrome -- a genetic disorder best known for causing an insatiable appetite that can lead to morbid obesity -- is associated with the loss of non-coding RNAs, resulting in the dysregulation of circadian and metabolic genes, accelerated energy expenditure and metabolic differences during sleep. | Read More » Solar cell record: Conversion-efficiency record for a two-junction solar cell measured under one-sun illumination  | Scientists have announced a world record of 31.1 percent conversion efficiency for a two-junction solar cell under one sun of illumination. | Read More » Dramatic increase in hospitalization of US children with inflammatory bowel disease  | The largest investigation to date has found a dramatic increase in hospitalizations for children with inflammatory bowel disease during the past decade in the US. The study found a 65 percent increase in IBD hospital discharges from 2000 - 2009. | Read More » High-octane bacteria could ease pain at the pump: Engineered E. coli mass-produce key precursor to potent biofuel  | Potent gasoline-like biofuels are needed to fuel millions of cars with internal combustion engines, and current biofuels don't pack the necessary power. Now scientists have programmed bacteria to tailor-make key precursors of high-octane biofuels that could one day replace gasoline. | Read More » Protein that contributes to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's identified  | Researchers have demonstrated that a protein called caspase-2 is a key regulator of a signaling pathway that leads to cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease. The findings, made in a mouse model of Alzheimer's, suggest that inhibiting this protein could prevent the neuronal damage and subsequent cognitive decline associated with the disease. | Read More » Resourceful microbes reign in world's oceans  | Using cutting-edge technology on a large scale for the first time, researchers have discovered that marine microbes are adapted to narrow and specialized niches, a finding pivotal to detecting and mitigating human impacts in the ocean. High-throughput single cell genomics was used read genetic information from microbes that were previously inaccessible to scientific investigation, opening a new chapter in exploring the microbial life that dominates marine ecosystems. | Read More » Conversations with teens about weight linked with increased risk of unhealthy eating behaviors  | Conversations between parents and adolescents that focus on weight and size are associated with an increased risk for unhealthy adolescent weight-control behaviors, according to a new study. | Read More » Genes involved in birth defects may also lead to mental illness  | Gene mutations that cause cell signaling networks to go awry during embryonic development and lead to major birth defects may also cause subtle disruptions in the brain that contribute to psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, autism, and bipolar disorder, according to new research. | Read More » Pareiasaur: Bumpy beast was a desert dweller  | During the Permian era, animal and plant life were dispersed broadly across Pangea, and a new study supports the idea that there was an isolated desert in the middle of Pangea with its own fauna. Roaming this desert was a very distinctive creature known as a pareiasaur. Pareiasaurs were large, herbivorous reptiles that were common across Pangea during the Middle and Late Permian, about 266-252 million years ago. | Read More » NMR advance brings proteins into the open  | A key protein interaction, common across all forms of life, had eluded scientists' observation until a team of researchers cracked the case by combining data from four different techniques of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. | Read More » Higher levels of stray gases found in water wells near shale gas sites  | Homeowners living within one kilometer of shale gas wells appear to be at higher risk of having their drinking water contaminated by stray gases, according to a new study. | Read More » Computer models shed new light on sickle cell crisis  | Sickle cell crisis, a painful blood blockage common in people with sickle cell disease, isn't just about sickle-shaped red blood cells that block capillaries. According to new computer models, a second, stickier kind of red blood cell starts the obstruction, making it difficult for sickle cells to flow past. | Read More » | |
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