|  Mechanism behind squids' and octopuses' ability to change color revealed  | Color in living organisms can be formed two ways: Pigmentation or anatomical structure. Structural colors arise from the physical interaction of light with biological nanostructures. A wide range of organisms possess this ability, but the biological mechanisms underlying the process have been poorly understood. Now researchers have delved deeper to uncover the mechanism responsible for the dramatic changes in color used by such creatures as squids and octopuses. | Read More » Novel mechanism in spinal cord injury discovered: 'See-saw' molecule may offer clues to potential therapies in the long-term  | More than 11,000 Americans suffer spinal cord injuries each year, and since over a quarter of those injuries are due to falls, the number is likely to rise as the population ages. The reason so many of those injuries are permanently disabling is that the human body lacks the capacity to regenerate nerve fibers. The best our bodies can do is route the surviving tissue around the injury site. | Read More » Behavior of turbulent flow of superfluids is opposite that of ordinary fluids  | A superfluid moves like a completely frictionless liquid, seemingly able to propel itself without any hindrance from gravity or surface tension. The physics underlying these materials -- which appear to defy the conventional laws of physics -- has fascinated scientists for decades. | Read More » Researchers develop system that uses a big data approach to personalized healthcare  | Researchers have developed a computer-aided method that uses electronic medical records to offer the promise of rapid advances toward personalized health care, disease management and wellness. | Read More » Broad-scale genome tinkering with help of an RNA guide: Biotechnology tool borrowed from pathogenic bacteria  | Researchers have devised a way to quickly and easily target and tinker with any gene in the human genome. The new tool, which builds on an RNA-guided enzyme they borrowed from bacteria, is being made freely available to researchers who may now apply it to the next round of genome discovery. | Read More » Centaurs: NASA's WISE finds mysterious centaurs may be comets  | The true identity of centaurs, the small celestial bodies orbiting the sun between Jupiter and Neptune, is one of the enduring mysteries of astrophysics. Are they asteroids or comets? A new study of observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) finds most centaurs are comets. | Read More » Scientists discover surprising importance of 'I Love Q' for understanding neutron stars  | Astrophysicists have discovered why scientists can learn a tremendous amount about neutron stars and quark stars without knowing the details of their internal structure. | Read More » Rapamycin: Limited anti-aging effects  | The drug rapamycin is known to increase lifespan in mice. Whether rapamycin slows down aging, however, remains unclear. Scientists have now found that rapamycin extends lifespan -- but its impact on aging itself is limited. The life-extending effect seems to be related to rapamycin's suppression of tumors, which represent the main causes of death in these mouse strains. | Read More » Women's height linked to cancer risk, study finds  | The taller a postmenopausal woman is, the greater her risk for developing cancer, according to a new study. | Read More » How brain cells change their tune  | Researchers may have answered a long-standing, fundamental question about how brain cells communicate by showing that brief bursts of chemical energy coming from rapidly moving power plants, called mitochondria, may tune synaptic transmission. | Read More » Starring role discovered for supporting cells in inner ear  | Researchers have found in mice that supporting cells in the inner ear, once thought to serve only a structural role, can actively help repair damaged sensory hair cells, the functional cells that turn vibrations into the electrical signals that the brain recognizes as sound. | Read More » World changing technology enables crops to take nitrogen from the air  | A major new technology enables all of the world's crops to take nitrogen from the air rather than expensive and environmentally damaging fertilizers. Nitrogen fixation, the process by which nitrogen is converted to ammonia, is vital for plants to survive and grow. However, only a very small number of plants, most notably legumes (such as peas, beans and lentils) have the ability to fix nitrogen from the atmosphere with the help of nitrogen fixing bacteria. The vast majority of plants have to obtain nitrogen from the soil, and for most crops currently being grown across the world, this also means a reliance on synthetic nitrogen fertilizer. | Read More » Bipolar disorder takes different path in patients who binge eat, study suggests  | Bipolar disorder evolves differently in patients who also binge eat, a study has found. | Read More » Bacterial blockade: How gut microbes can inactivate cardiac drugs  | Researchers have identified a pair of genes which appear to be responsible for allowing a specific strain of bacteria in the human gut to break down Lanoxin -- a widely prescribed cardiac drug -- into an inactive compound, as well as a possible way to turn the process off. | Read More » Researcher digs into the contested peanut-allergy epidemic  | The path of the peanut from a snack staple to the object of bans at schools, day care centers and beyond offers important insights into how and why a rare, life-threatening food allergy can prompt far-reaching societal change, according to a researcher. | Read More » Scientists identify key fungal species that help explain mysteries of white nose syndrome  | Researchers have identified what may be a key to unraveling some of the mysteries of White Nose Syndrome: The closest known non-disease causing relatives of the fungus that causes WNS. A new study outlines research on the evolution of species related to the fungus causing WNS. | Read More » Largest magnetic fields in the universe  | Numerical simulations show for the first time the occurrence of an instability in the interior of neutron stars that can lead to gigantic magnetic fields, possibly triggering one of the most dramatic explosions observed in the Universe. | Read More » Discussing violence acts as 'a stronger bond than blood ties' for gang members  | Gang members trust one another more than their own family members if they have shared incriminating information about a violent act they are planning, says a new Oxford University study. Researchers analysed phone conversations between gangs wiretapped by the police in the 1990s. They found that the more contact two members had over the phone, the higher the level of cooperation they had on future tasks. The findings are published in the journal Rationality and Society. | Read More » Rocks can restore our climate… after 300,000 years  | A study of a global warming event that happened 93 million years ago suggests that Earth can recover from high carbon dioxide emissions faster than thought, but that this process takes around 300,000 years after emissions decline. | Read More » Fossil shows fish had sucker on its back  | A 30 million year-old fossil has revealed how remoras -- also called sharksuckers -- evolved the sucker that enables them to stick to other fishes and 'hitch a ride'. | Read More » Molecular monkey arranges X-chromosome activation  | X chromosomes are very special genetic material. They differ in number between men and women. To achieve equality between sexes, one out of two X chromosomes in women is silenced. In flies, the opposite happens: in male flies, the only available X chromosome is highly activated, to compensate for the absence of the second X-chromosome. Researchers have now shown how the RNA molecules and proteins involved in the activation find and stick to each other. Similar to a monkey that grabs a liana with hands and feet, one of the proteins holds on to the RNA. Then it moulds the molecular liana with its hands and thus generates a dynamic RNA -- protein meeting place. | Read More » Pesticides contaminate frogs from Californian national parks: Pyraclostrobin, tebuconazole, and simazine detected for first time in wild frog tissue  | Pesticides commonly used in California's Central Valley, one of the world's most productive agricultural regions, have been found in remote frog species miles from farmland. Researchers have demonstrated the contamination of Pacific Tree Fogs in remote mountain areas, including national parks; supporting past research on the potential transport of pesticides by the elements. | Read More » Polymer ribbons for better healing  | Researchers develop hydrogels for tissue regeneration that can be fine-tuned to fit any body part. | Read More » Chronic fatigue syndrome: Inherited virus can cause cognitive dysfunction and fatigue  | Many experts believe that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) has several root causes including some viruses. Now, researchers suggest that a common virus, Human Herpesvirus 6, may cause some CFS cases. | Read More » Global warming to cut snow water storage 56 percent in Oregon watershed  | A new report projects that by the middle of this century there will be an average 56 percent drop in the amount of water stored in peak snowpack in the McKenzie River watershed of the Oregon Cascade Range -- and that similar impacts may be found on low-elevation maritime snow packs around the world. | Read More » Scientists ID compounds that target amyloid fibrils in Alzheimer's, other brain diseases  | Scientists report an advance toward "structure-based drug design," with the potential to delay or treat Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, type II diabetes, ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's disease) and many other degenerative diseases. | Read More » Quantum of sonics: Bonded, not stirred  | Researchers have discovered a new way to join materials together using ultrasound. Ultrasound -- sound so high it cannot be heard -- is normally used to smash particles apart in water. Scientists found that if particles were coated with phosphate, they could instead bond together into strong agglomerates, about the size of grains of sand. | Read More » A faster vessel for charting the brain  | Researchers have created "souped up" versions of the calcium-sensitive proteins that for the past decade or so have given scientists an unparalleled view and understanding of brain-cell communication. | Read More » Removing pollutants and contaminants from wastewater  | Scientists have developed several effective processes for eliminating persistent pollutants from wastewater. Some of these processes generate reactive species which can be used to purify even highly polluted landfill leachate while another can also remove selected pollutants which are present in very small quantities with polymer adsorber particles. | Read More » Glass scaffolds help heal bone, show promise as weight-bearing implants  | Researchers have developed a type of glass implant that could one day be used to repair injured bones in the arms, legs and other areas of the body that are most subject to the stresses of weight. | Read More » New way to create 'gradients' for understanding molecular interactions  | Scientists use tools called gradients to understand how molecules interact in biological systems. Researchers have developed a new technique for creating biomolecular gradients that is both simpler than existing techniques and that creates additional surface characteristics that allow scientists to monitor other aspects of molecular behavior. | Read More » Gold nanoparticles improve photodetector performance  | Using nanoparticles of gold, researchers have found a way to boost the performance of mineral molybdenum disulfide (MoS2), which is found in light-sensing photodetectors used in a wide range of technologies, such as environmental sensing, process control in factories, and optical communication devices. | Read More » Too much of a good thing? Overactive immune response blocks itself  | As part of the innate immune system natural killer cells play an important role in immune responses. For a long time they have been known as the first line of defense in the fight against infectious diseases. Therefore, researchers assumed that the body needs as many active NK cells as possible. However, scientists have now shown that the principle "the more the better" does not apply to this type of immune cells. | Read More » Physics of running fast: Scientists model 'extraordinary' performance of Bolt  | As the world's best athletes descend on London today to take part in the Olympic Anniversary Games, a group of researchers from Mexico has provided an insight into the physics of one of the greatest athletic performances of all time. Researchers have put forward a mathematical model that accurately depicts the extraordinary feats of Usain Bolt during his 100 meter world record sprint at the 2009 World Championships in Berlin. | Read More » What can plants reveal about global climate change?  | While the media continues to present climate change as a controversial issue, many scientists are working hard to gather data, collaborate across disciplines, and use experimental and modeling techniques to track how organisms and ecosystems are responding to the current changes in our Earth's global environment. What role do plants play in helping to regulate climate change and how will they fare in future times? | Read More » Drug-eluting stents, heart attack and bleeding risks: One-year results of ADAPT-DES trial  | Patients who receive a drug-eluting stent and demonstrate high platelet reactivity on clopidogrel are more likely to have blood clots form on the stent and to suffer a heart attack; however, these patients are less likely to develop bleeding complications. | Read More » Isolated psychiatric episodes rare, but possible, in common form of autoimmune encephalitis  | A small percentage of people diagnosed with a mysterious neurological condition may only experience psychiatric changes - such as delusional thinking, hallucinations, and aggressive behavior - according to a new study. | Read More » Traditional forest management reduces fungal diversity  | In the beech groves of Navarre, biologists have analyzed the influence exerted by forestry management on the fungi populations that decompose wood. | Read More » New cornea transplant technique provides improved vision, faster recovery, study suggests  | A new cornea transplant technique called DMEK provides significantly improved vision and faster recovery from surgery than standard cornea transplants. | Read More » Oven-baked fish fingers have fewer furans than when fried  | Researchers have discovered that fried fish fingers generate more furanic compounds than those baked in the oven. To be precise, there are three times as many when fried with olive oil and twice as many with sunflower oil. These compounds improve the food's organoleptic characteristics, but are believed to be toxic and carcinogenic. | Read More » Genetic biomarker detects Lewy body dementia  | Scientists have discovered the first genetic biomarker to detect Lewy body dementia (LBD), a disease that can be confused with Alzheimer's. This biomarker is found in 20% of cases and differentiates one of the sub-groups of the pathology. | Read More » Technology/equipment issues account for almost one in four operating room errors  | Around a quarter of all operating room errors are caused by technology/equipment problems, indicates an analysis of the available evidence. | Read More » Analysis of 26 networked autism genes suggests functional role in the cerebellum  | Scientists have obtained intriguing insights into two groups of autism candidate genes in the mammalian brain that new evidence suggests are functionally and spatially related. The newly published analysis identifies two networked groupings from 26 genes associated with autism that are overexpressed in the cerebellar cortex, in areas dominated by neurons called granule cells. | Read More » Suffocating tumors could lead to new cancer drugs  | Scientists have discovered a new molecule that prevents cancer cells from responding and surviving when starved of oxygen and which could be developed into new treatments for the disease, according to new research. | Read More » Kids' sleep patterns affected by electronic media time and media presence in the bedroom  | Children's sleep disruption is worse with increased time spent watching TV or playing on the computer, finds new research. | Read More » Gadget genius: Nanotechnology breakthrough is big deal for electronics  | Researchers have developed giant surfactants, or surface coatings, which could lead to lighter laptops, slimmer televisions and crisper smartphone displays. | Read More » Potential well water contaminants highest near natural gas drilling  | Researchers tested 100 samples from water wells in and near the Barnett Shale natural gas drilling area and found elevated levels of potential contaminants such as arsenic closest to active gas extraction sites. Increased presence of these metals could be due to a variety of factors, including industrial accidents such as faulty gas well casings or mechanical vibrations from natural gas drilling activity disturbing particles in neglected water well equipment. | Read More » Materialism and loneliness: Is there really a vicious cycle?  | Despite being much-maligned, materialism is not always bad for consumers. Loneliness may cause materialism, but the opposite is not necessarily true, according to a new study. | Read More » Hubble eyes a mysterious old spiral  | A striking cosmic whirl is the center of galaxy NGC 524, as seen with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope. This galaxy is located in the constellation of Pisces, some 90 million light-years from Earth. | Read More » Estrogen's effects on fat depends on where it's located  | Why women tend to accumulate fat in the stereotypical "pear" shape, with more fat in the buttocks and thighs (a shape that's thought to be healthier than men's stereotypical "apple" shape, with more fat around the belly), is still unclear. A new study gathers clues to help understand the role of estrogen's effects on fat. | Read More » Cellular mechanisms for attention in brain uncovered  | The ability to pay attention to relevant information while ignoring distractions is a core brain function. Without the ability to focus and filter out "noise," we could not effectively interact with our environment. Despite much study of attention in the brain, the cellular mechanisms responsible for the effects of attention have remained a mystery. Now, researchers have shed new light on this cellular process. | Read More » Removing complexity layers from the universe's creation  | Understanding complexity in the early universe may require combining simpler models to interpret cosmological observations. Complicated statistical behavior observed in complex systems such as early universe can often be understood if it is broken down into simpler ones. Physicists have just published results pertaining to theoretical predictions of such cosmological systems' dynamics. | Read More » Certain blood pressure drugs slow dementia deterioration  | A class of drug, called ACE inhibitors, which are used to lower blood pressure, slow the rate of cognitive decline typical of dementia, suggests new research. | Read More » | |
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