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New links between social status, brain activity

New studies released today reveal links between social status and specific brain structures and activity, particularly in the context of social stress.

Using airport screening technology to visualize waves in fusion plasma

A new, quasi-optical radar technique images millimeter-wave radiation reflected from fusion plasmas in 2D, time-resolved images. This novel application lets researchers image waves in fusion plasmas in startling detail, and provides vital information to devise strategies to avoid instabilities which can reduce fusion power output.

'Missing heat' discovery prompts new estimate of global warming: Arctic warming fast

Scientists say they have found 'missing heat' in the climate system, casting doubt on suggestions that global warming has slowed or stopped over the past decade.

Largest lake in Britain and Ireland has lost three quarters of winter water birds

The largest lake in Britain and Ireland, Lough Neagh, has lost more than three quarters of its overwintering water birds.

Young stars paint spectacular stellar landscape

Most stars do not form alone, but with many siblings that are created at about the same time from a single cloud of gas and dust. NGC 3572, in the southern constellation of Carina (The Keel), is one of these clusters. It contains many hot young blue-white stars that shine brightly and generate powerful stellar winds that tend to gradually disperse the remaining gas and dust from their surroundings. The glowing gas clouds and accompanying cluster of stars are the subjects of a new picture from the Wide Field Imager on the MPG/ESO 2.2-meter telescope at ESO's La Silla Observatory in Chile.

NASA Cassini spacecraft provides new view of Saturn and Earth

NASA has released a natural-color image of Saturn from space, the first in which Saturn, its moons and rings, and Earth, Venus and Mars, all are visible. The new panoramic mosaic of the majestic Saturn system taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft shows the view as it would be seen by human eyes. Cassini's imaging team processed 141 wide-angle images to create the panorama. The image sweeps 404,880 miles (651,591 kilometers) across Saturn and its inner ring system.

Why timing of bird migration is changing

Researchers have found out why birds are migrating earlier and earlier each year. Experts have long suspected climate change is somehow driving this advancing migration pattern. But new research reveals that individual birds migrate like clockwork -- arriving at the same time each year. However, climate warming is resulting in earlier nesting and hatching earlier each year, and this appears to be linked to the advancing migration.

Evidence of 3.5-billion-year-old bacterial ecosystems found in Australia

Reconstructing the rise of life during the period of Earth's history when it first evolved is challenging. Earth's oldest sedimentary rocks are not only rare, but also almost always altered by hydrothermal and tectonic activity. A new study has revealed the well-preserved remnants of a complex ecosystem in a nearly 3.5 billion-year-old sedimentary rock sequence in Australia.

New guideline for management of blood cholesterol: Focuses on lifestyle, statin therapy for patients who most benefit

The American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association have released a new clinical practice guideline for the treatment of blood cholesterol in people at high risk for cardiovascular diseases caused by atherosclerosis, or hardening and narrowing of the arteries, that can lead to heart attack, stroke or death. The guideline identifies four major groups of patients for whom cholesterol-lowering HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors, or statins, have the greatest chance of preventing stroke and heart attacks. The guideline also emphasizes the importance of adopting a heart-healthy lifestyle to prevent and control high blood cholesterol.

Thin, active invisibility cloak demonstrated for first time

Invisibility cloaking is no longer the stuff of science fiction: scientists have demonstrated an effective invisibility cloak that is thin, scalable and adaptive to different types and sizes of objects. Professor George Eleftheriades and PhD student Michael Selvanayagam have designed and tested a new approach to cloaking—by surrounding an object with small antennas that collectively radiate an electromagnetic field. The radiated field cancels out any waves scattering off the cloaked object. Their paper 'Experimental demonstration of active electromagnetic cloaking' appears today in the journal Physical Review X.

Taking a new look at carbon nanotubes

Two of the biggest challenges in carbon nanotube research have been met with the development of a technique that can be used to identify the structure of an individual carbon nanotube and characterize its electronic and optical properties in a functional device.

A nano-sized sponge made of electrons

During chemical reactions, ceria nanoparticles behave in a completely different way than previously thought: the electrons absorbed and released during the reaction are not bound to individual atoms but, like a cloud, distribute themselves over the whole nanoparticle. Scientists have found far-reaching consequences for optimizing the current and future use of these nanoparticles and for assessing the limits of their safe use.

Putting the brakes on immunity

While the immune system's primary role is to fight infections, it can also become overactive, leading to problems like allergies and autoimmune diseases. Now researchers have discovered a powerful mechanism that keeps the system from "going rogue."

Like shopping at home

A new study proves that a sense of homeyness results in a fierce loyalty in customers, who in turn demonstrate an enthusiasm and sense of commitment that goes beyond the norms.

New paradigm for solar cell construction demonstrated

Researchers have experimentally demonstrated a new paradigm for solar cell construction which may ultimately make them less expensive, easier to manufacture and more efficient at harvesting energy from the sun.

Botany: The secret of short stems

Arabidopsis plants that only reach half their normal height have a mutation in the biosynthesis of the plant growth factor gibberellin.

Animal, human health benefits anticipated from new biomedical instrument

A biomedical instrument that can heat specific cells in the body while simultaneously producing real-time, high-resolution images of the heat's effects on tumors and inflamed cells is anticipated to help with animal, human health.

Altering surface textures in 'counterintuitive manner' may lead to cooling efficiency gains

Researchers across the globe are racing to find ways to improve the cooling of hot surfaces -- for technologies ranging from small electronics to nuclear power plants. Zeroing in on the physics at play underlying surface phenomena, researchers made a significant breakthrough. Although somewhat counterintuitive, they discovered that by creating sparsely packed textures on surfaces rather than densely packed ones, they were able to hold droplets in place and enable cooling.

Canadian researchers call for changes to help adults with developmental disabilities

Adults with developmental disabilities such as autism and Down syndrome are having a harder time accessing health care in Ontario, even though they have more health issues than people without developmental disabilities..

Controlling liquid crystals: Another tool in the directed assembly toolkit

Scientists have already developed a technique for controlling liquid crystals by means of physical templates and elastic energy, rather than the electromagnetic fields that manipulate them in televisions and computer monitors. They envision using this technique to direct the assembly of other materials, such as nanoparticles. Now, they have added another tool to this directed assembly toolkit.

A longitudinal study of grapheme-color synesthesia in childhood

In the first long-term study on grapheme-color synesthesia, researchers followed 80 children, including 8 synesthetes, to determine when and how associations between graphemes and colors develop.

Building block for exoskeleton could lead to more independence among elderly

Researchers are studying human movement as they work on creating an exoskeleton to benefit elderly patients, stroke patients and paraplegics.

First dual-protection intravaginal ring design shows promise in long-term HIV, pregnancy prevention

A new intravaginal ring has been developed for the sustained 90-day co-delivery of tenofovir and levonorgestrel, an anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug and a contraceptive. Tenofovir is the only topical prophylactic shown to be effective at reducing the sexual transmission of HIV when formulated in a gel.

Aerobic exercise improves memory, brain function, physical fitness

A new study found that engaging in a physical exercise regimen helps healthy aging adults improve their memory, brain health and physical fitness.

Conscientious people more likely to provide good customer service

Conscientious people are more likely to provide good customer service, according to a new study.

More research needed into substitution principle and regulation of potentially hazardous chemical materials, experts urge

Scientists say the substitution principle is not the "white knight" as described by a number of regulatory agencies and NGOs and proposes that chemical substitution can only work effectively on a case-by-case basis.

Die-hard sports fans view ads associated with rival teams negatively, regardless of the message

A new study concludes that it doesn't matter how compelling an advertisement may be, most die-hard Oregon State Beavers fans will simply not purchase a product associated with the Oregon Ducks.

Men support cracking glass ceiling

Male workers appear to support women becoming CEOs even more than female workers do, finds new research on the proverbial glass ceiling and job satisfaction in six formerly socialist countries.

Biomaterial-delivered chemotherapy could provide final blow to brain tumors

A polymer originally designed to help mend broken bones could be successful in delivering chemotherapy drugs directly to the brains of patients suffering from brain tumors, researchers have discovered.

New discovery on early immune system development

Researchers have shed light on how and when the immune system is formed, raising hope of better understanding various diseases in children, such as leukemia.

Researcher calls for halt of U.S. health care spending spiral

In order to evoke a true transformation, the U.S. health care system needs an audacious goal, one equivalent to President Kennedy's call for a man on the moon in 1962, says one researcher. He recommends limiting the rate of per capita health care cost increases to that of the U.S. economy as a whole as measured by the growth of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP).

Politicization of US health care preventing real changes to out-of-control system, researchers suggest

Over the last decade, the biggest driver of the high health care costs in the United States has been neither the aging of the population nor the large numbers of tests and treatments being prescribed. Rather, it is the politicization of health care, and the increasing prices of drugs, medical devices and hospital costs.

The secrets of a bug's flight

Researchers have identified some of the physics that may explain how insects can so quickly recover from a midflight stall -- unlike conventional fixed wing aircraft, where stalls often lead to crash landings. The analysis, in which the researchers studied the flow around a rotating model wing, improves the understanding of how insects fly and informs the design of small flying robots built for intelligence gathering, surveillance, search-and-rescue, and other purposes.

Prosthetic hands viewed as eerie by the public, new study shows

Members of the public would prefer to look at human hands or robotic hands rather than prosthetic hands which they view as eerie, a new study has shown.

Obtaining data from the 'brains' of cars

For the first time, a car manufacturer has opened the way for Norwegian research scientists to log data directly from the innermost systems of cars. If this practice becomes widespread, the transport industry will have a tool enabling vital decision-making at a national level.

Ticks kill sheep

In some lamb herds, a mortality rate of 30 percent has been recorded, with no predators involved in these losses. The situation is so serious that the sheep industry could be under threat. It is therefore crucial to identify the causes and implement preventative measures. The answer may be found somewhere within the genetics of the sheep and the course of the disease, assessment and control of tick populations and biological control of ticks.

Endangered limpets (sea snail) change sex to improve their chances of survival

The Ribbed Mediterranean Limpet is one of the most endangered invertebrates of the Mediterranean Sea and is classed as being in danger of extinction. Researchers have discovered their reproductive strategy, consisting in changing sex from male to female and vice versa, which improves their ability to adapt to changes in their environment.

Fungus kills ticks

Ticks may be facing a dangerous fate. In Norway, research efforts are hoping to determine whether fungus can kill ticks in sheep pastures. This would also benefit future hikers, and benefit the sheep population, which is threatened by ticks.

Stepparents not always evil: Parents' strategy to love children depends on more than blood

Contrary to common belief, parents do not generally treat their stepchildren less favorably than their own. Until now, many researchers believed in the so-called "Cinderella effect." It states that it is biologically inevitable that parents care less for stepchildren because they do not spread their genes. However, research challenges that belief.

Scientists launch world's first evacuation software to simulate realistic human behaviour associated with lift evacuation

Scientists have released the next generation of the world's most advanced evacuation and crowd simulation software, buildingEXODUS. Version 6.0 incorporates capabilities to simulate human behavior associated with the use of lifts/elevators for both evacuation and circulation. This new capability is based on data collected from an international survey involving 468 people from 23 countries, which revealed that in the event of an emergency people are less willing to wait for a lift then previously assumed.

Research may improve early detection of dementia

Using scores obtained from cognitive tests, researchers think they have developed a model that could help determine whether memory loss in older adults is benign or a stop on the way to Alzheimer's disease.

Study analyzes sharp rise in U.S. drug poisoning deaths by county

Research demonstrates that there may be a link between geographic patterns and death rates from drug poisoning.

Teen athletes at risk for medication misuse

Male adolescents who participate in organized sports are more likely to be prescribed opioid medications and misuse them than male teens that don't play sports, finds a new study.

Evolution of bitter taste sensitivity

People often have strong negative reactions to bitter substances, which, though found in healthful foods like vegetables, can also signify toxicity. For this reason, the ability to sense bitterness likely played an important role in human evolution. A new study suggests that a genetic mutation that makes certain people sensitive to the taste of a bitter compound appears to have been advantageous for certain human populations in Africa.

High tungsten levels double stroke risk, study says

Using data from a large US health survey, a study has shown that high concentrations of tungsten -- as measured in urine samples -- is strongly linked with an increase in the occurrence of stroke, roughly equal to a doubling of the odds of experiencing the condition.

Marine biology: Feast and famine on the abyssal plain

Marine biologists have long been puzzled by the fact that marine snow does not supply enough food to support all the animals and microbes living in deep-sea sediments. A new article shows that blooms of algae or animals near the sea surface can deliver as much food to deep-sea organisms as would normally arrive over years or even decades.

Global precipitation linked to global warming

A new study shows that observed changes in global (ocean and land) precipitation are directly affected by human activities and cannot be explained by natural variability alone.

Putting Lupus in permanent remission

Scientists have successfully tested a nontoxic therapy that suppresses Lupus in blood samples of people with the autoimmune disease.

New method gives accurate picture of gas storage by microscopic cages

Researchers accurately calculate the uptake of gas molecules by synthetic zeolites. The work may help more rapid development of materials for hydrogen storage, catalysis, environmental remediation and molecular sieves.

The doctor will text you now: Post-ER follow-up that works

Diabetic patients treated in the emergency department who were enrolled in a program in which they received automated daily text messages improved their level of control over their diabetes and their medication adherence, according to a study.

Overweight, obese are risks for heart disease regardless of metabolic syndrome

Being overweight or obese are risk factors for myocardial infarction (heart attack) and ischemic heart disease regardless of whether individuals also have the cluster of cardiovascular risk factors known as metabolic syndrome, which includes high blood pressure, high cholesterol and high blood sugar, according to a new study.

Of hurricanes, fungus and Parkinson's disease

Researchers trying to understand the link between volatile organics and illness discovered a link between one such compound and Parkinson's-like symptoms.

Mathematical analysis helps untangle bacterial chromosomes

A team of researchers has analyzed how tangled DNA is unknotted and unlinked during the process of E. coli cell division, an understanding that could improve human health by leading to the design of better antibacterial drugs.

Obese older women at higher risk for death, disease, disability before age 85

Obesity and a bigger waist size in older women are associated with a higher risk of death, major chronic disease and mobility disability before the age of 85, according to a study.

Problem-solving education reduces parental stress after child autism diagnosis

A cognitive-behavioral intervention known as problem-solving education may help reduce parental stress and depressive symptoms immediately after their child is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, according to a study.

Device may help doctors diagnose lethal heart rhythm in womb

A device that records the natural magnetic activity of the heart helped researchers identify abnormal heart rhythms in unborn babies. It's the first sizable study to document the electrical aspects of long QT syndrome in the womb. The condition is a common cause of sudden death in early life and stillbirth.

Study examines amyloid deposition in patients with traumatic brain injury

Patients with traumatic brain injury had increased deposits of ²-Amyloid plaques, a hallmark of Alzheimer Disease, in some areas of their brains, a new study has found.

Specific brain areas, mechanisms associated with depression, anxiety

Research reveals new mechanisms and areas of the brain associated with anxiety and depression, presenting possible targets to understand and treat these debilitating mental illnesses.

Deaths from pancreatic cancer rise, fall among racial lines

Pancreatic cancer death rates in whites and blacks have gone in opposite directions over the past several decades in the United States, with the direction reversing in each ethnicity during those years.

Using morphine after abdominal surgery may prolong pain

Using morphine to fight the pain associated with abdominal surgery may paradoxically prolong a patient's suffering, doubling or even tripling the amount of time it takes to recover from the surgical pain, according to researchers.

Rare African golden cat caught on camera trap

New camera trap footage from Uganda's Kibale National Park shows a rarely seen African golden cat.

Pioneers in the fight against 'The Big One': Proton therapy for lung cancer

Lung cancer is the number one cancer killer in the U.S., causing more deaths than the next three most common cancers – colon, breast and prostate – combined. Worldwide, lung cancer accounts for 1.3 million deaths annually. An estimated $10.3 billion per year is spent in the U.S. on lung cancer treatment alone, yet those diagnosed with the disease have just a 15 percent survival rate.

Clinical trial looks at impact of platelet-rich plasma therapy on tennis elbow

Big name athletes have reportedly used PRP therapy for sports injuries. Does it work?

Add bone deterioration to diabetes complications

The list of complications from type 2 diabetes is long: vascular and heart disease, eye problems, nerve damage, kidney disease, hearing problems and Alzheimer's disease. Physicians have long thought of osteoporosis as another outcome. Based on a study that's confirmed: You can definitely add skeletal problems to that list.

UTHealth study aims to change traditional approach to preventing pressure ulcers

A study has found that nursing homes that utilize high-density foam mattresses may not need to turn residents every two hours to prevent pressure ulcers, a practice that has been used for over 50 years.

Mindfulness inhibits implicit learning -- the wellspring of bad habits

Being mindful appears to help prevent the formation of bad habits, but perhaps good ones too. Behavioral and neuroimaging studies suggest that mindfulness can undercut the automatic learning processes, such as implicit learning.

How sequestration threatens social, behavioral sciences

Federal investment in social and behavioral science research has improved the health and well-being of Americans for years, but a new report published today shows how reckless discretionary federal funding cuts now threaten important work like this.

New guideline for assessing cardiovascular risk in adults

A newly released clinical practice guideline can help primary care clinicians better identify adults who may be at high risk for developing atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, potentially serious cardiovascular conditions caused by atherosclerosis, and who thus may benefit from lifestyle changes or drug therapy to help prevent it.

Parental monitoring lowers odds of gambling problem

Keeping an eye on your child can lower their odds for gambling by young adulthood. Adolescents who had poor parental supervision at age 11, and which continued to decline through age 14, were significantly more likely than their peers to be problem gamblers between ages 16-22. This is the first study to examine the relationship between parental monitoring during early adolescence and gambling behaviors in late adolescence and young adulthood.

What do city tweens need in after school arts?

A new study looks at the expectations of urban, low-income tweens about after school arts programs, and offers insights directly from tweens, teens, their families, teachers and leaders in arts and youth development.

Fatty acid produced by gut bacteria boosts the immune system

New research sheds light on the role of gut bacteria on the maturation of the immune system and provides evidence supporting the use of butyrate as therapy for inflammatory bowel diseases like Crohn's disease.

Astronomers reveal contents of mysterious black hole jets

An international team of astronomers has answered a long standing question about the enigmatic jets emitted by black holes, in research published today in prestigious journal Nature.

Newly discovered protist suggests evolutionary answers, questions

From Massachusetts to Mississippi, a unicellular protist is hinting at answers about the evolution of multicellularity while raising a whole new set of questions.

Monkeys 'understand' rules underlying language musicality

Many of us have mixed feelings when remembering painful lessons in German or Latin grammar in school. Languages feature a large number of complex rules and patterns: using them correctly makes the difference between something which "sounds good," and something which does not. However, cognitive biologists have shown that sensitivity to very simple structural and melodic patterns does not require much learning, or even being human: South American squirrel monkeys can do it, too.

Better batteries through biology? Modified viruses boost battery performance

Researchers find a way to boost lithium-air battery performance, with the help of modified viruses.

Risk of heart attack, stroke among diabetes patients significantly lower after gastric bypass

New research shows most patients with diabetes and obesity who undergo gastric bypass not only experience remission of their diabetes and lose significant weight, but they also reduce their risk of having a heart attack by 40 percent and their risk for suffering a stroke by 42 percent, over a 10-year time horizon.

Researcher finds potential new use for old drugs

A class of drugs used to treat parasitic infections such as malaria may also be useful in treating cancers and immune-related diseases, a new study has found. Researchers discovered that simple modifications to the drug furamidine have a major impact on its ability to affect specific human proteins involved in the on-off switches of certain genes.

Our relationship with food: What drives us to eat, suffer eating disorders?

A growing body of evidence shows the impact of diet on brain function, and identifies patterns of brain activity associated with eating disorders such as binge eating and purging.

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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

FeedaMail: ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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