ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines
for Tuesday, July 27, 2010
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Biological rationale for why intensive lupus treatment works (July 27, 2010) -- Researchers have uncovered the biological rationale for why large doses of corticosteroids given repeatedly over several weeks may help individuals with lupus, a chronic inflammatory disease that affects more than one million people in the US. ... > full story
Seeing the forest and the trees reveals heart problems (July 27, 2010) -- A statistical analysis of publicly available heart rate data using three classification tools -- Random Forests, Logistic Model Tree and Neural Network -- could lead to a rapid and precise way to diagnose heart problems, according to new research. ... > full story
NASA satellite improves pollution monitoring (July 27, 2010) -- NASA scientists use satellite precipitation data to improve water pollution monitoring models. ... > full story
Plentiful maternal affection in early infancy boosts adult coping skills, study finds (July 27, 2010) -- Moms who shower their infants with affection equip them to cope well with life stressors as adults, new research finds. ... > full story
SIRT1 gene important for memory (July 27, 2010) -- A protein implicated in many biological processes also may play a role in memory, according to a new study. ... > full story
Preventing heart problems while keeping a cool head: Cause of flushing effect arising from cholesterol treatment with nicotinic acid (July 27, 2010) -- Cholesterol influences the health of our hearts and blood vessels. Conventional treatment attempts to reduce the level of "bad" cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, in the blood plasma. The opposite approach, which involves increasing the concentration of "good" HDL cholesterol using nicotinic acid, has proven unpopular among patients up to now. The reason for this is that treatment with nicotinic acid has an unpleasant but harmless side-effect: the drug makes patients turn quite red in the face. Scientists have now discovered the mechanism behind this effect, which is known as flushing. This will enable the development of flush inhibitors and thereby the more effective prevention of cardiovascular diseases. ... > full story
Keeping trains on track: Early-warning hazard system for the world's railways (July 27, 2010) -- Researchers are collecting high-tech sensing data from satellites, airplanes, magnetic and soil sensors, and unmanned aircraft to devise a solution that will provide a reliable early-warning system for train operators. ... > full story
Elder Care Puts Strain on Adult Parent-Child Relationship (July 27, 2010) -- Relationships between elder and younger members of a family can be strained and positive and negative in nature, even when affection is shared. A new study finds that long-term caretaking duties puts further strain on adult parent-child relationships. ... > full story
Childhood cancer survivors may have abnormal long-term cardiac function (July 26, 2010) -- Childhood cancer survival is associated with increased risk of long-term abnormalities in cardiac function, according to a new study. ... > full story
Predicting drug responsiveness in cancer patients (July 26, 2010) -- Drugs that target the protein mTOR are used to treat several forms of cancer, but not all patients respond to the treatment. Now, a team of researchers has identified a way to help predict which patients will respond to such drugs. ... > full story
Our children aren't sleeping and we're medicating them, survey finds (July 26, 2010) -- A new survey of child psychiatrists indicates that insomnia is a major problem among children in mental health treatment and at least a quarter of these patients are given sleep medication. The results of the survey suggests that management of insomnia in this population is a common practice, although the clinical approach varies widely. ... > full story
New compound improves obesity-related health complications (July 26, 2010) -- An experimental compound appears to improve metabolic abnormalities associated with obesity, according to a preliminary study. ... > full story
Noninvasive MR imaging of blood vessel growth in tumors using nanosized contrast agents (July 26, 2010) -- Scientists have incorporated nanotechnology, material science, and the clinical imaging modality MRI, to create a nanosized probe capable of noninvasively visualizing and quantifying the blood vessel growth in tumors in a preclinical model. Studies in cell and preclinical animal models showed increase uptake of vascular targeted-nanoprobes over non-targeted nanoprobes. ... > full story
Position-based quantum cryptography: New method for securing location-sensitive data (July 26, 2010) -- Computer scientists have proved that cryptography, the practice and study of hiding information, based solely on location is possible by using quantum mechanics. This allows one to encrypt and decrypt data without pre-sharing any cryptographic keys that can be used to lock and unlock sensitive information. The idea behind location-based cryptography is that only a recipient at a precise geographic location can receive an encrypted message. ... > full story
Certain epilepsy drugs may increase risk of suicide, study suggests (July 26, 2010) -- While the Food and Drug Administration requires a warning of an increased risk of suicide for all epilepsy drugs, a new study shows that only certain drugs may increase the risk. ... > full story
Missing link in cell mitosis discovered: The role of protein in controlling cell division unveiled (July 26, 2010) -- A major discovery promises to revolutionize the way scientists think about key aspects of cellular lifecycle and offers a new avenue for cancer researchers to explore in their quest to one day slow down the progression of cancer. ... > full story
Meals as medicine: Anti-obesity effects of soy in rat model of menopause (July 26, 2010) -- A diet rich in soy prevents weight gain in post-menopausal female rats, according to new research. ... > full story
New links between cholesterol and depression in the elderly (July 26, 2010) -- Most people know that high cholesterol levels place them at increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Prior research has shown that particular types of strokes contribute to one’s risk for depression, and that abnormal blood lipid levels can increase the risk of depression in the elderly. However, new findings by French researchers suggest the link between increased cholesterol and depression may be complicated. ... > full story
Non-human sugar in biotech drugs causes inflammation, study finds (July 26, 2010) -- Researchers have discovered that a kind of sugar molecule common to chimpanzees, gorillas and other mammals but not found in humans provokes a strong immune response in some people, likely worsening conditions in which chronic inflammation is a major issue. ... > full story
Children born after assisted reproduction at greater risk of congenital malformations, experts say (July 26, 2010) -- Couples considering undergoing assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment should be informed about the increased risk of congenital malformation posed by the use of ART, experts say. ... > full story
Why more education lowers dementia risk (July 26, 2010) -- A team of researchers from the UK and Finland has discovered why people who stay in education longer have a lower risk of developing dementia -- a question that has puzzled scientists for the past decade. ... > full story
Irradiating stem cell niche doubles survival in brain cancer patients (July 26, 2010) -- Patients with deadly glioblastomas who received high doses of radiation that hit a portion of the brain that harbors neural stem cells had double the progression-free survival time as patients who had lower doses or no radiation targeting the area, a study has found. ... > full story
Unaccounted feedbacks from climate-induced ecosystem changes may increase future climate warming (July 26, 2010) -- In addition to the carbon cycle-climate interactions that have been a major focus of modeling work in recent years, other biogeochemistry feedbacks could be at least equally important for future climate change. Experts argue that it is important to include these feedbacks in the next generation of Earth system models. ... > full story
How key enzyme repairs sun-damaged DNA (July 26, 2010) -- Researchers have long known that humans lack a key enzyme -- one possessed by most of the animal kingdom and even plants -- that reverses severe sun damage. For the first time, researchers have witnessed how this enzyme works at the atomic level to repair sun-damaged DNA. The discovery holds promise for future sunburn remedies and skin cancer prevention. ... > full story
The hormone IGF-1: A trigger of puberty (July 26, 2010) -- Puberty is triggered by pulsatile release of GnRH from specific nerve cells in the the brain. What signals tell these nerve cells to release GnRH in this manner has not been determined, although it has been suggested that hormones associated with good nutritional status (such as IGF-1) have a role. New research has now confirmed that in mice IGF-1 does indeed have a key role in coordinating the timing of puberty onset. ... > full story
Stop or speed through a yellow light? That is the question (July 26, 2010) -- Are you, as a driver, more likely to stop or to speed through a yellow light? ... > full story
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