news: ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Tuesday, January 5, 2010

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Tuesday, January 5, 2010

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Obesity now poses as great a threat to quality of life as smoking (January 5, 2010) -- As the US population becomes increasingly obese while smoking rates continue to decline, obesity has become an equal, if not greater, contributor to the burden of disease and shortening of healthy life in comparison to smoking. In a new study, researchers calculate that the Quality-Adjusted Life Years (QALYs) lost due to obesity is now equal to, if not greater than, those lost due to smoking, both modifiable risk factors. ... > full story

Refusing chickenpox vaccine associated with increased risk of disease (January 5, 2010) -- Children whose parents refuse the varicella (chickenpox) vaccine appear more likely to develop the disease, according to a new study. ... > full story

Winter, Nighttime Tornadoes Pose Greatest Risk, National Weather Service Warns (January 5, 2010) -- Shrouded in darkness, nighttime tornadoes can be deadly, especially during the winter season when people are not accustomed to such severe weather. Given the dangers, forecasters with NOAA's National Weather Service are increasing efforts to alert people of a potential threat in their area before they go to sleep. ... > full story

Can Supplements Help People with Diabetes Avoid Retinopathy? (January 5, 2010) -- In theory, Vitamins C and E and magnesium could help prevent or limit diabetic retinopathy (DR), a potentially blinding disease, since each nutrient causes the body to respond in ways that alter retinopathy mechanisms. ... > full story

Researchers identify scaffold regulating protein disposal (January 5, 2010) -- How does a cell manage to identify and degrade the diverse types of defective proteins and thus protect the body against serious diseases? Researchers have found a crucial piece in this puzzle. In an enzyme complex that plays a critical role in the quality control of proteins, they discovered a scaffold regulating the identification and disposal of various defectively produced proteins. ... > full story

Nurse home visitation program reduces girls' potential criminality later in life (January 5, 2010) -- Girls whose mothers were visited at home by nurses during pregnancy and the children's infancy appear less likely to enter the criminal justice system by age 19, according to a new study. ... > full story

Scans Show Learning 'Sculpts' The Brain's Connections (January 5, 2010) -- Spontaneous brain activity formerly thought to be "white noise" measurably changes after a person learns a new task, researchers have shown. Scientists also report that the degree of change reflects how well subjects have learned to perform the task. ... > full story

Exercise helps patients with peripheral artery disease (January 5, 2010) -- Peripheral artery disease affects 5 million individuals in the US and is the leading cause of limb amputations. Doctors have long considered exercise to be the single best therapy for PAD, and now a new study helps explain why. ... > full story

Highway Barriers Stifle Sound, Sight, and Soot (January 5, 2010) -- Highway barriers erected along roadways to block the sound and sight of traffic for the adjoining neighborhoods may also be reducing the amount of pollutants, such as soot from diesel exhaust, reaching area residents. ... > full story

How precursors of gene-regulating small RNAs are sorted by cellular machinery (January 5, 2010) -- A team of scientists has determined a hierarchical set of criteria that explain how the molecular precursors of gene-regulating small RNAs are sorted by the cellular machinery. ... > full story

Ecosystem, vegetation affect intensity of urban heat island effect (January 5, 2010) -- Researchers studying urban landscapes have found that the intensity of the "heat island" created by a city depends on the ecosystem it replaced and on the regional climate. Urban areas developed in arid and semi-arid regions show far less heating compared with the surrounding countryside than cities built amid forested and temperate climates. ... > full story

Pain management failing as fears of prescription drug abuse rise (January 5, 2010) -- Millions of Americans with significant or chronic pain associated with their medical problems are being under-treated as physicians increasingly fail to provide comprehensive pain treatment -- either due to inadequate training, personal biases or fear of prescription drug abuse. ... > full story

New Evidence Of Culture In Wild Chimpanzees (January 4, 2010) -- A new study of chimpanzees living in the wild adds to evidence that our closest primate relatives have cultural differences, too. The study shows that neighboring chimpanzee populations in Uganda use different tools to solve a novel problem: extracting honey trapped within a fallen log. ... > full story

Discovery aims to correct cellular defects leading to diabetes (January 4, 2010) -- A recent discovery may change the perception and treatment of diabetes. That's because scientists have moved closer toward correcting the root cause of the disease rather than managing its symptoms. Specifically researchers identified a protein and its antioxidant product that both prevent the death and promote the growth of cells which produce and release insulin in the pancreas. ... > full story

Protection of organic products taken to next level (January 4, 2010) -- Ready-to-eat, organic processed pork products look similar to conventionally cured meats. The organic versions have become popular among consumers as processors work to meet the demand. Although the natural and organic processed meat products are manufactured to simulate traditionally cured meat products as closely as possible, they're not exactly alike. ... > full story

Bardet-Biedl syndrome proteins shown to run an export business that protects cilia (January 4, 2010) -- A protein complex mutated in human disease removes excess signaling molecules to prevent them from damaging cilia, say researchers. ... > full story

ALMA test sharpens vision of new observatory (January 4, 2010) -- The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array passed a key milestone crucial to producing the high-quality images that will be this revolutionary new observatory's trademark. A team of astronomers and engineers successfully linked three of the observatory's advanced antennas at the 16,500-foot-elevation observing site in northern Chile. Linking three antennas to work in unison for the first time allowed the ALMA team to correct errors that can arise when only two antennas are used, thus paving the way for precise, high-resolution imaging. ... > full story

Overexposure to credit default swaps contributed to financial meltdown (January 4, 2010) -- Overexposure to credit default swaps (CDS) -- a market-traded form of investment insurance -- are believed to have contributed to last year's financial meltdown. Trying to understand how CDS prices are determined, a team of researchers concludes that earnings have a major impact and in turn, CDS prices can seriously affect the economy. When earnings drop, CDS spreads rise. ... > full story

Five New Exoplanets Discovered By NASA's Kepler Space Telescope (January 4, 2010) -- NASA's Kepler space telescope, designed to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of sun-like stars, has discovered its first five new exoplanets, or planets beyond our solar system. ... > full story

Scientists identify target that may inhibit HIV infectivity (January 4, 2010) -- Scientists have discovered a new agent that might inhibit the infectivity of HIV. The agent, surfen, impairs the action of a factor in semen that greatly enhances the viral infection. Surfen might be used to supplement current HIV microbicides to greatly reduce HIV transmission during sexual contact. ... > full story

Licorice root: Trip to the candy store might help ward off rare, but deadly infections (January 4, 2010) -- As it turns out, children were not the only ones with visions of sugar plums dancing in their heads over this past holiday season. In a new study, scientists show how a compound from licorice root might be an effective tool in battling life-threatening, antibiotic-resistant infections resulting from severe burns. ... > full story

Angina In The Legs? Time To Alert Patients And Physicians (January 4, 2010) -- Researchers recommend that people over age 40 be screened for peripheral artery disease (PAD), which puts people at high risk for serious medical complications including heart disease, stroke and possible lower limb amputation. ... > full story

Pandemic toolkit offers flu with a view (January 4, 2010) -- As communities brace for rising wintertime influenza cases, scientists are developing a mathematical and visual analytic toolkit to help health officials quickly analyze pandemics and craft better response strategies. ... > full story

Massive black hole implicated in stellar destruction (January 4, 2010) -- New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Magellan telescopes suggest that a dense stellar remnant has been ripped apart by a black hole a thousand times as massive as the Sun. If confirmed, this discovery would be a cosmic double play: it would be strong evidence for an intermediate mass black hole, which has been a hotly debated topic, and would mark the first time such a black hole has been caught tearing a star apart. ... > full story

Vitamin C 'cures' mice with accelerated aging disease (January 4, 2010) -- New research suggests that treatments for disorders that cause accelerated aging, particularly Werner's syndrome, might come straight from the family medicine chest. In their study, a team of Canadian scientists shows that vitamin C stops and even reverses accelerated aging in a mouse model of Werner's syndrome, but the discovery may also be applicable to other progeroid syndromes. ... > full story

Finally, an excuse for pregnant women to eat bacon and eggs (January 4, 2010) -- If you're pregnant and looking for an excuse to eat bacon and eggs, now you've got one: new research shows that choline plays a critical role in helping fetal brains develop regions associated with memory. Choline is found in meats, including pork, as well as chicken eggs. ... > full story

PSA value at 2 years post-treatment can predict long-term survival in prostate cancer patients (January 4, 2010) -- Prostate cancer patients who have a prostate-specific antigen value of less than or equal to 1.5 at two years after external beam radiation therapy are less likely to have a cancer recurrence and cancer-related death, according to a new study. ... > full story

Light-generating transistors to power labs on chips (January 4, 2010) -- What started out as ‘blue-sky’ thinking by a group of researchers could ultimately lead to the commercial mass production of a new generation of optoelectronic components for devices ranging from mobile laboratories to mobile phones. ... > full story

GDP is misleading measure of wealth, says top economist (January 4, 2010) -- The most commonly used measure of overall economic output is misleading and inaccurate, according to one of the world's leading economists, who says Gross Domestic Product (GDP) ignores the value of natural ecosystems -- an essential component of wealth. Aquifers, ocean fisheries, tropical forests, estuaries and the atmosphere, should but are not used to estimate nations’ wealth, he argues. ... > full story

Spectacular Mars images reveal evidence of ancient lakes (January 4, 2010) -- Spectacular satellite images suggest that Mars was warm enough to sustain lakes three billion years ago, a period that was previously thought to be too cold and arid to sustain water on the surface, according to new research. ... > full story

Experimental drug shows promise against brain, prostate cancers (January 4, 2010) -- An experimental drug currently being tested against breast and lung cancer shows promise in fighting the brain cancer glioblastoma and prostate cancer, researchers have found in two preclinical studies. ... > full story

Roe of marine animals is best natural source of omega-3 (January 4, 2010) -- The roe of hake, lumpsucker and salmon is the best dietary source of omega-3, according to a new study. The scientists analyzed the eggs, or roe, of 15 marine animals, and found all of these contained high levels of these fatty acids, which are essential to the human body. ... > full story

Chronic sinusitis patients experience improved quality of life after endoscopic sinus surgery (January 4, 2010) -- Upwards of 76 percent of patients with chronic rhinosinusitis experienced significant quality of life improvements after undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery, according to new research. ... > full story

Demonstration of pH-regulating protein (January 4, 2010) -- Researchers have identified the protein mechanism that senses bicarbonate fluctuations and adjusts blood pH levels. Scientists have now achieved the first demonstration of the process in a whole animal. The researchers found that the protein adenylyl cyclase sensed and then regulated the pH blood levels in a dogfish shark following feeding. ... > full story

Veterinarians lead way in disaster response for animals (January 4, 2010) -- Most people can picture the first responders who come to the rescue in the wake of a natural disaster. But who provides emergency help for the dogs, cats and horses that people love? Veterinarians are helping to fill the need through a unique initiative that requires all of its students to receive disaster training, providing a new generation of leaders in veterinary medicine and disaster response. ... > full story

Microorganisms cited as missing factor in climate change equation (January 4, 2010) -- Those seeking to understand and predict climate change can now use an additional tool to calculate carbon dioxide exchanges on land, according to a new article. ... > full story

Severe asymptomatic heart disease may accompany narrowing in leg arteries (January 4, 2010) -- Results of a randomized, controlled clinical trial reveal that one in five patients with narrowing or blockage in arteries that supply blood to the legs and other parts of the body also have significant but silent coronary artery disease. ... > full story

Brooding fishes take up nutrients from their own children (January 4, 2010) -- In the pipefish, the male cares for the offspring. Apart from the ones he sucks the life out of. Researchers have just discovery filial cannibalism in the pipefish. ... > full story

Breast cancer survival improves if Herceptin is used with chemotherapy (January 4, 2010) -- Using Herceptin with chemotherapy, instead of after, clearly improves treatment of women with HER2+ breast cancer, and should be the new standard of care, says a researcher. ... > full story

Loss of sea ice stirs up Arctic waters (January 4, 2010) -- The Arctic Ocean is generally considered a remarkably quiet ocean, with very little mixing, because a cover of sea ice prevents wind from driving the formation of internal waves. To study this effect and investigate how melting sea ice might affect ocean mixing in the Arctic, researchers analyzed data from moorings in the northern Chukchi Sea. ... > full story

How you remember dance steps depends on culture: I think step to the left, you think step to the east (January 4, 2010) -- Even the way people remember dance moves depends on the culture they come from, according to a new article. Whereas a German or other Westerner might think in terms of "step to the right, step to the left," a nomadic hunter-gatherer from Namibia might think something more like "step to the east, step to the west." ... > full story

Using modern sequencing techniques to study ancient humans (January 4, 2010) -- DNA that is left in the remains of long-dead plants, animals or humans allows a direct look into the history of evolution. ... > full story

Acute stress leaves epigenetic marks on the hippocampus (January 4, 2010) -- In trying to explain psychiatric disorders, genes simply cannot tell the whole story. The real answers are in the interaction of genes and the environment. Post-traumatic stress disorder requires some trauma, for instance, and people, for the most part, aren't born depressed. Now research has revealed one mechanism by which a stressful experience changes the way that genes are expressed in the rat brain. The discovery of "epigenetic" regulation of genes in the brain is helping change the way scientists think about psychiatric disorders and could open new avenues to treatment. ... > full story

Fault weaknesses, the center cannot hold for some geologic faults (January 4, 2010) -- Some geologic faults that appear strong and stable, slip and slide like weak faults. Now geologists have provided laboratory evidence showing why some faults that "should not" slip are weaker than previously thought. ... > full story

'Notch'ing up a role in the multisystem disease tuberous sclerosis complex (January 4, 2010) -- Two independent teams of researchers have identified a role for enhanced activation of the signaling protein Notch in tumors characterized by inactivation of either the TSC1 or the TSC2 protein. These data provide a rationale for testing whether Notch inhibitors are of benefit to those with TSC-associated tumors. ... > full story

Architectural design: Blowing metal to create chairs and more (January 4, 2010) -- Instead making complicated folds in sheet metal to give it strength, two architects simply inflate the space between sheet metal shapes. Thanks to a new welding robot in a new workshop, they can now produce large structures measuring up to three by six meters. ... > full story

Low-income women four times more likely to report fair or poor health (January 4, 2010) -- Low-income women are four times more likely to report fair or poor health, and nearly twice as likely to report a health condition that limits one or more of the basic physical activities, according to a new policy brief. They also experience inadequate access to health insurance and health care to a far greater degree than higher-income women, the study found. ... > full story

To a mosquito, matchmaking means 'singing' in perfect harmony (January 4, 2010) -- Researchers have new insight into the sex lives of the much-maligned mosquitoes that are responsible for the vast majority of malaria deaths, according to a new study. In finding a partner of the right species type, male and female mosquitoes depend on their ability to "sing" in perfect harmony. Those tones are produced and varied based on the frequency of their wing beats in flight. ... > full story

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