Science News Feeds

• Science Visuals: The Genetic Map of Europe
  
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• Navy Agrees to Sonar System Restriction
  
• Vital Signs: Mental Health: Exercise Is Found Not to Affect Depression
  
• Findings: Let the Games Be Doped
  

• Ivory and tuna top wildlife talks
  UN wildlife negotiations begin on banning the trade in bluefin tuna and permitting sales of ivory at a two-week summit in Doha.
  
• Apollo men decry Obama Moon plans
  Nasa Moon astronauts tell the BBC President Barack Obama's decision to cancel the US lunar programme is "catastrophic".
  
• Climate linked to smaller birds
  Songbirds on the US east coast are becoming smaller, a trend thought to be driven by climate changes.
  

• Why surprises temporarily blind us
  New research reveals for the first time how our brains coordinate two different types of attention and why we may be temporarily blinded by surprises.
  
• Stem cell research shows promise for tissue-engineered vascular grafts
  Researchers are the first to fully characterize a special type of stem cell, endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) that exist in circulating blood, to see if they can behave as endothelial cells in the body when cultured on a bioengineered surface. The results show promise for a new generation of tissue-engineered vascular grafts which could improve the success rate of surgery for peripheral arterial disease.
  
• Mars constantly loses part of its atmosphere to space due to solar wind
  Space physicists have identified the impact of the Sun on Mars' atmosphere. The scientists report that Mars is constantly losing part of its atmosphere to space. The new study shows that pressure from solar wind pulses is a significant contributor to Mars's atmospheric escape.
  
• A sporting chance for active total knee replacement patients
  Total knee arthroplasty patients may be able to participate in high-impact sports without increasing risk of early implant failure, according to a new study.
  
• 'World's most useful tree' provides new low-cost water purification method fo...
  A low-cost water purification technique could help drastically reduce the incidence of waterborne disease in the developing world. The procedure, which uses seeds from the Moringa oleifera tree, can produce a 90.00% to 99.99% bacterial reduction in previously untreated water.
  
• Different fat types can help or hinder obese girls' bone health
  Obese teenage girls with a greater ratio of visceral fat (fat around internal organs) to subcutaneous fat (fat found just beneath the skin) are likely to have lower bone density than peers with a lower ratio of visceral to subcutaneous fat, according to a new study.
  
• Discovery of cellular 'switch' may provide new means of triggering cell death...
  Scientists have discovered a previously unknown cellular "switch" that may provide researchers with a new means of triggering programmed cell death, findings with implications for treating cancer.
  
• Designer nano luggage to carry drugs to diseased cells
  Scientists have succeeded in growing empty particles derived from a plant virus and have made them carry useful chemicals. The external surface of these nano containers could be decorated with molecules that guide them to where they are needed in the body, before the chemical load is discharged to exert its effect on diseased cells. The containers are particles of the Cowpea mosaic virus, which is ideally suited for designing biomaterial at the nanoscale.
  
• Quantum dots spotlight DNA-repair proteins in motion
  Repair proteins appear to efficiently scan the genome for errors by jumping like fleas between DNA molecules, sliding along the strands, and perhaps pausing at suspicious spots, say researchers who tagged the proteins with quantum dots to watch the action unfold.
  
• New tool for operations on people with severe or profound auditory loss
  Engineers and doctors have designed a new tool for operating on the inner ear with maximum precision, reducing the possibility of damage to the auditory function during the surgery. This is the first micromanipulator specifically for operations involving cochlear and middle ear implants, of which about a hundred are carried out in this hospital annually.
  
• Scientists identify key protein from mitochondria in energy regulation
  Scientists have discovered a new mechanism that governs this pathway and in the process identified a novel potential therapeutic target for controlling fat metabolism.
  
• African-Americans have highest stroke rate, southerners more likely to die, s...
  African-Americans age 65 and younger are more than twice as likely to have a stroke compared with Caucasians in any region, and people who have a stroke are more likely to die in the South than elsewhere, according to researchers.
  
• Scientists identify driving forces in human cell division
  Using a novel imaging system for quantifying aspects of cell division in three dimensions, scientists have discovered new interactions between sister kinetochores -- the protein bundles at the contact point between the two identical strands of a chromosome -- and the microtubule motors that help pull the strands apart.
  
• Effort aims to spike breast cancer with new approach
  Many women live with breast cancer that does not respond to standard medical treatment, a condition that researchers want to change by aggressively targeting specific genes.
  
• Compliant systems: Flexible yet strong materials allow aircraft wings to flex...
  Researchers once wanted to build aircraft wings based on compliant systems, which would continually change shape in response to the air flow resistance, obviating the need for rigid flap and rudder surfaces. A range of different industries are interested in so-called "smart" systems because they can be used to make low-maintenance (and therefore economic) products such as medical tools and robot gripper arms.
  
• New clues about the basis of muscle wasting disease
  New findings shed light on how genetic damage to muscle cell proteins can lead to the development of the rare muscle-wasting disease, nemaline myopathy.
  
• Barrier in mosquito midgut protects invading pathogens
  Scientists studying the Anopheles gambiae mosquito have found that the act of feeding triggers two enzymes to form a protective barrier that prevents the mosquito's immune defense system from clearing disease-causing agents that can be passed on to humans. Disrupting the protein barrier can trigger mosquito immune defenses to intervene and protect the insect from infection. This finding could inform new strategies for blocking malaria transmission.
  
• 12 year olds more likely to use potentially deadly inhalants than cigarettes ...
  More 12 year olds have used potentially lethal inhalants than have used marijuana, cocaine and hallucinogens combined, according to new data.
  
• Psychopaths' brains wired to seek rewards, no matter the consequences
  The brains of psychopaths appear to be wired to keep seeking a reward at any cost, new research finds. The research uncovers the role of the brain's reward system in psychopathy and opens a new area of study for understanding what drives these individuals.
  
• Freshwater polyp hydra genome sequenced: Survey finds genes linked to Hunting...
  An international team of scientists have sequenced the genome of Hydra, a freshwater polyp that's been a staple of biological research for 300 years.