http://www.sciencecentric.com/ Latest news in natural sciences and technology provided by Science Centric en-gb Copyright 2009, Science Centric contact@sciencecentric.com (Stanislav Abadjiev) Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:20:00 GMT Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:20:00 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss/ http://www.sciencecentric.com/images/sc_logo_news.jpg http://www.sciencecentric.com/ Russians will 'enjoy' genetically modified trees this autumn. Russian scientists have created transgenic birch and aspen. Researchers from the Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry, who are creators of these trees, explained that they want to stop the deforestation, which leads to climate change... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070404-russians-will-enjoy-transgenic-trees-this-autumn http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070404-russians-will-enjoy-transgenic-trees-this-autumn Sat, 04 Jul 2009 14:20:00 GMT On 2 July, the detectors of Planck's High Frequency Instrument reached their amazingly low operational temperature of -273 C, making them the coldest known objects in space. The spacecraft has also just entered its final orbit around the second Lagrange point of the Sun-Earth system, or L2... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070403-coolest-spacecraft-ever-orbit-around-second-lagrange-point http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070403-coolest-spacecraft-ever-orbit-around-second-lagrange-point Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:25:00 GMT The newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says 'baa.' It's the hair sheep, a less-hirsute version of the familiar woolly barnyard resident. A new study from the Stanford University School of Medicine, which is was published 3 July in PLoS ONE, finds that not only are these ruminants low-maintenance and parasite-resistant, they're also perfect blood donors for the microbiology tests necessary to diagnose infectious disease in the developing world... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070402-rare-sheep-could-be-key-better-diagnostic-tests-developing-world http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070402-rare-sheep-could-be-key-better-diagnostic-tests-developing-world Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:20:00 GMT China is in a very seismically active area and has had many catastrophic earthquakes during its history. A joint European-Chinese team is using satellite radar data to monitor ground deformation across major continental faults in China to understand better the seismic cycle and how faults behave... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070401-china-environmental-phenomena-monitored-from-space http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070401-china-environmental-phenomena-monitored-from-space Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:15:00 GMT When left untreated, children infected with Lyme disease can experience many severe complications as a result including arthritis, problems with the heart or central nervous system... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070332-childhood-arthritis-common-but-preventable-consequence-lyme-disease http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070332-childhood-arthritis-common-but-preventable-consequence-lyme-disease Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:12:00 GMT CSIRO has announced the sale of its Funnelback search engine technology company to content management company Squiz... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070331-csiro-sells-funnelback-search-engine http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070331-csiro-sells-funnelback-search-engine Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:07:00 GMT CSIRO science is being used to improve land management practices on farmland to help reduce run-off of sediments, nutrients and pesticides on to the Great Barrier Reef... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070330-investing-wisely-save-the-great-barrier-reef http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070330-investing-wisely-save-the-great-barrier-reef Fri, 03 Jul 2009 11:02:00 GMT Research led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) has identified a new gene associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible to diabetes. A genomic fragment that occurs naturally in some mouse strains diminishes the activity of the risk gene Zfp69. The researchers also found that the corresponding human gene (ZNF642) is especially active in overweight individuals with diabetes. The results of the study, which also involved scientists from the University of Leipzig and the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg, are published 3 July in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070329-jumping-gene-diminishes-the-effect-new-type-2-diabetes-risk-gene http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070329-jumping-gene-diminishes-the-effect-new-type-2-diabetes-risk-gene Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:57:00 GMT Collaboration across a diverse range of scientific disciplines is among the most important factors in efforts to detect and control outbreaks of new infectious diseases like Influenza A (H1N1), according to one of the world's leading virologists, University of Texas Medical Branch Dr Thomas Ksiazek... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070328-collaboration-key-keeping-new-diseases-check http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070328-collaboration-key-keeping-new-diseases-check Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:52:00 GMT Existing drugs used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease could be repositioned for use in the treatment of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis, which kills about 2 million people each year, according to a study led by researchers at the University of California, San Diego. The rise of these strains of TB throughout the world, including industrialised countries, poses a great threat to human health... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070327-existing-parkinson-disease-drug-may-fight-drug-resistant-tb http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070327-existing-parkinson-disease-drug-may-fight-drug-resistant-tb Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:47:00 GMT A new UK national genome centre is being officially opened today (3 July) by Nobel Laureate and genome pioneer Prof. Sir John Sulston and the Lord-Lieutenant of Norfolk... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070326-new-national-genome-centre-launched http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070326-new-national-genome-centre-launched Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:42:00 GMT You do two things at motorway services: fill up one tank and empty another. US chemists have combined refuelling your car and relieving yourself by creating a new catalyst that can extract hydrogen from urine... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070325-catalyst-releases-hydrogen-from-the-ultimate-renewable-source-urine http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070325-catalyst-releases-hydrogen-from-the-ultimate-renewable-source-urine Fri, 03 Jul 2009 10:37:00 GMT The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has transmitted its first images since reaching the moon on 23 June 2009. The spacecraft's two cameras, collectively known as the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera, were activated 30 June. The cameras are working well and have returned images of a region in the lunar highlands south of Mare Nubium (Sea of Clouds)... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070324-nasa-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter-transmits-first-moon-images http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070324-nasa-lunar-reconnaissance-orbiter-transmits-first-moon-images Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:45:00 GMT Practice, practice, practice might get you to Carnegie Hall, but for aspiring musicians, there's new evidence that genes may influence one's ability to get there, as well... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070323-perfect-pitch-study-offers-window-into-influences-nature-nurture http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070323-perfect-pitch-study-offers-window-into-influences-nature-nurture Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:40:00 GMT Do friends wear the same style of shoe or see the same movies because they have similar tastes, which is why they became friends in the first place? Or once a friendship is established, do individuals influence each other to adopt like behaviours?... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070322-second-life-data-offers-window-into-how-trends-spread http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070322-second-life-data-offers-window-into-how-trends-spread Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:35:00 GMT Mental stress causes carotid artery dilation and increases brain blood flow. A series of ultrasound experiments, described in BioMed Central's open access journal Cardiovascular Ultrasound, also found that this dilatory reflex was absent in people with high blood pressure... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070321-a-rush-blood-the-head-anger-increases-blood-flow http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070321-a-rush-blood-the-head-anger-increases-blood-flow Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:30:00 GMT The health problems of Indigenous peoples around the world are intimately tied to a number of unique factors, such as colonisation, globalisation, migration, and loss of land, language and culture. These factors remain even after the 'typical' social problems facing the poor, such as inadequate housing, unemployment, and low education levels are addressed, according to Dr Malcolm King, lead author of a paper to be published in the Lancet, a prestigious UK medical journal... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070320-poor-health-among-indigenous-peoples-question-cultural-loss-as-well-as-poverty http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070320-poor-health-among-indigenous-peoples-question-cultural-loss-as-well-as-poverty Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:25:00 GMT Milder winters are causing Scotland's wild breed of Soay sheep to get smaller, despite the evolutionary benefits of possessing a large body, according to new research published in this week's Science Express (2 July)... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070319-climate-change-the-mystery-the-shrinking-sheep http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070319-climate-change-the-mystery-the-shrinking-sheep Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:20:00 GMT Certain mutations in the DNA of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) are associated with the development of liver cancer and may help predict which patients with HBV infections are at increased risk of the disease, according to a large meta-analysis in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, published online 2 July... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070318-hepatitis-b-virus-mutations-may-predict-risk-liver-cancer http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070318-hepatitis-b-virus-mutations-may-predict-risk-liver-cancer Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:15:00 GMT A team from MIT and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention has found a genetic explanation for why the new H1N1 'swine flu' virus has spread from person to person less effectively than other flu viruses... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070317-mit-cdc-discover-why-h1n1-flu-spreads-inefficiently http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070317-mit-cdc-discover-why-h1n1-flu-spreads-inefficiently Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:10:00 GMT A similarity in brain disturbance between insects and people suffering from migraines, stroke and epilepsy points the way toward new drug therapies to address these conditions... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070316-learning-from-locusts http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070316-learning-from-locusts Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:05:00 GMT Mars gets as far as 250 million miles away, but many parts of it closely resemble places on Earth, including its landscape, history of water, soil and even its weather, says a Texas A and M University researcher in the current issue of 'Science' magazine... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070315-many-characteristics-mars-including-ice-are-similar-earth http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070315-many-characteristics-mars-including-ice-are-similar-earth Fri, 03 Jul 2009 02:00:00 GMT New strategies to reduce maternal death in Bangladesh will be presented today at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) South Asia Day. The conference gathers together a group of international experts to discuss ways to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 (reduce child mortality) and 5 (improve maternal health)... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070314-reducing-maternal-death-bangladesh http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070314-reducing-maternal-death-bangladesh Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:55:00 GMT Despite recent internal conflict, Sri Lanka has emerged as a success story in promoting safer childbirth. The country's significant decline in maternal deaths will be presented today at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) South Asia Day. The conference gathers together a group of international experts to discuss maternal and child health in South Asia... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070313-promoting-safer-childbirth-sri-lankan-success-story http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070313-promoting-safer-childbirth-sri-lankan-success-story Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:50:00 GMT A new type of optical particle trap can be used to manipulate bacteria, viruses and other particles on a chip as part of an integrated optofluidic platform. The optical trap is the latest innovation from researchers at the Jack Baskin School of Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who are developing new sensor technology for biomedical analysis and other applications... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070312-integrated-optical-trap-holds-particles-on-chip-analysis http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070312-integrated-optical-trap-holds-particles-on-chip-analysis Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:45:00 GMT UCSF researchers have identified a new 'feed-forward' pathway linking oestrogen receptors in the membrane of the uterus to a process that increases local oestrogen levels and promotes cell growth... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070311-study-identifies-how-tamoxifen-stimulates-uterine-cell-growth-cancer http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070311-study-identifies-how-tamoxifen-stimulates-uterine-cell-growth-cancer Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:40:00 GMT New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides for the first time a solid scientific answer for the long-standing question of whether there is an association between preterm birth and brain malformations... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070310-brain-malformations-significantly-associated-with-preterm-birth http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070310-brain-malformations-significantly-associated-with-preterm-birth Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:35:00 GMT Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are considered the 'gold standard' research method for assessing new medical treatments. But research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Trials shows that the design of a remarkable 93 percent of 2235 so-called RCTs published in some Chinese medical journals during 1994 to 2005 was flawed, casting doubt on the reliability of research that is likely to influence medical decision-makers... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070309-doubts-cast-on-credibility-some-published-clinical-trials http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070309-doubts-cast-on-credibility-some-published-clinical-trials Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:30:00 GMT New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press in the 2nd July issue of the journal Cell Stem Cell, describes exciting preclinical studies in which a new therapeutic approach selectively attacks human cancer cells grown in the lab and in animal models of leukaemia... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070308-new-targeted-therapy-finds-eliminates-deadly-leukaemia-stem-cells http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070308-new-targeted-therapy-finds-eliminates-deadly-leukaemia-stem-cells Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:25:00 GMT Several statistical and biological issues need to be addressed in order to improve biomarker identification for early detection of cancer, according to a commentary published online 2 July in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070307-improving-the-biomarker-pipeline-early-cancer-detection http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070307-improving-the-biomarker-pipeline-early-cancer-detection Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:20:00 GMT A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) reveals the genetic underpinnings of what causes lung cancer to quickly metastasise, or spread, to the brain and the bone - the two most prominent sites of lung cancer relapse. The study was published online in the journal Cell on 2 July... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070306-research-reveals-what-drives-lung-cancer-spread http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070306-research-reveals-what-drives-lung-cancer-spread Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:15:00 GMT Using a worldwide combination of diverse telescopes, astronomers have discovered that a giant galaxy's bursts of very high energy gamma rays are coming from a region very close to the supermassive black hole at its core. The discovery provides important new information about the mysterious workings of the powerful 'engines' in the centres of innumerable galaxies throughout the Universe... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070305-vlba-locates-superenergetic-bursts-near-giant-black-hole http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070305-vlba-locates-superenergetic-bursts-near-giant-black-hole Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:10:00 GMT Imagine donating a sample of your DNA to help researchers study the genetics of diabetes. The disease is common among your friends and family, and you're proud of your role in finding out why. Now, imagine that some time later, you learn that your DNA has been used for other studies on topics you never expected - schizophrenia, human migration, inbreeding. Although your name isn't attached to the sample anymore, scientists are using your DNA to draw conclusions about your community and your ancestors. Some of these studies violate your cultural beliefs... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070304-bioethicists-call-federal-regulation-genetic-ancestry-testing http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070304-bioethicists-call-federal-regulation-genetic-ancestry-testing Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:05:00 GMT With NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, astronomers now are getting their best look at those whirling stellar cinders known as pulsars. In two studies published in the 2 July edition of Science Express, international teams have analysed gamma-rays from two dozen pulsars, including 16 discovered by Fermi. Fermi is the first spacecraft able to identify pulsars by their gamma-ray emission alone... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070303-fermi-telescope-probes-dozens-pulsars http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070303-fermi-telescope-probes-dozens-pulsars Fri, 03 Jul 2009 01:00:00 GMT Women in Nepal face the highest risk of maternal death in South Asia. The country's high rates of maternal death and reproductive morbidity will be discussed today at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) South Asia Day. The conference gathers together a group of international experts to discuss ways to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 (reduce child mortality) and 5 (improve maternal health)... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070302-the-long-road-safe-motherhood-nepal http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070302-the-long-road-safe-motherhood-nepal Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:55:00 GMT A group of international experts will meet today at the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) on the occasion of South Asia Day to discuss ways to achieve Millennium Development Goals 4 (reduce child mortality) and 5 (improve maternal health). This historic conference gathers together specialists in obstetrics and gynaecology, midwives, health care providers and policy makers to share experiences and discuss strategies to improve women's health in South Asia... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070301-south-asia-day-historic-meeting-promote-millennium-development-goals-4-5 http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070301-south-asia-day-historic-meeting-promote-millennium-development-goals-4-5 Fri, 03 Jul 2009 00:50:00 GMT Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurones in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because it shares many genes and neurochemical signalling molecules with humans. Now MIT researchers have found novel C. elegans neurochemical receptors, the discovery of which could lead to new therapeutic targets for psychiatric disorders if similar receptors are found in humans... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070243-scientists-find-new-actions-neurochemicals http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070243-scientists-find-new-actions-neurochemicals Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:00:00 GMT El Nino years typically result in fewer hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean. But a new study, published in the 3 July issue of Science, suggests that the form of El Nino may be changing potentially causing not only a greater number of hurricanes than in average years, but also a greater chance of hurricanes making landfall, according to climatologists at the Georgia Institute of Technology... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070242-new-form-el-nino-could-mean-more-hurricanes-make-landfall http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070242-new-form-el-nino-could-mean-more-hurricanes-make-landfall Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:00:00 GMT The forests of the Pacific Northwest hold significant potential to increase carbon storage and help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in coming years, a recent study concludes, if they are managed primarily for that purpose through timber harvest reductions and increased rotation ages... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070241-pacific-northwest-forests-could-store-more-carbon-help-address-greenhouse-issues http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070241-pacific-northwest-forests-could-store-more-carbon-help-address-greenhouse-issues Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:12:00 GMT As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current trends. Now, a new University of Missouri study has found that overweight children, especially girls, show signs of the negative consequences of being overweight as early as kindergarten... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070240-overweight-kids-experience-more-loneliness-anxiety http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070240-overweight-kids-experience-more-loneliness-anxiety Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:12:00 GMT Researchers at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Centre have found a way to use a natural compound to stop one of the leading causes of blindness in the United States. The research appears online this month in the journal Diabetes, a publication of the American Diabetes Association... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070239-natural-compound-stops-retinopathy http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070239-natural-compound-stops-retinopathy Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:07:00 GMT As flowering plants like giant trees quickly rose to dominate plant communities during the Cretaceous period, the ferns that had preceded them hardly saw it as a disappointment... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070238-ferns-took-the-trees-thrived http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070238-ferns-took-the-trees-thrived Thu, 02 Jul 2009 16:01:00 GMT Sexist jokes (and all the variants of this kind of humour) favour the mental mechanisms which urge to violence and battering against women in individuals with macho attitudes. Those are the conclusions of a study carried out at the University of Granada, that will be released today in the framework of the world most renowned international symposium about humour and its scientific applications ('International Summer School and Symposium on Humour and Laughter: Theory, Research and Applications') that will be held in Granada... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070237-sexist-jokes-favour-the-mental-mechanisms-that-justify-violence-against-women http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070237-sexist-jokes-favour-the-mental-mechanisms-that-justify-violence-against-women Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:56:00 GMT A major change in education is the shift towards sustainable development. The United Nations has declared 2005-2014 as the decade for integrating sustainable development into all aspects of education and learning. Ellen Almers, at the School of Education and Communication, Joenkoeping, Sweden, based her thesis on her investigation into what prompts young people to take positive action to promote sustainable development... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070236-what-prompts-young-people-take-positive-action-promote-sustainable-development http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070236-what-prompts-young-people-take-positive-action-promote-sustainable-development Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:52:00 GMT Synote, an innovative Web-based annotation tool developed at the University of Southampton, which does for multimedia resources what indexes do for textbooks, has just won an international award. According to Dr Mike Wald at the University's School of Electronics and Computer Science (ECS), who led the team which developed Synote, the tool won the EUNIS Dorup E-Learning Award 2009 because of its innovation and the opportunities it offers to students... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070235-synote-web-based-annotation-tool-wins-international-award http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070235-synote-web-based-annotation-tool-wins-international-award Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:47:00 GMT Hurricane Katrina was the largest natural disaster in U.S. history, claiming the lives of more than 1,800 victims and causing well over $100 billion in damage along the Gulf Coast. The 2005 storm breached every levee in New Orleans, flooding almost the entire city as well as the neighbouring parishes. Yet a surprising number of people stayed behind and rode out the storm... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070234-in-the-eye-the-storm-why-some-people-stayed-behind http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070234-in-the-eye-the-storm-why-some-people-stayed-behind Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:03:00 GMT In times of doubt and uncertainty, many Americans turn to self-help books in search of encouragement, guidance and self-affirmation. The positive self-statements suggested in these books, such as 'I am a loveable person' or 'I will succeed,' are designed to lift a person's low self-esteem and push them into positive action. According to a recent study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, however, these statements can actually have the opposite effect... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070233-study-shows-the-negative-side-positive-self-statements http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070233-study-shows-the-negative-side-positive-self-statements Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:58:00 GMT Panel physicians are increasingly offering individual health services (IHS) to patients with statutory health insurance. This is documented by Susanne Richter et al. of the Department of Social Medicine, Luebeck University, in the new edition of Deutsches Aerzteblatt (Dtsch Arztebl Int 2009; 106 (26): 433-9). IHS include medical health services which are not reimbursed by the health insurance funds and which the patient has to pay for himself... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070232-visit-the-doctor-the-supply-additional-private-services-is-increasing http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070232-visit-the-doctor-the-supply-additional-private-services-is-increasing Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:46:00 GMT Since the 1970s, there has been much debate surrounding the fact that individuals with autism have difficulty in understanding speech in situations where there is background speech or noise... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070231-children-with-autism-need-be-taught-smaller-groups-pilot-study-confirms http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070231-children-with-autism-need-be-taught-smaller-groups-pilot-study-confirms Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:41:00 GMT Scientists are to study a group of proteins that are highly effective at killing bacteria and which could hold the key to developing new types of antibiotics... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070230-biological-warfare-bacteria-offers-hope-new-antibiotics http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070230-biological-warfare-bacteria-offers-hope-new-antibiotics Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:30:00 GMT Cancer experts at Johns Hopkins say a study tracking 774 prostate cancer patients for a median of eight years has shown that a three-way combination of measurements has the best chance yet of predicting disease metastasis... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070229-predicting-the-return-prostate-cancer-new-study-betters-the-odds-success http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070229-predicting-the-return-prostate-cancer-new-study-betters-the-odds-success Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:25:00 GMT A new study published in the July issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that positron emission tomography (PET) scans in mice can be used to determine whether a novel type of breast cancer treatment is working as intended. Researchers successfully used PET and a specially-developed radioactive compound to image HER2 - a protein often associated with aggressive breast cancer - in breast cancer cells before and after treatment aimed at decreasing HER2 expression... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070228-study-shows-pet-can-measure-effectiveness-novel-breast-cancer-treatment http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070228-study-shows-pet-can-measure-effectiveness-novel-breast-cancer-treatment Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:45:00 GMT For a long time, batteries were bulky and heavy. Now, a new cutting-edge battery is revolutionising the field. It is thinner than a millimetre, lighter than a gram, and can be produced cost-effectively through a printing process... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070227-printable-batteries http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070227-printable-batteries Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:12:00 GMT Viruses can cost winegrowers an entire harvest. If they infest the grapevines, even pesticides are often no use. What's more, these chemicals are harmful to the environment. Researchers are growing plants that produce antibodies against the viruses and are thus immune... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070226-virus-resistant-grapevines http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070226-virus-resistant-grapevines Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:07:00 GMT Researchers from the University of Southampton have drawn together 200 years' worth of oceanographic knowledge to investigate the distribution of a notorious deep-sea giant - the king crab. The results, published this week in the Journal of Biogeography, reveal temperature as a driving force behind the divergence of a major seafloor predator; globally, and over tens of millions of years of Earth's history... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070225-new-study-reveals-king-crabs-go-deep-avoid-hot-water http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070225-new-study-reveals-king-crabs-go-deep-avoid-hot-water Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:02:00 GMT Major new book shows rare and endemic flora of Brazil have been grossly underestimated... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070224-brazil-incredible-endemic-plant-life-on-the-verge-mass-extinction http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070224-brazil-incredible-endemic-plant-life-on-the-verge-mass-extinction Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:21:00 GMT Life on Earth is under serious threat, despite the commitment by world leaders to reverse the trend, according to a detailed analysis of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070223-wildlife-crisis-worse-than-economic-crisis http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070223-wildlife-crisis-worse-than-economic-crisis Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:16:00 GMT Declining bumblebee populations are at greater risk of inbreeding, which can trigger a downward spiral of further decline. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology have provided the first proof that inbreeding reduces colony fitness under natural conditions by increasing the production of reproductively inefficient 'diploid' males... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070222-inbred-bumblebees-less-successful http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070222-inbred-bumblebees-less-successful Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:11:00 GMT Researchers from across Europe have united to build the largest quantum key distribution network ever built. The efforts of 41 research and industrial organisations were realised as secure, quantum encrypted information was sent over an eight node, mesh network... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070221-researchers-unite-distribute-quantum-keys http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070221-researchers-unite-distribute-quantum-keys Thu, 02 Jul 2009 11:06:00 GMT Even the most spectacular Fourth of July fireworks display pales in comparison to what takes place in nature. In a matter of seconds, a supernova releases more energy than the Sun radiates in its 10 billion-year life span, and the explosive event can briefly outshine its host galaxy. Neutron stars, the remnants of such 'cosmic fireworks,' exhibit the strongest magnetic fields observed in the universe... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070220-cosmic-fireworks http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070220-cosmic-fireworks Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:40:00 GMT Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) in collaboration with scientists at the University of Louisville and the University of Nice Sophia Antipolis in France, have identified the target antigen PLA2R in patients with idiopathic membranous nephropathy (kidney disease), which has implications for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. These findings appear in the 2 July issue of the New England Journal of Medicine... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070219-new-discovery-aid-diagnosis-treatment-kidney-disease http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070219-new-discovery-aid-diagnosis-treatment-kidney-disease Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:35:00 GMT New research, conducted by Charles Wingo and his colleagues, at the University of Florida, Gainsville, suggests a link between the circadian rhythm and control of sodium (salt) levels in mice... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070218-clocking-salt-levels-the-blood-link-between-the-circadian-rhythm-salt-balance http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070218-clocking-salt-levels-the-blood-link-between-the-circadian-rhythm-salt-balance Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:30:00 GMT Even under favourable assumptions, including lifelong protection against 70% of all cervical cancers and no side effects, vaccination against the human papillomavirus (HPV) is not cost-effective in the Netherlands, according to a study published online 1 July in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070217-cost-effectiveness-hpv-vaccination-the-netherlands http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070217-cost-effectiveness-hpv-vaccination-the-netherlands Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:25:00 GMT A team of Penn State scientists has shed light on the processes that lead to certain human DNA mutations that are implicated in hundreds of inherited diseases such as tuberous sclerosis and neurofibromatosis type 1. The results one day could influence the way couples who seek to have children receive genetic counselling. The team, led by Kateryna Makova, an associate professor of biology, also includes Erika Kvikstad, a graduate student in the Department of Biology, and Francesca Chiaromonte, an associate professor of statistics. Their findings will be published in the July 2009 issue of the journal Genome Research... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070216-secrets-revealed-about-how-disease-causing-dna-mutations-occur http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070216-secrets-revealed-about-how-disease-causing-dna-mutations-occur Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:20:00 GMT Scientists at UC Santa Barbara and several other institutions have found laboratory evidence that a cluster of peptides may be the toxic agent in Alzheimer's disease. Scientists say the discovery may lead to new drugs for the disease... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070215-alzheimer-research-yields-potential-drug-target http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070215-alzheimer-research-yields-potential-drug-target Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:15:00 GMT Researchers at the Moores UCSD Cancer Centre are injecting a modified herpes virus into melanoma tumours, hoping to kill the cancer cells while also bolstering the body's immune defences against the disease... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070214-researchers-testing-virus-gene-therapy-combination-against-melanoma http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070214-researchers-testing-virus-gene-therapy-combination-against-melanoma Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:10:00 GMT After enrolling in Medicare Part D, seniors who previously had limited or no drug coverage spent more on prescriptions and less on other medical care services such as hospitalisations and visits to the doctor's office, according to a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health study. Published in the 2 July issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, the study also found that seniors who had relatively good drug benefits prior to enrolling in Medicare Part D spent somewhat more on prescriptions and, at the same time, increased their spending on other medical care services... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070213-nejm-study-addresses-impact-medicare-part-d-on-medical-spending http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070213-nejm-study-addresses-impact-medicare-part-d-on-medical-spending Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:05:00 GMT The rain band near the equator that determines the supply of freshwater to nearly a billion people throughout the tropics and subtropics has been creeping north for more than 300 years, probably because of a warmer world, according to research published in the July issue of Nature Geoscience... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070212-earth-most-prominent-rainfall-feature-creeping-northward http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070212-earth-most-prominent-rainfall-feature-creeping-northward Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:00:00 GMT Diets high in protein and cholesterol are associated with a higher risk of hospitalisation or death due to cirrhosis or liver cancer, while diets high in carbohydrates are associated with a lower risk. These findings are in the July issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley and Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070211-study-examines-dietary-influences-liver-disease http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070211-study-examines-dietary-influences-liver-disease Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:55:00 GMT Organisational norms and social cues, not communication overload, are the strongest predictors of whether individuals use their laptops or smart phones to electronically multitask during a meeting, according to researchers at The University of Texas at Austin... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070210-peer-behaviour-not-communication-overload-determines-mobile-device-use-meetings http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070210-peer-behaviour-not-communication-overload-determines-mobile-device-use-meetings Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:50:00 GMT Microbial populations have traditionally been studied in carefully controlled, laboratory-grown cultures. New metagenomic approaches are being developed to study these organisms in environmental or medical samples. The July issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols presents a method developed by Holger Daims from the University of Vienna for quantifying populations of microorganisms in a variety of naturally occurring conditions such as plankton samples or biofilms. 'Use of Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization and the daime Image Analysis Program for the Cultivation-Independent Quantification of Microorganisms in Environmental and Medical Samples' combines fluorescent in situ hybridisation using rRNA-targeted probes with digital image analysis... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070209-microbial-analysis-micropatterning-methods-featured-cold-spring-harbor-protocols http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070209-microbial-analysis-micropatterning-methods-featured-cold-spring-harbor-protocols Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:45:00 GMT The single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) known as 2q35-rs13387042 is associated with increased risk of oestrogen receptor (ER) -positive and -negative breast cancer, according to a study published online 1 July in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070208-risk-breast-cancer-single-nucleotide-polymorphism http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070208-risk-breast-cancer-single-nucleotide-polymorphism Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:40:00 GMT Tooth-coloured fillings may be more attractive than silver ones, but the bonds between the white filling and the tooth quickly age and degrade. A Medical College of Georgia researcher hopes a new nanotechnology technique will extend the fillings' longevity... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070207-nanotechnology-may-increase-longevity-dental-fillings http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070207-nanotechnology-may-increase-longevity-dental-fillings Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:35:00 GMT A molecule called telomerase, best known for enabling unlimited cell division of stem cells and cancer cells, has a surprising additional role in the expression of genes in an important stem cell regulatory pathway, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The unexpected finding may lead to new anticancer therapies and a greater understanding of how adult and embryonic stem cells divide and specialise... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070206-stanford-discovery-pinpoints-new-connection-between-cancer-cells-stem-cells http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070206-stanford-discovery-pinpoints-new-connection-between-cancer-cells-stem-cells Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:30:00 GMT A scary unknown for many children, the prospect of surgery can cause intense preoperative anxiety. While some amount of stress is normal, what many parents do not know is that extreme anxiety before surgery can contribute to the occurrence of emergence delirium, a distressing incidence of acute behavioural changes experienced when 'waking up' from anaesthesia... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070205-hormone-treatment-eases-post-surgery-distress-children http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070205-hormone-treatment-eases-post-surgery-distress-children Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:25:00 GMT Because females carry two copies of the X chromosome to males' one X and one Y, they harbour a potentially toxic double dose of the over 1000 genes that reside on the X chromosome... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070204-unc-study-rewrites-textbook-on-key-genetic-phenomenon http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070204-unc-study-rewrites-textbook-on-key-genetic-phenomenon Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:20:00 GMT A human growth factor that stimulates blood stem cells to proliferate in the bone marrow reverses memory impairment in mice genetically altered to develop Alzheimer's disease, researchers at the University of South Florida and James A. Haley Hospital found. The granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (GCSF) significantly reduced levels of the brain-clogging protein beta amyloid deposited in excess in the brains of the Alzheimer's mice, increased the production of new neurones and promoted nerve cell connections... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070203-blood-stem-cell-growth-factor-reverses-memory-decline-mice http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070203-blood-stem-cell-growth-factor-reverses-memory-decline-mice Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:15:00 GMT Counselling patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) on how to increase physical activity leads to health benefits that are independent of changes in weight. These findings are in a new study in the July issue of Hepatology, a journal published by John Wiley and Sons on behalf of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD). The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070202-exercise-helps-patients-with-non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070202-exercise-helps-patients-with-non-alcoholic-fatty-liver-disease Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:10:00 GMT Liver transplantation offers a good chance for survival for patients with drug induced acute liver failure, however, certain pre-transplant factors are associated with worse outcomes. Patients who are on life support, who have elevated serum creatinine, and children whose liver failure was caused by antiepileptic drugs did not fare as well after transplantation. These findings are in the July issue of Liver Transplantation, a journal published by John Wiley and Sons. The article is also available online at Wiley Interscience... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070201-study-examines-liver-transplantation-after-drug-induced-acute-liver-failure http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070201-study-examines-liver-transplantation-after-drug-induced-acute-liver-failure Thu, 02 Jul 2009 00:05:00 GMT This new guide for astronomers, known as the APEX Telescope Large Area Survey of the Galaxy (ATLASGAL) shows the Milky Way in submillimetre-wavelength light (between infrared light and radio waves). Images of the cosmos at these wavelengths are vital for studying the birthplaces of new stars and the structure of the crowded galactic core... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070188-astronomer-new-guide-the-galaxy-largest-map-cold-dust-revealed http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070188-astronomer-new-guide-the-galaxy-largest-map-cold-dust-revealed Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:03:00 GMT A groundbreaking non-invasive breast cancer treatment will be unveiled at this year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition. Scientists led by world-renowned breast cancer expert, Mr Mo Keshtgar, are the first to use photodynamic therapy (PDT) to treat what is now the most common cancer in the UK... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070187-light-therapy-offers-new-hope-breast-cancer-patients http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070187-light-therapy-offers-new-hope-breast-cancer-patients Wed, 01 Jul 2009 18:02:00 GMT Miniature devices for trapping ions (electrically charged atoms) are common components in atomic clocks and quantum computing research. Now, a novel ion trap geometry demonstrated at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) could usher in a new generation of applications because the device holds promise as a stylus for sensing very small forces or as an interface for efficient transfer of individual light particles for quantum communications... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070186-nist-develops-novel-ion-trap-sensing-force-light http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070186-nist-develops-novel-ion-trap-sensing-force-light Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:57:00 GMT Tufts dental researchers conducted a three-year follow-up study that examined the stability of a treatment option for receding gums and found that complete root coverage - the goal of the surgery - had been maintained. This specific tissue regeneration application, developed at Tufts, reduces the considerable pain and recovery time of gum grafting surgery. The case study of six patients is published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Periodontology... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070185-new-treatment-receding-gums-no-pain-lots-gain http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070185-new-treatment-receding-gums-no-pain-lots-gain Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:52:00 GMT New research, which reconstructs the extent of ice in the sea between Greenland and Svalbard from the 13th century to the present indicates that there has never been so little sea ice as there is now. The research results from the Niels Bohr Institute, among others, are published in the scientific journal, Climate Dynamics... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070184-the-least-sea-ice-800-years http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070184-the-least-sea-ice-800-years Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:47:00 GMT A low dose of oral interferon alpha shows promise in preserving beta cell function for patients with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, according to researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070183-interferon-alpha-can-delay-full-onset-type-1-diabetes http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070183-interferon-alpha-can-delay-full-onset-type-1-diabetes Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:42:00 GMT Researchers from the Department of Science Education-Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim have managed to make out the 'self-irrigating' mechanism of the desert rhubarb, which enables it to harvest 16 times the amount of water than otherwise expected for a plant in this region based on the quantities of rain in the desert. This is the first example of a self-irrigating plant worldwide... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070182-desert-rhubarb-self-irrigating-plant http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070182-desert-rhubarb-self-irrigating-plant Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:37:00 GMT Deleting two genes in mice responsible for repairing DNA strands damaged by oxidation leads to several types of tumours, providing additional evidence that such stress contributes to the development of cancer. That's the conclusion of a recent study in DNA Repair by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Oregon Health and Science University (OHSU) and the New York University School of Medicine (NYUSM)... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070181-genetically-engineered-mice-yield-clues-knocking-out-cancer http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070181-genetically-engineered-mice-yield-clues-knocking-out-cancer Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:32:00 GMT A tiny grid pattern has led materials scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Institute of Solid State Physics in Russia to an unexpected finding - the surprisingly strong and long-range effects of certain electromagnetic nanostructures used in data storage. Their recently reported findings may add new scientific challenges to the design and manufacture of future ultra-high density data storage devices... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070180-unexpectedly-long-range-effects-advanced-magnetic-devices http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070180-unexpectedly-long-range-effects-advanced-magnetic-devices Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:27:00 GMT The joint research, funded by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the UK MS Society as well as the National Institutes of Health and Howard Hughes Medical Institute, was conducted by scientists at the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) and University of Cambridge and was published today (1 July) in the journal Genes and Development... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070179-new-clue-into-how-brain-stem-cells-develop-into-cells-which-repair-damaged-tissue http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070179-new-clue-into-how-brain-stem-cells-develop-into-cells-which-repair-damaged-tissue Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:22:00 GMT The composer Richard Wagner is well-known, even notorious, for writing operas that can challenge both performers and listeners. A new study published in the Journal of the Acoustic Society of America reveals that Wagner set his text to music in a way that uses the acoustics of the soprano voice in a manner that helps both performers and listeners... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070178-wagner-difficult-reputation-unwarranted-says-research http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070178-wagner-difficult-reputation-unwarranted-says-research Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:17:00 GMT The great controversy over the use of agricultural crops as a source of energy is well known - fundamentally due to its possible competition with crops for food. The use of sources of an organic nature for the production of biofuels, different from the traditional use for crops, could be the solution to the social debate that has arisen in this sector... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070177-microalgae-as-source-alternative-energy http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070177-microalgae-as-source-alternative-energy Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:12:00 GMT The detection of an ultraluminous X-ray source is now the strongest observational evidence for the existence of intermediate-mass black holes, as reported in a paper titled 'An intermediate-mass black hole of over 500 solar masses in the galaxy ESO 243-49' in the most recent issue (2 July) of the journal Nature... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070176-intermediate-mass-black-hole http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070176-intermediate-mass-black-hole Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT An optical transistor that uses photons to carry and manipulate information is revealed in a paper titled 'A single-molecule optical transistor' in the current issue of Nature (2 July 2009), bringing the prospect of quantum computers one step closer. Researchers, led by J. Hwang of the ETH Zurich, demonstrate that a single dye molecule can operate as an optical transistor, weakening or amplifying a 'source' laser beam depending on the power of a second 'gating' beam... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070175-a-single-molecule-optical-transistor http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070175-a-single-molecule-optical-transistor Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT Salamanders, Ambystoma mexicanum, re-growing amputated limbs do so by producing tissue-specific progenitor cells. The finding, reported in a paper titled 'Cells keep a memory of their tissue origin during axolotl limb regeneration' in the most recent issue of Nature (2 July), challenges dogma and has important implications for our understanding of limb regeneration... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070174-cells-keep-memory-their-tissue-origin http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070174-cells-keep-memory-their-tissue-origin Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT Fifty million years ago, the North and South Poles were ice-free and crocodiles roamed the Arctic. Since then, a long-term decrease in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has cooled the Earth. Now researchers at Yale University, the Carnegie Institution of Washington and the University of Sheffield, writing in the current issue (2 July) of Nature, show that land plants saved the Earth from a deep frozen fate by buffering the removal of atmospheric CO2 over the past 24 million years... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070173-land-plants-saved-the-earth-from-deep-frozen-fate http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070173-land-plants-saved-the-earth-from-deep-frozen-fate Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT An international team has discovered that many common genetic variants contribute to a person's risk of schizophrenia and explain at least a third of the risk of inheriting the disease, providing the first molecular evidence that this form of genetic variation is involved in schizophrenia. The researchers also found that many of these DNA variations also are involved in bipolar disorder but not in several non-psychiatric diseases. The findings, published in the current issue of Nature, represent a new way of thinking about the genetics of psychiatric diseases, which seem to involve not only rare variants but also a significant number of common ones as well... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070172-schizophrenia-bipolar-disorder-originate-from-some-common-vulnerability http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070172-schizophrenia-bipolar-disorder-originate-from-some-common-vulnerability Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:00:00 GMT Survivors of childhood cancer run particular risks when pregnant and should be closely monitored, the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Wednesday 1 July). Dr Sharon Lie Fong, of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus MC University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, said that, although such women may have conceived spontaneously and considered themselves to be perfectly healthy, their deliveries should always take place in a hospital... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070171-cancer-survivors-at-greater-risk-birth-complications http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070171-cancer-survivors-at-greater-risk-birth-complications Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:59:00 GMT The largest study to date of endometriosis in pregnant women has found that the condition is a major risk factor for premature birth, the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Wednesday 1 July). Dr Henrik Falconer, of the Department of Woman and Child Health, Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden, said that his team had found that women with endometriosis also had a higher risk of other pregnancy complications, as well as being more likely to give birth through Caesarean section. The research is published on-line in the journal Human Reproduction today... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070170-women-with-endometriosis-need-special-care-avoid-risk-premature-birth http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070170-women-with-endometriosis-need-special-care-avoid-risk-premature-birth Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:54:00 GMT For the first time, scientists have shown that chromosomal abnormalities are present in more than 90% of IVF embryos, even those produced by young, fertile couples. Ms Evelyne Vanneste, a PhD student in the Centre for Human Genetics and the University Fertility Centre, Leuven University, Belgium, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 1 July), that the surprising finding meant that current techniques used in preimplantation genetic screening (PGS), where embryos are screened genetically in order to select the best embryo for transfer, do nothing to improve pregnancy and live birth rates. Indeed, it can lead to potentially viable embryos being discarded, she said... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070169-chromosomal-problems-affect-nearly-all-human-embryos http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070169-chromosomal-problems-affect-nearly-all-human-embryos Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:49:00 GMT For the first time, researchers have been able to identify genetic predictors of the potential success or failure of IVF treatment in blood. Dr Cathy Allen, from the Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland, told the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology today (Wednesday 1 July) that her research would help understand why IVF works for some patients but not for others... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070168-will-ivf-work-particular-patient-the-answer-may-be-found-her-blood http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070168-will-ivf-work-particular-patient-the-answer-may-be-found-her-blood Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:44:00 GMT Conservationists worry that further deforestation will follow from Brazil now allowing squatting on Amazon land - regulations that encompass parcels equal to the combined size of Germany and Italy... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070167-amazon-squatter-law-fuels-deforestation-worries http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070167-amazon-squatter-law-fuels-deforestation-worries Wed, 01 Jul 2009 12:39:00 GMT More than 40 percent of a sample of amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds that are restricted to mangrove ecosystems are globally threatened with extinction, according to an assessment published in the July/August issue of BioScience. The study, by David A. Luther of the University of Maryland and Russell Greenberg of the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Centre, was based on an extensive literature search and expert consultations. The conclusions emphasise the vulnerability of animals that are dependent on a habitat rapidly being lost or degraded through coastal development, overexploitation, pollution, and changes in sea level and salinity... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070166-mangrove-dependent-animals-globally-threatened http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070166-mangrove-dependent-animals-globally-threatened Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:55:00 GMT New research shows that the amount of carbon stored in frozen soils at high latitudes is double previous estimates and could, if emitted as carbon dioxide and methane, lead to a significant increase in global temperatures by the end of this century... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070165-permafrost-melt-poses-major-climate-change-threat http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070165-permafrost-melt-poses-major-climate-change-threat Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:50:00 GMT Scientists have performed the first DNA-based reconstruction of the giant extinct moa bird, using prehistoric feathers recovered from caves and rock shelters in New Zealand... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070164-scientists-rebuild-giant-moa-using-ancient-dna http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070164-scientists-rebuild-giant-moa-using-ancient-dna Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:45:00 GMT A study in the 1 July issue of the journal SLEEP suggests that postpartum depression may aggravate an already impaired sleep quality, as experiencing difficulties with sleep is a symptom of depression. Twenty-one percent of depressed postpartum women included in the study reported having also been depressed during pregnancy and 46 percent reported at least one previous depressive episode prior to conception, suggesting that new mothers diagnosed with postpartum depression are not merely reporting symptoms of chronic sleep deprivation... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070163-poor-sleep-is-independently-associated-with-depression-postpartum-women http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070163-poor-sleep-is-independently-associated-with-depression-postpartum-women Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:40:00 GMT Treatment with proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) for eight weeks induces acid-related symptoms like heartburn, acid regurgitation and dyspepsia once treatment is withdrawn in healthy individuals, according to a new study in Gastroenterology, the official journal of the American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) Institute... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070162-acid-reducing-medicines-may-lead-dependency http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070162-acid-reducing-medicines-may-lead-dependency Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:35:00 GMT Charles Darwin and his contemporaries postulated that food consumption in birds and mammals was limited by resource levels, that is, animals would eat as much as they could while food was plentiful and produce as many offspring as this would allow them to. However, recent research has shown that, even when food is abundant, energy intake reaches a limit, even in animals with high nutrient demands, such as lactating females. Scientists at the Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology in Vienna suggest that this is due to active control of maternal investment in offspring in order to maintain long-term reproductive fitness... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070161-key-evolutionary-fitness-cut-the-calories http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070161-key-evolutionary-fitness-cut-the-calories Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:30:00 GMT We swim in a sea of information, but filter out most of what we see and hear. A new analysis of data from dozens of studies sheds new light on how we choose what we do and do not hear. The study found that while people tend to avoid information that contradicts what they already think or believe, certain factors can cause them to seek out, or at least consider, other points of view... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070160-people-sometimes-seek-the-truth-but-most-prefer-like-minded-views http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070160-people-sometimes-seek-the-truth-but-most-prefer-like-minded-views Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:25:00 GMT Cyber criminals are exploiting public interest in the death of singer Michael Jackson with spam messages that infect computers with a virus able to steal bank account numbers and passwords, according to Gary Warner, UAB's director of research in computer forensics. Warner and the other researchers at the UAB Spam Data Mine began tracking the celebrity-focused spam early on Tuesday, 30 June... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070159-computer-spammers-link-virus-e-mail-on-michael-jackson-death-investigation http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070159-computer-spammers-link-virus-e-mail-on-michael-jackson-death-investigation Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:20:00 GMT A new statistical analysis technique that identifies and removes systematic bias, noise and equipment-based artefacts from experimental data could lead to more precise and reliable measurement of nanomaterials and nanostructures likely to have future industrial applications... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070158-statistical-technique-improves-nanotechnology-data http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070158-statistical-technique-improves-nanotechnology-data Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:15:00 GMT An otherwise effective treatment for cystic fibrosis (CF) places patients at a high risk of sensorineural hearing loss, according to new research published in the July edition of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070157-common-antibacterial-treatment-linked-sensorineural-hearing-loss-cf-patients http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070157-common-antibacterial-treatment-linked-sensorineural-hearing-loss-cf-patients Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:10:00 GMT A study in the 1 July issue of the journal SLEEP demonstrates that levels of inflammatory markers varied significantly with self-reported sleep duration in women but not men... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070156-sleep-duration-is-associated-with-variations-levels-inflammatory-markers-women http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070156-sleep-duration-is-associated-with-variations-levels-inflammatory-markers-women Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:05:00 GMT We are all familiar with the fact that cognitive function declines as we get older. Moreover, recent studies have shown that the specific kind of daily activities we engage in during the course of our lives appears to influence the extent of this decline. A team of researchers from Technische Universitaet Berlin are studying how division of labour among honey bees affects their learning performance as they age. Surprisingly, they have found that, by switching their social role, ageing honey bees can keep their learning ability intact or even improve it... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070155-a-young-brain-an-old-bee http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070155-a-young-brain-an-old-bee Wed, 01 Jul 2009 06:00:00 GMT Scientists in the UK and Denmark have shown that if elderly men were given growth hormone and exercised their legs showed an appreciable muscle mass increase. Dr Geoff Goldspink (Royal Free and University College Medical School, UK) says: 'This raises the question: Can age-related loss of muscle strength and increased fragility be ameliorated by the therapeutic application of mechano growth factor (MGF)?'. There is hope that MGF can also help sufferers of diseases such as muscular dystrophy, ALS, renal disease or cancer, for whom intensive exercise is not an option... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070154-triggering-muscle-development-therapeutic-cure-muscle-wastage http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070154-triggering-muscle-development-therapeutic-cure-muscle-wastage Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:55:00 GMT Stressed out, dude? Don't go to Vegas. New research, to be published 1 July in the journal PLoS One, shows that men under stress may be more likely to take risks, correlating to such real-life behaviour as gambling, smoking, unsafe sex and illegal drug use... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070153-risky-business-stressed-men-more-likely-gamble http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070153-risky-business-stressed-men-more-likely-gamble Wed, 01 Jul 2009 05:50:00 GMT Transcriptomic tests have uncovered the protein composition of venom from the Scorpiops jendeki scorpion. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Genomics have carried out the first ever venom analysis in this arachnid, and discovered nine novel poison molecules, never before seen in any scorpion species... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070152-genetic-analysis-reveals-secrets-scorpion-venom http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070152-genetic-analysis-reveals-secrets-scorpion-venom Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:22:00 GMT Clinical pathways have been used in surgeries since the 1980s, but their nature and usefulness are still subjects of much debate, especially as procedures such as hip and knee joint replacement represent a significant cost to hospitals. Now authors publishing in the open access journal BMC Medicine have concluded that using clinical pathways can effectively improve the quality of the care provided to patients undergoing joint replacement... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070151-joint-replacement-treatment-using-clinical-pathways-works http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070151-joint-replacement-treatment-using-clinical-pathways-works Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:17:00 GMT According to new research published online in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences) on 1 July, a new fossil primate from Myanmar (previously known as Burma) suggests that the common ancestor of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from primates in Asia, not Africa as many researchers believe... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070150-new-fossil-primate-suggests-common-asian-ancestor-challenges-primates-such-as-ida http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070150-new-fossil-primate-suggests-common-asian-ancestor-challenges-primates-such-as-ida Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:12:00 GMT Our Milky Way galaxy only survived because it was already immersed in a large clump of dark matter which trapped gases inside it, scientists led by Durham University's Institute for Computational Cosmology (ICC) found... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070149-intense-heat-killed-the-universe-would-be-galaxies-researchers-say http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070149-intense-heat-killed-the-universe-would-be-galaxies-researchers-say Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:07:00 GMT The U.S. Government will announce that it will forgive nearly $30 million of debt payments owed by Indonesia in return for increased protection of Sumatra's forests, in a deal supported financially by and negotiated with the help of Conservation International... http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070148-us-forgive-30-million-debt-protect-sumatra-forests http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=09070148-us-forgive-30-million-debt-protect-sumatra-forests Wed, 01 Jul 2009 04:02:00 GMT