ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Scanning babies' fingerprints could save lives through vaccination tracking
• Poor fish harvests more frequent now off California coast
• Severe periodontitis: Sixth most prevalent health condition in the world
• Key reaction for producing 'atmosphere's detergent' observed
• COPD patients breathe easier with lung flute, study shows
• Researchers contribute to study of trained immunity
• Studying nanocrystals by passing them through tiny pores
• Football-size robot can skim discreetly along a ship's hull to seek hollow compartments concealing contraband
• Unexpected clue to peripheral neuropathies found
• Young sea stars suffer more from ocean acidification than adults
• Strategy to reduce side effects in modern cancer therapy
• 'Multi-spectra glasses' for scanning electron microscopy
• Neuroscientists use morphed images of Hollywood celebrities to reveal how neurons make up your mind
• Minority background, low education, and low income negatively influence HPV vaccine series completion
• New technology may lead to prolonged power in mobile devices
• With few data, Arctic carbon models lack consensus
• Nanocomposites toughen up
• Overcome noise problems in ultrasensitive measurements of tiny amounts of compounds
• NASA rover drill pulls first taste from Mars mountain
• High-throughput cell-sorting method can separate 10 billion bacterial cells in 30 minutes
• No sign of health or nutrition problems from GMO livestock feed, study finds
• Fertilizer and fuel: Nitrogen-fixing enzyme also produces hydrocarbons
• Turning the Moon into a cosmic ray detector
• Green light for clever algae
• How plankton gets jet lagged: Hormone that govern sleep and jet lag in humans also drives mass migration of plankton
• Conflictive animations support the development of programming skills
• Experts call for widening the debate on climate change
• Computational model: Ebola could infect more than 1.4 million people by end of January 2015
• Graphene looks promising as a flexible, low-cost touchscreen solution
• Power outage? Robots to the rescue
• On the road to artificial photosynthesis: Study reveals key catalytic factors in carbon dioxide reduction
• Longstanding bottleneck in crystal structure prediction solved
• New discovery could pave way for spin-based computing: Novel oxide-based magnetism follows electrical commands

Scanning babies' fingerprints could save lives through vaccination tracking Posted: 26 Sep 2014 11:10 AM PDT Each year 2.5 million children die worldwide because they do not receive life-saving vaccinations at the appropriate time. Now researchers are developing a fingerprint-based recognition method to track vaccination schedules for infants and toddlers, which will increase immunization coverage and save lives.

Poor fish harvests more frequent now off California coast Posted: 26 Sep 2014 11:10 AM PDT In the past 600 years off the California coast, occasional episodes of diminished ocean upwelling that cause fish populations to crash have occurred naturally. The poor yearly fish harvests seen in the last 60 years aren't any worse in severity than earlier, but are happening more frequently.

Severe periodontitis: Sixth most prevalent health condition in the world Posted: 26 Sep 2014 11:10 AM PDT There is an enormous public health challenge posed by severe periodontitis and are a microcosm of the epidemiologic transition to non-communicable diseases occurring in many countries, experts say. In 2010, severe periodontitis was the sixth most prevalent condition in the world affecting 743 million people worldwide. Between 1990 and 2010, the global age-standardized prevalence of severe periodontitis was static at 11.2%.

Key reaction for producing 'atmosphere's detergent' observed Posted: 26 Sep 2014 11:10 AM PDT A rapid atmospheric reaction critical to breaking down pollution in the lab has been observed by chemists. They identify an important intermediate molecule and track its transformation to hydroxyl radicals, also demonstrating the amount of energy necessary for the reaction to take place.

COPD patients breathe easier with lung flute, study shows Posted: 26 Sep 2014 11:07 AM PDT Patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) report improved symptoms and health status when they use a hand-held respiratory device called the Lung Flute®, according to a new study.

Researchers contribute to study of trained immunity Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Support for a new -- and still controversial -- understanding of the immune system has been released in a new study. Epigenetic profiling experiments identified genes involved in glucose metabolism as being critical for trained immunity. These findings have potential implications both for the prevention and treatment of inflammatory diseases and for bolstering the immune response to pathogens in situations where the immune system is not functioning properly.

Studying nanocrystals by passing them through tiny pores Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Researchers have now applied a cutting-edge technique for rapid gene sequencing toward measuring other nanoscopic structures. By passing nanoscale spheres and rods through a tiny hole in a membrane, the team was able to measure the electrical properties of those structures' surfaces. Their findings suggest new ways of using this technique, known as 'nanopore translocation,' to analyze objects at the smallest scale.

Football-size robot can skim discreetly along a ship's hull to seek hollow compartments concealing contraband Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Football-size robot can skim discreetly along a ship's hull to seek hollow compartments concealing contraband.

Unexpected clue to peripheral neuropathies found Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Disrupting the molecular function of a tumor suppressor causes improper formation of a protective insulating sheath on peripheral nerves -- leading to neuropathy and muscle wasting in mice similar to that in human diabetes and neurodegeneration. A new study also suggests that normal molecular function of the tumor suppressor gene Lkb1 is essential to the formation process.

Young sea stars suffer more from ocean acidification than adults Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Young sea stars from the Baltic Sea suffer more from the effects of ocean acidification than adults. In a laboratory experiment, scientists showed that younger animals already eat less and grow more slowly at only slightly elevated carbon dioxide concentrations.

Strategy to reduce side effects in modern cancer therapy Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT A new strategy for reducing the often serious side effects of an important class of modern anticancer drugs -- tyrosine kinase inhibitors has been developed by an international team of researchers. The novel drug is supposed to restrict its activity with high selectivity to the malignant tumor.

'Multi-spectra glasses' for scanning electron microscopy Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Reflection zone plates enable lighter elements in material samples will be efficiently and precisely detected using scanning electron microscopy by providing high resolution in the range of 50-1120 eV.

Neuroscientists use morphed images of Hollywood celebrities to reveal how neurons make up your mind Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Morphed images of celebrities such as Angelina Jolie, Halle Berry, Bob Marley, Sylvester Stallone, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Whoopi Goldberg, Bill Clinton and George Bush, and others were shown to participants in a recent study. The study found that neurons fire in line with conscious recognition of images rather than the actual images seen, thereby leading scientists to believe that neurons play a key role in the formation of memory.

Minority background, low education, and low income negatively influence HPV vaccine series completion Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:21 AM PDT Only 60% of young US women who received the first dose of the human papilloma virus (HPV) vaccine went on to complete the three-dose vaccine series, research shows. The study found that minority backgrounds, low income, and low education were associated with non-completion.

New technology may lead to prolonged power in mobile devices Posted: 26 Sep 2014 08:20 AM PDT Researchers have created technology that could be the first step toward wearable computers with self-contained power sources or, more immediately, a smartphone that doesn't die after a few hours of heavy use.

With few data, Arctic carbon models lack consensus Posted: 26 Sep 2014 07:18 AM PDT As climate change grips the Arctic, how much carbon is leaving its thawing soil and adding to Earth's greenhouse effect? The question has long been debated by scientists. A new study conducted as part of NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) shows just how much work still needs to be done to reach a conclusion on this and other basic questions about the region where global warming is hitting hardest.

Nanocomposites toughen up Posted: 26 Sep 2014 07:17 AM PDT An alternative fabrication route improves the properties of aluminum-based nanocomposites with great potential for vehicles of the future.

Overcome noise problems in ultrasensitive measurements of tiny amounts of compounds Posted: 26 Sep 2014 07:17 AM PDT As the sensitivity of plasmonic sensors reaches new heights, so does the challenge of using tiny sample volumes. Scientists have devised an innovative way to improve sensor accuracy by exploiting the unique properties of quantum optics.

NASA rover drill pulls first taste from Mars mountain Posted: 26 Sep 2014 07:15 AM PDT NASA's Curiosity Mars rover has collected its first taste of the layered mountain whose scientific allure drew the mission to choose this part of Mars as a landing site.

High-throughput cell-sorting method can separate 10 billion bacterial cells in 30 minutes Posted: 26 Sep 2014 07:10 AM PDT A new, high-throughput method for sorting cells has been developed, capable of separating 10 billion bacterial cells in 30 minutes. The finding has already proven useful for studying bacterial cells and microalgae, and could one day have direct applications for biomedical research and environmental science -- basically any field in which a large quantity of microbial samples need to be processed.

No sign of health or nutrition problems from GMO livestock feed, study finds Posted: 26 Sep 2014 07:10 AM PDT A new review study finds there is no evidence in earlier scientific studies indicating that genetically engineered feed crops harmed the health or productivity of livestock and poultry, and that food products from animals consuming such feeds were nutritionally the same as products from animals that ate non-GMO feeds.

Fertilizer and fuel: Nitrogen-fixing enzyme also produces hydrocarbons Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:58 AM PDT Plants need nitrogen and carbon to grow. Photosynthesis allows them to take in the latter directly from the air, but they have to procure nitrogen through their roots in the form of organic molecules like ammonia or urea. Even though nitrogen gas makes up approximately 80 percent of Earth's atmosphere, the plant can only access it in a bound - or 'fixed' - form. Farmers thus use fertilizers to provide their crops with nitrogen. The only living beings that can convert nitrogen from the air into usable molecules are microorganisms - for example nodule bacteria.

Turning the Moon into a cosmic ray detector Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:58 AM PDT Scientists are to turn the Moon into a giant particle detector to help understand the origin of Ultra-High-Energy (UHE) cosmic rays -- the most energetic particles in the Universe. The origin of UHE cosmic rays is one of the great mysteries in astrophysics. Nobody knows where these extremely rare cosmic rays come from or how they get their enormous energies. Physicists detect them on Earth at a rate of less than one particle per square kilometer per century.

Green light for clever algae Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:58 AM PDT Phytoplankton not only constitutes the foundation of the food chain in the oceans, it also fixes carbon through photosynthesis and generates oxygen with the help of solar energy. A considerable part of phytoplankton is made up of cryptophytes, complex single-cell algae. In the course of evolution, these algae have adapted their light-harvesting mechanisms to their environment and have thus become capable of utilizing green light.

How plankton gets jet lagged: Hormone that govern sleep and jet lag in humans also drives mass migration of plankton Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:56 AM PDT A hormone that governs sleep and jet lag in humans may also drive the mass migration of plankton in the ocean, scientists have found. The molecule in question, melatonin, is essential to maintain our daily rhythm, and scientists have now discovered that it governs the nightly migration of a plankton species from the surface to deeper waters. The findings indicate that melatonin's role in controlling daily rhythms probably evolved early in the history of animals, and hold hints to how our sleep patterns may have evolved.

Conflictive animations support the development of programming skills Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:56 AM PDT Traditional educational tools present information to students in a conventional way: what they present is true and students are expected to learn what is presented. Educators have now developed a tool that tricks students during their learning process. They use "conflictive animations" to teach computer programming, which is a very challenging topic for students due to its abstract nature.

Experts call for widening the debate on climate change Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:56 AM PDT Environmental scientists are being urged to broaden the advice they give on global climate change, say experts who are also frustrated that decision makers are not taking enough action.

Computational model: Ebola could infect more than 1.4 million people by end of January 2015 Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:55 AM PDT The Ebola epidemic could claim hundreds of thousands of lives and infect more than 1.4 million people by the end of January, according to a statistical forecast released this week by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC forecast supports the drastically higher projections released earlier by a group of scientists, including epidemiologists with the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, who modeled the Ebola spread as part of a National Institutes of Health-sponsored project called Midas, short for Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study.

Graphene looks promising as a flexible, low-cost touchscreen solution Posted: 26 Sep 2014 05:55 AM PDT New research suggests that graphene-treated nanowires could soon replace current touchscreen technology, significantly reducing production costs and allowing for more affordable, flexible displays.

Power outage? Robots to the rescue Posted: 25 Sep 2014 03:25 PM PDT Big disasters almost always result in big power failures. Not only do they take down the TV and fridge, they also wreak havoc with key infrastructure like cell towers. That can delay search and rescue operations at a time when minutes count. Engineers have now developed a tabletop model of robotic first responders that can bring power to places that need it the most -- like communications towers.

On the road to artificial photosynthesis: Study reveals key catalytic factors in carbon dioxide reduction Posted: 25 Sep 2014 12:08 PM PDT The excessive atmospheric carbon dioxide that is driving global climate change could be harnessed into a renewable energy technology that would be a win for both the environment and the economy. That is the lure of artificial photosynthesis in which the electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide is used to produce clean, green and sustainable fuels. However, finding a catalyst for reducing carbon dioxide that is highly selective and efficient has proven to be a huge scientific challenge. New experimental results have revealed the critical influence of the electronic and geometric effects in the carbon dioxide reduction reaction and might help make the problem easier to tackle.

Longstanding bottleneck in crystal structure prediction solved Posted: 25 Sep 2014 12:08 PM PDT The various patterns that atoms of a solid material can adopt, called crystal structures, can have a huge impact on its properties. Being able to accurately predict the most stable crystal structure for a material has been a longstanding challenge for scientists. Researchers calculated the lattice energy of benzene, a simple yet important molecule in pharmaceutical and energy research, to sub-kilojoule per mole accuracy -- a level of certainty that allows polymorphism to be resolved.

New discovery could pave way for spin-based computing: Novel oxide-based magnetism follows electrical commands Posted: 25 Sep 2014 12:08 PM PDT Electricity and magnetism rule our digital world. Semiconductors process electrical information, while magnetic materials enable long-term data storage. A research team has now discovered a way to fuse these two distinct properties in a single material, paving the way for new ultrahigh density storage and computing architectures.

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