Brightsurf Science News and Current Science News Events
 
Low grades, bad behavior? Siblings may be to blame, FSU study says
We all know the story of a man named Brady and the group that somehow formed a family. But if the iconic '70s sitcom about a "blended" family reflected reality, the Brady Bunch likely would have been dealing with much more than silly sibling squabbles.


Each finger can be moved separately
A new prosthetic hand is being tested at the Orthopedic University Hospital in Heidelberg / Grip function almost like a natural hand.




Social form of bullying linked to depression, anxiety in adults
Spreading rumors and gossiping may not cause bruises or black eyes, but the psychological consequences of this social type of bullying could linger into early adulthood, a new University of Florida study shows.


Ground-breaking new insight into the development of Alzheimer's disease
According to estimates there are 85,000 Alzheimer patients in our country and approximately 20,000 new cases every year. This spectacular increase is due to the increasing ageing population. Unfortunately it is still unclear precisely which ageing process forms the basis of this spectacular rise in the occurrence of the disease.


Why fruit-eating bats eat dirt
"Don't eat the green parts of tomatoes, cut the green off the potatoes." Any child would know that eating these parts of vegetables is a bad idea. The reason behind this is that they contain secondary plant compounds which may have detrimental effects on the consumer.


To a Fault: The Bottom Line on Earthquakes
Although many people think that California "owns" all the earthquakes, Ohio also has its share of faults. Unlike another earthquake that woke people on another April 18, 102 years ago, this quake was fairly mild.


Herbicide-Tolerant Crops Can Improve Water Quality
The residual herbicides commonly used in the production of corn and soybean are frequently detected in rivers, streams, and reservoirs at concentrations that exceed drinking water standards in areas where these crops are extensively grown.


Ugandan monkeys harbor evidence of infection with unknown poxvirus
Researchers report this month that red colobus monkeys in a park in western Uganda have been exposed to an unknown orthopoxvirus, a pathogen related to the viruses that cause smallpox, monkeypox and cowpox.


Mass. General study shows how exercise changes structure and function of heart
For the first time researchers are beginning to understand exactly how various forms of exercise impact the heart. Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) investigators, in collaboration with the Harvard University Health Services, have found that 90 days of vigorous athletic training produces significant changes in cardiac structure and function and that the type of change varies with the type of exercise performed.


Menstrual blood -- a valuable source of multipotential stem cells?
Researchers seeking new and more abundant sources of stem cells for use in regenerative medicine have identified a potentially unlimited, noncontroversial, easily collectable, and inexpensive source - menstrual blood.


A stem cell type supposed to be crucial for angiogenesis and cancer growth does not exist?
Angiogenesis, the growth of new blood vessels, is a central process in diverse physiological and pathological situations such as healing of wounds and traumas, cardiovascular disorders, inflammatory conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis, and in cancer growth.


Findings a step toward making new optical materials
Chemical engineers have developed a "self-assembling" method that could lead to an inexpensive way of making diamondlike crystals to improve optical communications and other technologies.


Can Certain Metals Repel Sharks from Fishing Gear?
Sharks in captivity avoid metals that react with seawater to produce an electric field, a behavior that may help fishery biologists develop a strategy to reduce the bycatch of sharks in longline gear.


Potential viral therapy weapon for difficult cancers is safe and effective in study
Combining a herpes virus genetically altered to express a drug-enhancing enzyme with a chemotherapy drug effectively and safely reduced the size of highly malignant human sarcoma grafted into mice.


Purdue researchers propose way to incorporate deforestation into climate change treaty
Purdue University researchers have proposed a new option for incorporating deforestation into the international climate change treaty.


OHSU Cancer Institute researcher identifies protein that helps predict prostate cancer survival
An Oregon Health & Science University Cancer Institute researcher has identified a protein that is a strong indicator of survival for men with advanced prostate cancer. The C-reactive protein, also known as CRP, is a special type of protein produced by the liver that is elevated in the presence of inflammation.


Black women have urinary incontinence less than half as often as white women
The good news for black women: They have less than half the chance of developing urinary incontinence as do white women, according to a new study from the University of Michigan Health System.


Phone counseling improves quality of life, immune systems of cervical cancer survivors
A unique telephone-counseling intervention not only improved the quality of life for cervical cancer survivors but also altered associated stress-related effects on their immune systems, a UC Irvine study has found.


Data mining personnel
With the dark clouds of global recession now is the time for companies to make the most of their most valuable assets - their personnel. Writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Business Information Systems, researchers in India explain how data mining could help unearth the diamonds in the rough.


Women 80 and Older Benefit from Mammography, but Few Are Screened
In the first study to assess mammography in women 80 and older, researchers found that having regular mammograms significantly decreases the risk of being diagnosed with late-stage breast cancer, but only about one-fifth of women in this age group receive them regularly.


Link between ozone air pollution and premature death confirmed
Short-term exposure to current levels of ozone in many areas is likely to contribute to premature deaths, says a new National Research Council report, which adds that the evidence is strong enough that the US Environmental Protection Agency should include ozone-related mortality in health-benefit analyses related to future ozone standards.


NIAID describes research priorities to fight drug-resistant tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB) has long been one of the world's great killers. Now, forms of drug-resistant TB--multidrug (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR)--are occurring at an ominous and accelerating rate.


NIH study reveals incidence, precursors and psychiatric sequelae of major psychiatric disorders
A new study by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) presents results on the first onset of substance use disorders (i.e., alcohol and drug abuse and dependence) and major mood and anxiety disorders, based on Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC).


Urban slum conditions are a source of leptospirosis
A study conducted in an urban slum setting in Salvador, Brazil has found that open sewers, accumulations of refuse, and inadequate floodwater drainage are acting as sources for transmission of the disease leptospirosis. The study is published in this week's PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.


Numerical information can be persuasive or informative depending on how it's presented
Would you rather support research for a disease that affects 30,000 Americans a year or one that affects just .01 percent of the U.S. population?


Scientists Clarify a Mechanism of Epigenetic Inheritance
Although letters representing the three billion pairs of molecules that form the "rungs" of the helical DNA "ladder" are routinely called the human "genetic code," the DNA they comprise transmits traits across generations in a variety of ways, not all of which depend on the sequence of letters in the code.


African farmers gaining access to disease-resistant, 'upland' rice varieties
As concern builds around the impact of rising food prices and new restrictions on rice exports from Asian countries hit by adverse climate conditions, the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) announced today that African rice breeders have made critical steps towards ensuring self-sufficiency and boosting African rice production.


Scientists identify novel way to prevent cardiac fibrosis
In a study that points to a new strategy for preventing or possibly reversing fibrosis - the scarring that can lead to organ and tissue damage - researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine have determined that a molecule called Epac (Exchange protein activated by cAMP1), plays a key role in integrating the body's pro- and anti-fibrotic response.


Study finds cisplatin less effective than standard treatment for patients with anal cancer
When administered before chemoradiation, the common anti-cancer drug cisplatin neither improved disease-free survival nor reduced the number of colostomies needed when compared to the standard treatment for patients with anal canal cancer, according to a study published in the April 23 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.


A simplified method of giving rabies vaccine
A simplified economical method of giving rabies vaccine is just as effective as the expensive standard vaccine regimen at stimulating anti-rabies antibodies.


Costs, considerations of switching to natural or organic methods
When Kansas State University graduate student Ben Wileman was a practicing veterinarian in Belle Fourche, S.D., natural and organic labels were a big focus for the beef producers he saw.


Engineering students: Headset muffles loud, unnerving MRI noises
Having an MRI exam, an experience many people describe as stressful and uncomfortable, could soon become a bit more pleasant, thanks to the work of a team of University of Florida engineering students.


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