Top Science News Articles | Science Current Events this Week

The top science news articles and science news articles and current events, scientific discoveries, studies and research from the past week.
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Herschel Space Observatory study reveals galaxy-packed filament
A McGill-led research team using the Herschel Space Observatory has discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars.

Sugar makes you stupid
Attention, college students cramming between midterms and finals: Binging on soda and sweets for as little as six weeks may make you stupid.

UCLA researchers map damaged connections in Phineas Gage's brain
Poor Phineas Gage. In 1848, the supervisor for the Rutland and Burlington Railroad in Vermont was using a 13-pound, 3-foot-7-inch rod to pack blasting powder into a rock when he triggered an explosion that drove the rod through his left cheek and out of the top of his head. As reported at the time, the rod was later found, "smeared with blood and brains."

Return of the vacuum tube
Vacuum tubes have been retro for decades. They almost completely disappeared from the electronics scene when consumers exchanged their old cathode ray tube monitors for flat screen TVs.

Bright future for solar power in space
Solar power gathered in space could be set to provide the renewable energy of the future thanks to innovative research being carried out by engineers at the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow.

1,000 years of climate data confirms Australia's warming
In the first study of its kind in Australasia, scientists have used 27 natural climate records to create the first large-scale temperature reconstruction for the region over the last 1000 years.

University of Miami study shows delays in siblings of children with autism spectrum disorders
A new University of Miami (UM) study shows that one in three children who have an older sibling with an Autism Related Disorder (ASD) fall into a group characterized by higher levels of autism-related behaviors or lower levels of developmental progress.

UF researchers name new extinct giant turtle found near world's largest snake
University of Florida researchers have described a new extinct giant turtle species from the same Colombian mine where they discovered Titanoboa - and one of the only animals the world's largest snake could not have eaten.

Dietary supplements increase cancer risk
Beta-carotene, selenium and folic acid - taken up to three times their recommended daily allowance, these supplements are probably harmless.

Elephant seal tracking reveals hidden lives of deep-diving animals
Researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, who pioneered the use of satellite tags to monitor the migrations of elephant seals have compiled one of the largest datasets available for any marine mammal species, revealing their movements and diving behavior at sea in unprecedented detail.

Researchers reveal an RNA modification influences thousands of genes
Over the past decade, research in the field of epigenetics has revealed that chemically modified bases are abundant components of the human genome and has forced us to abandon the notion we've had since high school genetics that DNA consists of only four bases.

Oxygen-separation membranes could aid in CO2 reduction
It may seem counterintuitive, but one way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere may be to produce pure carbon dioxide in powerplants that burn fossil fuels.

Genes may hold the key to a life of success, study suggests
Genes play a greater role in forming character traits - such as self-control, decision making or sociability - than was previously thought, new research suggests.

Alzheimer's Gene Causes Brain's Blood Vessels to Leak, Die
A well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease triggers a cascade of signaling that ultimately results in leaky blood vessels in the brain, allowing toxic substances to pour into brain tissue in large amounts, scientists report May 16 in the journal Nature.

Quantum computing: The light at the end of the tunnel may be a single photon
Quantum physics promises faster and more powerful computers, but quantum versions of basic logic functions are still needed to bring this technology to fruition.

Discovery of plant proteins may boost agricultural yields and biofuel production
Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and Iowa State University discovered a family of plant proteins that play a role in the production of seed oils, substances important for animal and human nutrition, biorenewable chemicals and biofuels.

"Obesity Genes" May Influence Food Choices, Eating Patterns
Blame it on your genes? Researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Weight Control and Diabetes Research Center say individuals with variations in certain "obesity genes" tend to eat more meals and snacks, consume more calories per day and often choose the same types of high fat, sugary foods.

When you eat matters, not just what you eat
When it comes to weight gain, when you eat might be at least as important as what you eat. That's the conclusion of a study reported in the Cell Press journal Cell Metabolism published early online on May 17th.

Why omega-3 oils help at the cellular level
For the first time, researchers at the University of California, San Diego have peered inside a living mouse cell and mapped the processes that power the celebrated health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids.

Big-mouthed babies drove the evolution of giant island snakes
Some populations of tiger snakes stranded for thousands of years on tiny islands surrounding Australia have evolved to be giants, growing to nearly twice the size of their mainland cousins.

Testing for mutations identified in squamous cell lung cancer tumors helps personalize treatment
Screening lung cancer tumor samples for cancer-causing, or "driver," genetic mutations can help physicians tailor patients' treatments to target those specific mutations.

Salk study may offer drug-free intervention to prevent obesity and diabetes
-It turns out that when we eat may be as important as what we eat. Scientists at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have found that regular eating times and extending the daily fasting period may override the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet and prevent obesity, diabetes and liver disease in mice.

New technique reveals unseen information in DNA code
Imagine reading an entire book, but then realizing that your glasses did not allow you to distinguish "g" from "q." What details did you miss?

Ancient giant turtle fossil revealed
Picture a turtle the size of a Smart car, with a shell large enough to double as a kiddie pool. Paleontologists from North Carolina State University have found just such a specimen - the fossilized remains of a 60-million-year-old South American giant that lived in what is now Colombia.

Cellular secrets of plant fatty acid production understood
A curious twist in a family of plant proteins called chalcone-isomerase recently was discovered by Salk Institute for Biological Studies scientist Joseph Noel and colleagues at Iowa State University led by Eve Wurtele.

Specialized care by experienced teams cuts death and disability from bleeding brain aneurysms
People with bleeding brain aneurysms have the best chance of survival and full recovery if they receive aggressive emergency treatment from a specialized team at a hospital that treats a large number of patients like them every year, according to new guidelines just published by the American Stroke Association.

Smoked cannabis reduces some symptoms of multiple sclerosis
A clinical study of 30 adult patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has shown that smoked cannabis may be an effective treatment for spasticity - a common and disabling symptom of this neurological disease.

USF study: Common fungicide wreaks havoc on freshwater ecosystems
Chlorothalonil, one of the world's most common fungicides used pervasively on food crops and golf courses, was lethal to a wide variety of freshwater organisms in a new study, University of South Florida researchers said Wednesday.

Fox Chase researchers find no disparities in imaging before breast cancer surgery
If racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer exist, they are not due to differences in the use of imaging to assess the extent of tumors before surgery.

Navy pilot training enhanced by AEMASE 'smart machine' developed at Sandia Labs
Navy pilots and other flight specialists soon will have a new "smart machine" installed in training simulators that learns from expert instructors to more efficiently train their students.

CNIO scientists successfully test the first gene therapy against aging-associated decline
A number of studies have shown that it is possible to lengthen the average life of individuals of many species, including mammals, by acting on specific genes.

Excess weight in pregnant women can have negative implications for offspring
That overweight during pregnancy can lead to overweight children and adolescents has been known for some time, but new research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and in the US indicates that excess weight before and during pregnancy can have long-lasting health consequences for the offspring of such mothers even later in life.

Experts call for clinical trials to test non-skeletal benefits of vitamin D
The Endocrine Society's new scientific statement published online today represents the first comprehensive evaluation of both the basic and clinical evidence related to the non-skeletal effects of vitamin D.

Children's brain tumors more diverse than previously believed
Paediatric brain tumours preserve specific characteristics of the normal cells from which they originate - a previously unknown circumstance with ramifications for how tumour cells respond to treatment.

The quick and easy way to measure power consumption
The ambitious goals set by the German government to promote energy efficiency have put pressure on companies to change their energy-use policies.

Make or break for cellular tissues
In a study about to be published in EPJ E�, French physicists from the Curie Institute in Paris have demonstrated that the behaviour of a thin layer of cells in contact with an unfavourable substrate is akin to that of thin fluid or elastic films.

Let's get moving: Unravelling how locomotion starts
Scientists at the University of Bristol have shed new light on one of the great unanswered questions of neuroscience: how the brain initiates rhythmic movements like walking, running and swimming.

Computing experts unveil superefficient 'inexact' chip
Researchers have unveiled an "inexact" computer chip that challenges the industry's 50-year pursuit of accuracy.

Pollution teams with thunderclouds to warm atmosphere
Pollution is warming the atmosphere through summer thunderstorm clouds, according to a computational study published May 10 in Geophysical Research Letters.

Discovery of mechanisms predicting response to new treatments in colon cancer
The Stem Cells and Cancer Research Group headed by Dr Héctor G. Palmer at the Vall d'Hebrón Institute of Oncology (VHIO) has identified the molecular mechanisms that determine patients' response to certain drugs used in clinical trials for colon cancer treatment.

Google goes cancer: Researchers use search engine algorithm to find cancer biomarkers
The strategy used by Google to decide which pages are relevant for a search query can also be used to determine which proteins in a patient's cancer are relevant for the disease progression.

Untangling the development of breast cancer
In two back-to-back reports published online on 17 May in Cell, researchers have sequenced the genomes of 21 breast cancers and analysed the mutations that emerged during the tumours' development.

Phase I clinical trial shows drug shrinks melanoma brain metastases
An experimental drug targeting a common mutation in melanoma successfully shrank tumors that spread to the brain in nine out of 10 patients in part of an international phase I clinical trial report in the May 18 issue of The Lancet.

Plant growth without light control
Plants are dependent on the sun. Sunlight does not only supply them with energy, but also controls their development steps.

Suspicion resides in 2 regions of the brain
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on my parahippocampal gyrus.

Delivery system for gene therapy may help treat arthritis
A DNA-covered submicroscopic bead used to deliver genes or drugs directly into cells to treat disease appears to have therapeutic value just by showing up, researchers report.

Quality of care, other issues may cause worse results in black prostate cancer surgery patients
Black prostate cancer patients may not be getting the same quality of care as white patients, according to a first-of-its-kind study by researchers at Henry Ford Hospital who found racial disparities in the results of surgery to remove diseased prostates.

McLean Hospital study finds herbal extract may curb binge drinking
An extract of the Chinese herb kudzu dramatically reduces drinking and may be useful in the treatment of alcoholism and curbing binge drinking, according to a new study by McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School researchers.

Early biomarker for pancreatic cancer identified
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and Moores Cancer Center have identified a new biomarker and therapeutic target for pancreatic cancer, an often-fatal disease for which there is currently no reliable method for early detection or therapeutic intervention.

Predicting cancer relapse: Study finds high-throughput sequencing bests flow cytometry
A study led by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center has found that a next-generation, high-speed DNA-decoding technology called high-throughput sequencing can detect the earliest signs of potential relapse in nearly twice the number of leukemia patients as compared to flow cytometry, the current gold standard for detecting minimal residual disease.

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