Spitzer Finds a Flavorful Mix of Asteroids

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope reveals that asteroids somewhat near Earth, termed near-Earth objects, are a mixed bunch, with a surprisingly wide array of compositions. Like a piñata filled with everything from chocolates to fruity candies, these asteroids come in assorted colors and compositions. Some are dark and dull; others are shiny and bright. The Spitzer observations of 100 known near-Earth asteroids demonstrate that the objects` diversity is greater than previously thought.
Read more [PhysOrg]

God did not create Universe: Hawking

God no longer has any place in theories on the creation of the Universe due to a series of developments in physics, British scientist Stephen Hawking said in extracts published Thursday from a new book.
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UCSF unveils model for implantable artificial kidney to replace dialysis

UCSF researchers today unveiled a prototype model of the first implantable artificial kidney, in a development that one day could eliminate the need for dialysis.
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Networks of WoW gamers, Etsy crafters to be focus of new study of creative collaborations

Using two of the planet's largest, creative online communities -- World of Warcraft gamers and Etsy artists -- as their laboratory, two Indiana University Bloomington researchers hope to understand how the inner workings of such massive, networked collaborations could benefit scientists, corporations and the very IT designers who facilitated the success of the two online communities.
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Scientists improve biomarker detection technique

Scientists from NPL's Biotechnology group have developed a new strategy to enable quicker and more precise detection of biomarkers - proteins which indicate disease. The work marks a new research direction for the group, and they hope the technique is an early step towards tools to detect Alzheimer`s and cancer at the molecular level.
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Fertility study on mice eggs raise hope for older mothers

UK research identifying loss of key protein in mice eggs is seen as a breakthrough that may help prevent birth defects

Scientists have made a breakthrough in understanding why older women become less fertile, suffer a miscarriage or have a baby with Down's syndrome.

The discovery could ultimately lead to treatments that would increase the chances of a successful pregnancy for growing numbers of would-be mothers in their late 30s and early 40s.

Researchers led by Dr Mary Herbert, an expert in reproductive biology at Newcastle University's Institute for Ageing and Health, have identified why some older women produce abnormal eggs, according to findings published in the journal Current Biology.

It has been known for a long time that would-be mothers who are nearing the end of their fertility are at higher risk than usual of having eggs that are affected by chromosomal abnormalities, but the underlying cause has been unclear.

The new study has identified problems arising from a woman's declining stock of proteins called Cohesins, which act as binding agents to hold chromosomes together by keeping them inside a ring. They are vital to ensure that chromosomes split evenly when cells divide.

Women's supplies of Cohesins fall as they age, Herbert and her colleagues discovered. Tests on eggs taken from both young and old mice indicated that the amount of Cohesins in women's bodies declines after their mid-30s.

When that happens it means that chromosomes are less tightly held together and they are therefore more likely to result in defective eggs, which can cause problems such as miscarriage and Down's syndrome.

Every cell in the human body, apart from eggs and sperm, contains two copies of each of the body's 23 chromosomes. Sperm and eggs must lose one copy each as they prepare for fertilisation. That process involves a complicated form of cell division.

This problem is compounded with eggs, because the attachments that hold chromosomes together have to be maintained by Cohesins until the egg divides just before ovulation.

When Herbert's team studied chromosomes during division in the egg, they found that the lower levels of Cohesin in eggs in older females led to some chromosomes becoming trapped and unable to divide properly.

"Reproductive fitness in women declines dramatically from the mid-30s onwards. Our findings point to Cohesin being a major culprit in this", said Herbert. More work was needed to understand why Cohesin declines over women's reproductive years, and such knowledge could lead to ways being developed to stop that loss from occurring.

Dr Peter Bowen-Simpkins, the medical director of the London Women's Clinic network of private fertility clinics and spokesman for the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said the study was "very exciting" and could lead to real improvements in older women's chances of having children.

"This breakthrough could mean the difference between success and failure – them having a baby or not – for the fast-growing number of women who are trying to conceive after their late 30s," he added.

• Reproduction
• Biology
• Fertility problems
• Genetics

Read more [Guardian Unlimited Science]

Pediatric weight expert provides obesity trinity answers

In a first person paper published in the August 27, 2010 issue of Childhood Obesity, Dr. Melinda Sothern, Director of Health Promotion and Professor of Public Health at LSU Health Sciences Center New Orleans, provides three ways to de-program the 1950s obesity trinity underlying the current obesity epidemic in the United States and protect future generations from its health consequences.
Read more [PhysOrg]

Psychologist: Stress management with Chilean miners is a tricky, but not impossible

(PhysOrg.com) -- A psychologist and stress expert at the University at Buffalo says research on traumatic experiences pinpoints specific sources of stress that the trapped Chilean miners and their rescuers will need to manage in the weeks and months ahead, and offers ways of dealing with them.
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Diseases prove elusive in global genetic search

(PhysOrg.com) -- A failure to use large international sample groups when searching for the genetic basis of common diseases is contributing to a lack of knowledge about the true frequency of illnesses across populations, according to an Australian National University researcher.
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Researchers develop simple technique to visualize atomic-scale structures

Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have devised a new technique -- using a sheet of carbon just one atom thick -- to visualize the structure of molecules. The technique, which was used to obtain the first direct images of how water coats surfaces at room temperature, can also be used to image a potentially unlimited number of other molecules, including antibodies and other biomolecules.
Read more [PhysOrg]

M 2.6, Baja California, Mexico

September 02, 2010 19:51:29 GMT
Read more [USGS Earthquake Activity]

Scientists identify molecules involved in touch and other mechanically activated systems

Scripps Research Institute scientists have identified two proteins with potential to be important targets for research into a wide range of health problems, including pain, deafness, and cardiac and kidney dysfunction.
Read more [PhysOrg]

How Badly Does It Hurt? Research Examines the Biomedical Diagnosis of Pain

Is the science of diagnosing pain causing a number of pain sufferers to defend their honor? Research out of the University of Cincinnati is examining the diagnosis of pain that evades scientific testing, and the additional emotional suffering that can result for the patient. (2010-08-17)
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A little adversity bodes well for those with chronic back pain

A new study by researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of California, Irvine, to be published in the September issue of the journal Pain, reveals that, for people with chronic back pain, having a little adversity in your life can be protective and beneficial. (2010-08-06)
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Western diet link to ADHD

A new study from Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research shows an association between ADHD and a 'Western-style' diet in adolescents. (2010-07-29)
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3 biomarkers in spinal fluid appear helpful to classify patients with Alzheimer's disease

A "signature" consisting of three biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid was present in 90 percent of patients who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease but also was found in more than one-third of cognitively normal older adult. (2010-08-10)
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B vitamins and the aging brain examined

B vitamins-B-6, B-12 and folate-all nourish the brain. But much remains to be discovered about the relation between these essential nutrients and our brainpower. (2010-08-18)
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Merlin protein found to control liver stem cells, prevent tumor development

A protein known to be involved in a rare hereditary cancer syndrome may have a role in the regulation of liver stem cells and the development of liver cancer. In the August 15 issue of Genes & Development, a Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) research team describes finding that the protein called merlin, encoded by the NF2 (neurofibromatosis type 2) gene, controls the activity of adult stem cells that give rise to the two major types of liver cells. (2010-08-13)
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Scientists Show There's Nothing Boring About Watching Paint Dry

It turns out that watching paint dry might not be as boring as the old adage claims. (2010-08-11)
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Molecular mechanism triggering Parkinson's disease identified in Stanford study

Scientists at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a molecular pathway responsible for the death of key nerve cells whose loss causes Parkinson's disease. (2010-07-29)
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Study of electron orbits in multilayer graphene finds unexpected energy gaps

Researchers have taken one more step toward understanding the unique and often unexpected properties of graphene, a two-dimensional carbon material that has attracted interest because of its potential applications in future generations of electronic devices. (2010-08-11)
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Researchers discover genetic link between immune system, Parkinson's disease

A team of researchers has discovered new evidence that Parkinson's disease may have an infectious or autoimmune origin. (2010-08-16)
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Childhood Personality Traits Predict Adult Behavior

Personality traits observed in childhood are a strong predictor of adult behavior, a study by researchers at the University of California, Riverside, the Oregon Research Institute and University of Oregon suggests. (2010-08-05)
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The strange case of solar flares and radioactive elements

It's a mystery that presented itself unexpectedly: The radioactive decay of some elements sitting quietly in laboratories on Earth seemed to be influenced by activities inside the sun, 93 million miles away. (2010-08-25)
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Study examines risks, rewards of energy drinks

Popular energy drinks promise better athletic performance and weight loss, but do the claims hold up? Not always, say researchers at Nova Southeastern University in Florida. (2010-08-18)
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Immune system overreaction may enable recurrent urinary tract infections

The immune system may open the door to recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs) by overdoing its response to an initial infection, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found. (2010-08-13)
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For the First Time Ever, Scientists Watch an Atom's Electrons Moving in Real Time

An international team of scientists led by groups from the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics (MPQ) in Garching, Germany, and from the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the University of California at Berkeley has used ultrashort flashes of laser light to directly observe the movement of an atom's outer electrons for the first time. (2010-08-05)
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Mother of all humans lived 200,000 years ago

The most robust statistical examination to date of our species' genetic links to "mitochondrial Eve" -- the maternal ancestor of all living humans -- confirms that she lived about 200,000 years ago. (2010-08-18)
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Multiple Sclerosis - antihypertensive drug ameliorate inflammation in the brain

Researchers in Heidelberg and Stanford have discovered a new signalling pathway of brain cells that explains how widely used antihypertensive drugs could keep inflammation in multiple sclerosis (MS) in check. (2010-07-29)
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Wireless Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems in Cars May Compromise Privacy, Pose Security Threat

New wireless technologies in cars may compromise a driver's privacy and pose a security threat, warn researchers at Rutgers University. (2010-08-12)
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All pain is not the same: Psychologist discusses gender differences in chronic pain

Women experience chronic pain longer, more intensely and more often than men, according to a psychologist who works with both men and women dealing with diseases and conditions that leave them suffering. (2010-08-13)
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Psychologists develop 2 potent new predictors of suicide risk

Two powerful new tests developed by psychologists at Harvard University show great promise in predicting patients' risk of attempting suicide. (2010-07-29)
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Brainstem, spinal cord images hidden in Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel fresco

Michelangelo, the 16th century master painter and accomplished anatomist, appears to have hidden an image of the brainstem and spinal cord in a depiction of God in the Sistine Chapel's ceiling, a new study by Johns Hopkins researchers reports. (2010-07-29)
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New findings further clarify breast cancer risk with hormone therapy

A new analysis of the California Teachers Study, which analyzed hormone replacement therapy use among 2,857 women for almost 10 years, underscores the need for personalized risk-benefit discussions before women begin hormone therapy. (2010-08-11)
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Research shows what you say about others says a lot about you

How positively you see others is linked to how happy, kind-hearted and emotionally stable you are, according to new research by a Wake Forest University psychology professor. (2010-08-03)
Read more [BrightSurf]