Science

Science headlines from reliable sources

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May 17, 2008 17:10:18 GMT
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Vitamin D protects cells from stress that can lead to cancer

By inducing a specific gene to increase expression of a key enzyme, vitamin D protects healthy prostate cells from the damage and injuries that can lead to cancer, University of Rochester Medical Center researchers report. (2008-05-14)
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Ancient Beachcombers May Have Travelled Slowly

New evidence, more questions. That's the thumbnail of the first new data reported in 10 years from Monte Verde, the earliest known human settlement in the Americas. (2008-05-12)
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Compound has potential for new class of AIDS drugs

Researchers have developed what they believe is the first new mechanism in nearly 20 years for inhibiting a common target used to treat all HIV patients, which could eventually lead to a new class of AIDS drugs. (2008-05-15)
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New Cancer Gene Discovered

Researchers at the OU Cancer Institute have identified a new gene that causes cancer. The ground-breaking research appears Monday in Nature's cancer journal Oncogene. (2008-05-09)
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UV lotion lights the way to cleaner facilities

A team of Canadian scientists using a lotion which glows under ultraviolet light have shown that up to a third of patient toilets are not properly cleaned. (2008-05-12)
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When bears steal human food, mom's not to blame

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) found that the black bears that become habituated to human food and garbage may not be learning these behaviors exclusively from their mothers, as widely assumed. (2008-05-08)
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Cold Spring Harbor Scientists Are Part of Consortium That Sequences Platypus Genome, Unlocking Secrets of Evolution

By any account, the platypus is an odd creature. It's got a broad, rubbery bill that brings to mind a duck-.but it swims more like a beaver-.yet it lays eggs and can inject poisonous venom, like a reptile. (2008-05-09)
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Ponds found to take up carbon like world's oceans

Research led by Iowa State University limnologist, or lake scientist, John Downing finds that ponds around the globe could absorb as much carbon as the world's oceans. (2008-05-08)
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Platypus Genome Decoded

The curious discovery of the duck-billed, egg-laying, otter-footed, beaver-tailed, venomous platypus in Australia in 1798 convinced British scientists that it must be a hoax. Sketches of its appearance were thought to be impossible. (2008-05-08)
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Computer game's high score could earn the Nobel Prize in medicine

Gamers have devoted countless years of collective brainpower to rescuing princesses or protecting the planet against alien invasions. This week researchers at the University of Washington will try to harness those finely honed skills to make medical discoveries, perhaps even finding a cure for HIV. (2008-05-09)
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Bread mold may hold secret to eliminating disease-causing genes

When most people discover mold on their bread, they immediately throw it out. Others see a world of possibilities in the tiny fungus. A University of Missouri scientist, along with a collaborative research team, has examined a new mechanism in the reproductive cycle of a certain species of mold. (2008-05-09)
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Nitrates in vegetables protect against gastric ulcers

Fruits and vegetables that are rich in nitrates protect the stomach from damage. This takes place through conversion of nitrates into nitrites by the bacteria in the oral cavity and subsequent transformation into biologically active nitric oxide in the stomach. (2008-05-08)
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What's the difference between a human and a fruit fly?

Fruit flies are dramatically different from humans not in their number of genes, but in the number of protein interactions in their bodies, according to scientists who have developed a new way of estimating the total number of interactions between proteins in any organism. (2008-05-13)
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Human ageing gene found in flies

Scientists funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) have found a fast and effective way to investigate important aspects of human ageing. (2008-05-12)
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Study finds possible connection between marijuana abuse and stroke or heart attacks

Long-term harmful effects of marijuana (MJ) include risk for heart attacks and strokes in addition to impaired learning and memory. The active chemical in MJ called delta-9-tetrahyrdocannabinol (THC) is believed to exert these effects by binding to cannabinoid (CB) receptors located on several cell types in various organs. (2008-05-13)
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Mouse Study: When It Comes To Living Longer, It's Better To Go Hungry Than Go Running

A study investigating aging in mice has found that hormonal changes that occur when mice eat significantly less may help explain an already established phenomenon: a low calorie diet can extend the lifespan of rodents, a benefit that even regular exercise does not achieve. (2008-05-14)
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Are Anxiety Disorders All in the Mind?

Using single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), researchers in The Netherlands were able to detect biochemical differences in the brains of individuals with generalized social anxiety disorder (also known as social phobia), providing evidence of a long-suspected biological cause for the dysfunction. (2008-05-13)
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New efficiency record for solar cells

The efficiency improvement is achieved by the use of an ultra-thin aluminum oxide layer at the front of the cell, and it brings a breakthrough in the use of solar energy a step closer. (2008-05-15)
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Deep sea methane scavengers captured

Scientists of the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ) in Leipzig and the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in Pasadena succeeded in capturing syntrophic (means "feeding together") microorganisms that are known to dramatically reduce the oceanic emission of methane into the atmosphere. (2008-05-14)
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Hot climate could shut down plate tectonics

A new study of possible links between climate and geophysics on Earth and similar planets finds that prolonged heating of the atmosphere can shut down plate tectonics and cause a planet's crust to become locked in place. (2008-05-13)
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DNA fingerprinting simplified

Agarose gel electrophoresis" Most teenagers wouldn't have a clue what this scientific term means, but middle school student Andrew Trigiano knows the protocol inside and out. When Andrew was 12, his father Robert Trigiano, a professor at the University of Tennessee, was looking for an interesting science project for his son. (2008-05-14)
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NASA study links Earth impacts to human-caused climate change

A new NASA-led study shows human-caused climate change has made an impact on a wide range of Earth's natural systems, including permafrost thawing, plants blooming earlier across Europe, and lakes declining in productivity in Africa. (2008-05-15)
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New report: Arthritis is a potential barrier to physical activity for adults with diabetes

People with diagnosed diabetes are nearly twice as likely to have arthritis, and the inactivity caused by arthritis hinders the successful management of both diseases, according to a new Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) study released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). (2008-05-09)
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Middle class relaxing with marijuana

A variety of middle-class people are making a conscious but careful choice to use marijuana to enhance their leisure activities, a University of Alberta study shows. (2008-05-15)
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Iron 'snow' helps maintain Mercury's magnetic field, scientists say

New scientific evidence suggests that deep inside the planet Mercury, iron "snow" forms and falls toward the center of the planet, much like snowflakes form in Earth's atmosphere and fall to the ground. (2008-05-08)
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Humans: The Strangest Species

This romp through the LiveScience archives reveals why we ...
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'Iron Man' Hero Personifies Modern Military Contractors

Superhero Tony Stark sells weapons when not fighting his own war as Iron Man.
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Go Speed Racer! Demons on Wheels Designed

Transportation design students make a car based on Speed Racer's.
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How the Wealthy Medici Changed the World

Like a medieval ATM, one family bankrolled the cultural movement that dragged Europe out of the Dark Ages and into modernity.
Read more [Live Science]