Volume 6, Number 44 October 29, 2007

Physical sciences and technology Origin of cosmic rays Nanotechnology Galaxies Space elevators Graphene Neutrinos Cloud computing Turing machine universality Mass extinctions and climate change Supersolidity Fuel cells Supernovae Resistance-change memory Climate modeling Cosmic texture Solar system formation Permian-Triassic mass extinction Early supermassive black holes Dark matter Microfluidics Binary stars Carbon nanotubes Earth's mantle Quasars Water on Mars Spintronics Fullerenes Life sciences Cancer biology Sex chromosome evolution Septins and neuron growth Sea cucumbers and tissue regeneration Agricultural biotechnology Human genome evolution Epstein-Barr virus Insulin signaling and aging Optimism Eye formation Sex differences in cognition and behavior Cilia and sense of touch Agrobacterium Social stress and cortisol False memories The vagus nerve and inflammation Neanderthals Butterfly wing patterns Recognition and memory Piwi-interacting RNA Calorie restriction Mating systems, predators, and parasites Health and medicine AIDS Cancer Cardiovascular disease Alzheimer's disease Stem cells Diabetes Hepatitis C Inflammatory diseases Effects of sleep deprivation Anthrax vaccine Avian flu Parkinson's disease Autism THC and depression Viral infections and obesity Drug addiction Tuberculosis THC and pain control Nanoparticle drug delivery for cancer Obesity-related genes Obesity and dopamine receptors Antioxidants Schizophrenia Canola oil Health risks of obesity Legionella pneumophila infection Mate tea and cholesterol Fat metabolism Gene therapy

Physical sciences and technology

Origin of cosmic rays

1. October 22, 2007 - Magnetic cocoons power energetic cosmic rays

Nanotechnology

1. October 22, 2007 - Nanowire Manipulation Could Lead to Hand-Held Supercomputers
2. October 23, 2007 - 'Nanospikes' Add To Solar, Biomedical, Microelectronics Applications
3. October 25, 2007 - Quantum Cascade Laser Nanoantenna Created - also here, here
4. October 26, 2007 - NIST Demos Industrial-Grade Nanowire Device Fabrication - also here, here
5. October 26, 2007 - Nanoantenna focuses laser light

Galaxies

1. October 22, 2007 - Old Galaxy Finds Fountain of Youth
2. October 23, 2007 - To Catch a Galactic Thief

Space elevators

1. October 23, 2007 - Space-elevator games disappoint

Graphene

1. October 23, 2007 - Victorian chemistry boosts atom-scale electronics

Neutrinos

1. October 23, 2007 - In world first, European physicists snap elusive neutrino particles
2. October 24, 2007 - Look mum, it's a neutrino
3. October 24, 2007 - Physicists capture image of elusive neutrinos

Cloud computing

1. October 24, 2007 - Head in the clouds

Turing machine universality

1. October 24, 2007 - Simplest 'universal computer' wins student $25,000
2. October 24, 2007 - Student snags maths prize
3. October 25, 2007 - A New Kind of Science Author Pays Brainy Undergrad $25,000 for Identifying Simplest Computer

Mass extinctions and climate change

1. October 24, 2007 - Mass Extinctions Tied to Past Climate Changes

Supersolidity

1. October 24, 2007 - Evidence for "Supersolidity" Becomes More Solid
2. October 25, 2007 - New supersolid signature sighted

Fuel cells

1. October 24, 2007 - New Class Of Catalyst For Fuel Cells Beats Pure Platinum By A Mile - also here
2. October 31, 2007 - Fuel Cells Gearing Up To Power Auto Industry - also here, here

Supernovae

1. October 24, 2007 - Massive Star's Afterlife: A Supernova Seeds New Planets - also here, here

Resistance-change memory

1. October 24, 2007 - Laptop And Digital Camera Memory Devices Improved With Nanotechnology - also here, here

Climate modeling

1. October 25, 2007 - Climate is too complex for accurate predictions
2. October 25, 2007 - Like it or not, uncertainty and climate change go hand in hand
3. October 25, 2007 - Climate sensitivity 'inherently unpredictable'

Cosmic texture

1. October 25, 2007 - Cold Evidence for a Cosmic "Texture"?
2. October 25, 2007 - Cold spot could be relic of Big Bang: scientists - also here
3. October 25, 2007 - Defect Suspected in Fabric of Space-Time
4. October 25, 2007 - Crystallizing the Early Cosmos
5. October 26, 2007 - Cosmic 'defect' in the universe
6. October 26, 2007 - Possible Cosmic Defect, Remnant From Big Bang, Discovered - also here, here
7. October 26, 2007 - Possible cosmic defect may be a window into the early universe
8. October 30, 2007 - Did the early universe have "texture"?

Solar system formation

1. October 25, 2007 - Mixing It Up in the Early Solar System

Permian-Triassic mass extinction

1. October 25, 2007 - Volcanic Eruptions And Global Warming Likely Cause Of Great Dying 250 Million Years Ago - also here, here

Early supermassive black holes

1. October 25, 2007 - Missing Black Hole Report: Hundreds Found! - also here
2. October 25, 2007 - Hundreds of 'Missing' Black Holes Found
3. October 29, 2007 - Black hole bonanza
4. October 29, 2007 - Hoard of supermassive black holes found

Dark matter

1. October 25, 2007 - Dwarf galaxies need dark matter too - also here

Microfluidics

1. October 26, 2007 - 'Tractor beam' makes light work of particles
2. October 26, 2007 - Microfluidics and optical trapping integrated for the first time in new lab-on-a-chip research

Binary stars

1. October 26, 2007 - Eccentric Couple Reveals a Starry Secret

Carbon nanotubes

1. October 26, 2007 - The Sensitive Side Of Carbon Nanotubes: Creating Powerful Pressure Sensors - also here, here

Earth's mantle

1. October 26, 2007 - Seismologists see Earth's interior as interplay between temperature, pressure and chemistry - also here, here, here, here

Quasars

1. October 26, 2007 - Hubble spies shells of sparkling stars around quasar - also here, here

Water on Mars

1. October 26, 2007 - Mars With Ice, Shaken, Not Stirred - also here, here

Spintronics

1. October 26, 2007 - Researchers race ahead with latest spintronics achievement - also here

Fullerenes

1. October 26, 2007 - Video shows buckyballs form by 'shrink wrapping' - also here, here
2. October 30, 2007 - 'Shrink-wrapped' buckyballs caught on film

Life sciences

Cancer biology

1. October 22, 2007 - New Gene Associated With Lung Cancer Identified
2. October 23, 2007 - Balancing act protects vulnerable cells from cancer
3. October 24, 2007 - New Inhibitor Has Potential As Cancer Drug - also here, here
4. October 24, 2007 - New Theory Of How Viruses May Contribute To Cancer - also here, here
5. October 25, 2007 - Advances In Drug Screening: Building A Better Haystack For The Needles Of Tomorrow
6. October 25, 2007 - Scientists to study DNA repair in cancer cells
7. October 26, 2007 - Cancer Targets On The Horizon: Emerging Therapies And Novel Targets

Sex chromosome evolution

1. October 22, 2007 - Why Sex Chromosomes Evolve So Rapidly - also here

Septins and neuron growth

1. October 22, 2007 - New Role For Well-known Protein: Could Lead To Lead To Alzheimer's, Parkinson's Treatments

Sea cucumbers and tissue regeneration

1. October 22, 2007 - Sea Cucumbers Fast Track Organ Regrowth By Healing Their Wounds

Agricultural biotechnology

1. October 23, 2007 - Artificial Chromosome Poised to Pump Up GM Crops with Extra Genes

Human genome evolution

1. October 23, 2007 - Evolutionary Sprint Made Us Human

Epstein-Barr virus

1. October 23, 2007 - Epstein-Barr: A Virtual Look At A Vexing Virus - also here

Insulin signaling and aging

1. October 23, 2007 - A Longer-living, Healthier Mouse That Could Hold Clues To Human Aging - also here

Optimism

1. October 24, 2007 - Source of 'optimism' found in the brain
2. October 24, 2007 - Brain regions responsible for optimism located - also here
3. October 24, 2007 - Viewing Life Through a Rose-Colored Cortex
4. October 24, 2007 - Scientists Narrow Optimism Area in Brain
5. October 24, 2007 - Optimism brain regions identified
6. October 25, 2007 - How The Brain Generates The Human Tendency For Optimism
7. October 25, 2007 - Experts pinpoint brain optimism centre

Eye formation

1. October 24, 2007 - Accidental Discovery Could Lead to Creation of Human Eyes in a Lab
2. October 26, 2007 - Signal That Switches On Eye Development Discovered -- Could Lead To 'Eye In A Dish'

Sex differences in cognition and behavior

1. October 24, 2007 - My Hormones Didn't Make Me Do It

Cilia and sense of touch

1. October 24, 2007 - Can You Feel The Heat? Tiny Hair-like Cell Structures, Your Cilia, Can

Agrobacterium

1. October 24, 2007 - Bacteria Use Plant Defense For Genetic Modification

Social stress and cortisol

1. October 24, 2007 - Playing Social-intelligence Game Reduces Stress Hormone By 17 Percent

False memories

1. October 24, 2007 - Brain Waves That Distinguish False Memories From Real Ones Pinpointed - also here

The vagus nerve and inflammation

1. October 24, 2007 - Direct Route From The Brain To The Immune System Discovered - also here, here

Neanderthals

1. October 25, 2007 - Some Neanderthals may have been redheads - also here
2. October 25, 2007 - Some Neanderthals were red-heads
3. October 25, 2007 - Neanderthals 'were flame-haired'
4. October 26, 2007 - Were Neandertals the Original Redheaded Strangers?
5. October 26, 2007 - Neanderthals may have been redheads
6. October 26, 2007 - DNA says Neanderthals were redheads
7. October 26, 2007 - Ancient DNA Reveals That Some Neanderthals Were Redheads - also here

Butterfly wing patterns

1. October 26, 2007 - Secrets Behind Butterfly Wing Patterns Uncovered - also here, here

Recognition and memory

1. October 26, 2007 - 'Where Do I Know You From?' Recognition Shows Distinct Memory Processes - also here

Piwi-interacting RNA

1. October 26, 2007 - Not 'Junk DNA' After All: Tiny RNAs Play Big Role Controlling Genes

Calorie restriction

1. October 26, 2007 - Severely Restricted Diet Linked To Physical Fitness Into Old Age - also here

Mating systems, predators, and parasites

1. October 26, 2007 - Predators and parasites may increase evolutionary stability

Health and medicine

AIDS

1. October 22, 2007 - Genes may predict disease progression in AIDS
2. October 22, 2007 - Major role for genes in AIDS progression
3. October 22, 2007 - Moderate HIV cases worst for transmission
4. October 24, 2007 - Genetic Influence On Pace Of HIV-AIDS Progression Identified - also here
5. October 24, 2007 - HIV Is Spread Most By People With Medium Levels Of HIV In Blood, Says Study - also here
6. October 25, 2007 - AIDS vaccine may raise infection risk - also here
7. October 26, 2007 - Emergence of recombinant forms of HIV: dynamics and scaling - also here

Cancer

1. October 22, 2007 - Adult weight gain raises breast cancer risk: study - also here
2. October 22, 2007 - Origin Of One Cancer Illuminated
3. October 22, 2007 - FDA OKs Ixempra for advanced breast cancer
4. October 23, 2007 - Weight Gain Related To Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Risk
5. October 23, 2007 - Novel Vaccine For Aggressive Brain Tumors Tested - also here
6. October 23, 2007 - Transparent Zebrafish Help Researchers Track Breast Cancer - also here
7. October 23, 2007 - Common Virus May Help Doctors Treat Deadly Brain Tumors - also here, here
8. October 24, 2007 - New Therapy For Patients With Platinum-resistant Ovarian Cancer - also here
9. October 24, 2007 - Quantitative PET Imaging Finds Early Determination of Effectiveness of Cancer Treatment - also here
10. October 25, 2007 - New Chemotherapeutic Target For Hepatocellular Carcinoma - also here
11. October 25, 2007 - Some women at long-term cervical cancer risk: study
12. October 26, 2007 - GM virus shrinks cancer tumours in humans
13. October 26, 2007 - Weapon Against Smallpox Aimed at Cancer
14. October 26, 2007 - Some women risk cervical cancer 25 years on
15. October 26, 2007 - The Largest Colonic Lipoma To Date - also here
16. October 26, 2007 - Novel Anti-cancer Drug Offers Two Modes Of Action
17. October 26, 2007 - How to design a cancer-killing virus - also here
18. October 26, 2007 - Women still face cancer risk 25 years after treatment
19. October 26, 2007 - Study shows blood markers can help choose best dose for antiangiogenic drugs
20. October 26, 2007 - Helicobacter pylori inhibits intercellular communication of cultured gastric cells
21. October 27, 2007 - Pre-cancer lesions 'remain risk'
22. October 28, 2007 - Study points to a possible biomarker for colon cancer in people 50 and under - also here

Cardiovascular disease

1. October 22, 2007 - Whole grain cereals cut heart failure risk: study - also here
2. October 23, 2007 - Most heart attacks in women are preventable: study - also here
3. October 23, 2007 - Healthy Diet And Lifestyle Behaviors Associated With Decreased Risk Of Heart Attack In Women
4. October 24, 2007 - Eating Whole-grain Breakfast Cereals May Be Associated With A Lower Risk Of Heart Failure For Men
5. October 25, 2007 - Contribution Of Cholesterol Transporter To Vascular Disease - also here, here
6. October 25, 2007 - How Exercise Lowers Cardiovascular Risk
7. October 25, 2007 - Arterial Plaques May Be Reduced By Increasing the Amount of a Key Enzyme in Cells Storing Cholesterol - also here, here
8. October 26, 2007 - Could Muscadine Grape Seeds Offer Cardiovascular Benefits? - also here, here

Alzheimer's disease

1. October 22, 2007 - Alzheimer's memory loss faster among well-educated - also here
2. October 22, 2007 - Accumulation Of Sugar In Neurons May Explain Origin Of Several Neurodegenerative Diseases - also here, here
3. October 23, 2007 - Possible Physical Origin Of Alzheimer's Disease
4. October 23, 2007 - More Educated People Who Develop Dementia Lose Their Memory Faster
5. October 26, 2007 - Anti-hypertensive drugs may help prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease - also here

Stem cells

1. October 22, 2007 - Regulating Embryonic Stem Cell Self-renewal
2. October 23, 2007 - An Eye For An Eye: Using Stem Cells To Treat Damaged Eyes And A Rare Skin Disorder - also here, here
3. October 25, 2007 - Understanding Differentiation In Human Embryonic Stem Cells - also here, here

Diabetes

1. October 22, 2007 - Type 2 Diabetes: What Determines Susceptibility?
2. October 22, 2007 - Protein May Link Obesity To Diabetes 2
3. October 22, 2007 - Scientists: Pig Cells Could Help Diabetics
4. October 24, 2007 - Hemoglobin levels useful for diabetes screening - also here
5. October 25, 2007 - New Source Of Islet Cells For Islet Transplantion For Type 1 Diabetes - also here, here

Hepatitis C

1. October 22, 2007 - Discovery Of New Antiviral Mechanism Promising For Hepatitis C Treatment
2. October 26, 2007 - Weight-based Dosing Of Ribavirin Improves Outcomes For Patients With Hepatitis C

Inflammatory diseases

1. October 22, 2007 - How Gold Salts Ease Pain Of Arthritis And Other Inflammatory Diseases - also here, here
2. October 22, 2007 - Two Genes Linked To Disabling Arthritis Identified - also here, here
3. October 22, 2007 - Major genetic breakthrough for ankylosing spondylitis brings treatment hope
4. October 22, 2007 - Rheumatologists Discover Two Genes
5. October 24, 2007 - Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Increased Intestinal Permeability By Exogenous Sphingomyelinase
6. October 25, 2007 - Infliximab scheduled treatment has proven to be an effective strategy in IBD patients

Effects of sleep deprivation

1. October 22, 2007 - Emotions Run Amok in Sleep-Deprived Brains
2. October 23, 2007 - Can a Lack of Sleep Cause Psychiatric Disorders?
3. October 23, 2007 - Sleep Loss Linked To Psychiatric Disorders - also here
4. October 23, 2007 - 'Sleepless grumps' seen in brain
5. October 24, 2007 - Brain study - Sleepy, grumpy and ... primitive? - also here
6. October 24, 2007 - Is A Good Night's Sleep Crucial For Your Health? - also here
7. October 26, 2007 - Lack of sleep is a lot like mental illness

Anthrax vaccine

1. October 23, 2007 - Throw out old anthrax vaccine, expert tells U.S. - also here

Avian flu

1. October 24, 2007 - Bird flu official says 2-3 years' more work needed - also here
2. October 25, 2007 - Bird flu may become endemic in parts of Europe - also here

Parkinson's disease

1. October 24, 2007 - Nicotine may ease Parkinson's symptoms: U.S. study - also here
2. October 24, 2007 - Parkinson's Disease: Nicotine Reduces Levodopa-induced Dyskinesias
3. October 26, 2007 - Parkinson's: How Deep Brain Stimulation Interferes With Decision-making - also here
4. October 26, 2007 - Parkinson's Tie to Impulsiveness Studied - also here, here

Autism

1. October 23, 2007 - Researchers release genome data on autism - also here
2. October 24, 2007 - Data On Genes Involved In Autism Released To Researchers - also here, here

THC and depression

1. October 24, 2007 - Cannabis: Potent Anti-depressant In Low Doses, Worsens Depression At High Doses - also here, here

Viral infections and obesity

1. October 24, 2007 - Viral Infections May Be Linked To Obesity - also here, here

Drug addiction

1. October 25, 2007 - Discovery may help treat drug addicts - also here
2. October 25, 2007 - Shutting down deep brain region may help addicts: study
3. October 26, 2007 - Drug-craving brain region in rats discovered

Tuberculosis

1. October 25, 2007 - Combine treatment to fight dangerous TB - report - also here
2. October 25, 2007 - Promising New TB Drug Given Special Status By US And European Regulators
3. October 26, 2007 - Fighting drug-resistant TB spread from hospitals

THC and pain control

1. October 25, 2007 - Smoked Cannabis Proven Effective In Treating Neuropathic Pain - also here, here

Nanoparticle drug delivery for cancer

1. October 25, 2007 - Biodegradable Nanoballs To Deliver Drugs Directly To Cancer Cells - also here

Obesity-related genes

1. October 25, 2007 - Obesity Genes Found Hidden In Discarded Data - also here, here

Obesity and dopamine receptors

1. October 25, 2007 - Food restriction increases dopamine receptor levels in obese rats - also here, here

Antioxidants

1. October 25, 2007 - Tiny Capers Pack Big Disease-fighting Punch - also here
2. October 26, 2007 - Boiled peanuts pack big antioxidant punch - also here

Schizophrenia

1. October 25, 2007 - Hearing 'Messages' Embedded In Noise Could Be Early Sign Of Schizophrenia - also here, here

Canola oil

1. October 26, 2007 - Canola Oil Increases Compliance With Dietary Recommendations For Fatty Acids

Health risks of obesity

1. October 26, 2007 - Obesity Risks Increase After Menopause - also here

Legionella pneumophila infection

1. October 26, 2007 - Legionnaire's Bacterial Proteins Work Together To Survive - also here

Mate tea and cholesterol

1. October 26, 2007 - Mate Tea Lowers Cholesterol - also here

Fat metabolism

1. October 26, 2007 - 'Knocking Out' Cell Receptor May Help Block Fat Deposits in Tissues, Prevent Weight Gain - also here, here

Gene therapy

1. October 26, 2007 - New study shows that therapeutic gene expression can be sustainable for 1 year - also here

Copyright © 2007 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved