Volume 6, Number 50 December 10, 2007

Physical sciences and technology Dark matter stars James Webb Space Telescope Quantum dots Earthquakes White dwarfs in globular clusters Carbon nanotubes Fuel cells Extrasolar planets Slushball Earth Nanotechnology Global warming Hydrogen storage Spintronics Graphene Robotics Solar corona Gulf stream Magnetic dwarf star Supersolidity Electro-optical modulators Active galaxies Single photon source Warm-hot intergalactic medium Galaxies in the early universe Earth's mantle Climate modeling Life sciences Chimpanzee memory Brain-imaging studies Altruistic behavior Cheating in bacterial communication Hormones and mood Alteration in gene expression with aging in mice Female mating strategy C. elegans lifespan extension Uncoupling proteins and metabolism Cancer stem cells Effect of cocaine or stress on a histone deacetylase Insect immune systems Meiosis of oocytes Elephant mental maps Aging and loss of brain coordination Mechanics of cell division Problem solving Naming and categorization Origins of life Microbial migration Neanderthals Proteins and water Dopamine and learning DNA repair by non-homologous end joining Lifespan extension of fruit flies Homo erectus Neural epigenetics Cancer biology Methanotrophic bacteria Planarian regeneration Health and medicine Cancer Carbon nanotube cancer therapy Cardiovascular disease Antidepressants Antibiotics Autism Diabetes Sleep duration and diabetes Sleep duration and mortality AIDS Stem cells Addiction, mental disorders, and the amygdala Aerosolized lung innate immune stimulant Dopamine and addiction Dopamine receptors, addiction, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease Fitness and longevity Calcium and mental decline Schizophrenia Low-fat diet, inflammation, and metabolic syndrome Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Fitness and longevity Carbohydrates and fat storage Parkinson's disease Prions Induced pluripotent stem cells Renin and metabolic syndrome Alzheimer's disease Avian flu Inflammatory disease Cancer and schizophrenia

Physical sciences and technology

Dark matter stars

1. December 3, 2007 - Universe's first stars may have been dark
2. December 3, 2007 - First Stars Were Huge and Dark
3. December 4, 2007 - Drowning in Dark Matter?
4. December 4, 2007 - Dark Matter In Newborn Universe Doused Earliest Stars - also here, here
5. December 6, 2007 - 'Dark stars' may have populated early universe
6. December 6, 2007 - Dark Matter May Have Powered Universe's First Stars
7. December 10, 2007 - Weird dark stars dotted early universe

James Webb Space Telescope

1. December 3, 2007 - James Webb Space Telescope Component Undergoes Successful Design Review - also here
2. December 7, 2007 - Testing Time For Instrument On Hubble's Successor - also here, here
3. December 7, 2007 - James Webb Space Telescope Testing to Find Infrared Light - also here

Quantum dots

1. December 3, 2007 - Coated Ultrasmall Quantum Dots Suitable for In Vivo Imaging

Earthquakes

1. December 3, 2007 - Pulselike and Cracklike Ruptures in Earthquake Experiments
2. December 5, 2007 - Small Earthquakes are Useful Predictor of Large Ones

White dwarfs in globular clusters

1. December 4, 2007 - Sun-like stars get a kick out of death
2. December 4, 2007 - Dead Stars Propelled Like Rockets
3. December 5, 2007 - Astronomers Discover How White Dwarf Stars Get Their 'Kicks' - also here, here

Carbon nanotubes

1. December 4, 2007 - Nanoelectrodes could provide bird flu test

Fuel cells

1. December 4, 2007 - New Fuel Cell Cleans Up Pollution And Produces Electricity

Extrasolar planets

1. December 5, 2007 - Planets can survive extreme roasting by their stars
2. December 5, 2007 - How to Destroy a Giant Planet
3. December 7, 2007 - When Do Gas Giants Reach The Point Of No Return? - also here, here
4. December 7, 2007 - Astronomer detects atmosphere of extra-solar planet

Slushball Earth

1. December 5, 2007 - Did Carbon Save Earth From a Deep Freeze?
2. December 6, 2007 - 'Snowball earth' was more a slushball - also here

Nanotechnology

1. December 5, 2007 - Technique Controls Nanoparticle Size, Makes Large Numbers - also here
2. December 7, 2007 - Nanotube-producing bacteria show manufacturing promise - also here, here

Global warming

1. December 5, 2007 - Global Warming Likely To Increase Stormy Weather, Especially In Certain US locations - also here, here

Hydrogen storage

1. December 5, 2007 - New Form Of Hydride Stimulates Research On Hydrogen Storage, Hydrogen-fueled Cars - also here

Spintronics

1. December 5, 2007 - Pure Spin Currents In Silicon Generated, Modulated, And Electrically Detected - also here, here

Graphene

1. December 5, 2007 - Tuneable gap semiconductor is a first

Robotics

1. December 6, 2007 - Flexible-jointed robot is no pushover
2. December 6, 2007 - Toyota aims to put robots to use early next decade

Solar corona

1. December 6, 2007 - Roiling magnetic waves explain solar enigma
2. December 6, 2007 - Scientists find what makes the solar wind howl
3. December 6, 2007 - Results from Hinode: Sunrise on Coronal Heating
4. December 6, 2007 - Mission illuminates solar mysteries
5. December 7, 2007 - Magnetic waves make solar wind howl
6. December 7, 2007 - Unlocking the riddle of Sun's heat
7. December 7, 2007 - Hinode Reveals New Insights About The Origin Of Solar Wind
8. December 10, 2007 - Hinode: new insights on the origin of solar wind
9. January 22, 2008 - Sun's Magnetic Secret Revealed

Gulf stream

1. December 6, 2007 - Ancient flood brought Gulf Stream to a halt
2. December 6, 2007 - Epic Flood Triggered Ancient "Big Chill," Study Says
3. December 17, 2007 - Ancient Flood Disrupted Ocean Circulation And Triggered Climate Cooling

Magnetic dwarf star

1. December 6, 2007 - Odd Little Star Has Magnetic Personality - also here
2. December 6, 2007 - Astronomers find puzzling dwarf star with complex magnetic fields

Supersolidity

1. December 6, 2007 - Major physics breakthrough in understanding supersolidity - also here, here

Electro-optical modulators

1. December 6, 2007 - IBM using light instead of wires for building supercomputers-on-a-chip
2. December 6, 2007 - Light to shrink computer clusters
3. December 7, 2007 - Tiny supercomputers to see the light

Active galaxies

1. December 7, 2007 - Intergalactic particle beam is longest yet found

Single photon source

1. December 7, 2007 - Ultra-bright Single Photon Source Developed

Warm-hot intergalactic medium

1. December 7, 2007 - Supercomputer Simulation Of Universe May Help In Search For Missing Matter - also here, here
2. December 10, 2007 - Missing Matter Caught in Tangled Cosmic Webs

Galaxies in the early universe

1. December 8, 2007 - Earliest galaxies had building blocks of life

Earth's mantle

1. December 9, 2007 - Age-old Mystery Of Missing Chemicals From Earth's Mantle May Be Solved - also here, here

Climate modeling

1. December 9, 2007 - New Research May Lead To Better Climate Models For Global Warming, El Niño - also here

Life sciences

Chimpanzee memory

1. December 3, 2007 - Chimps outperform humans at memory task
2. December 3, 2007 - Chimps beat humans in memory test
3. December 3, 2007 - Young Chimp Beats College Students - also here, here, here
4. December 4, 2007 - Chimps outsmart uni students
5. December 9, 2007 - Young Chimps Top Adult Humans In Numerical Memory

Brain-imaging studies

1. December 3, 2007 - Ears Too Big? It's All in Your Head
2. December 3, 2007 - Brain misfires in people with self-image disorder
3. December 3, 2007 - Blue Lighting Up The Human Brain At Work
4. December 4, 2007 - Distorted self-image the result of visual brain glitch, study finds - also here
5. December 6, 2007 - This is your brain on violent media - also here

Altruistic behavior

1. December 3, 2007 - You Don't Have to Be Smart to Share

Cheating in bacterial communication

1. December 3, 2007 - Bacteria Can Cheat On Their Mates

Hormones and mood

1. December 3, 2007 - Hormone Fluctuations May Be Responsible For Many Mood Disturbances In Women

Alteration in gene expression with aging in mice

1. December 3, 2007 - Molecular Map Helps Illuminate Why Mice Only Live For Two Years

Female mating strategy

1. December 3, 2007 - In Promiscuous Antelopes, The 'Battle Of The Sexes' Gets Flipped

C. elegans lifespan extension

1. December 4, 2007 - The Secret to a Longer (Worm's) Life: A Breath of Poison Gas
2. December 5, 2007 - Could Hydrogen Sulfide Hold The Key To A Long Life?

Uncoupling proteins and metabolism

1. December 4, 2007 - Protein found to turn up metabolism in mice
2. December 4, 2007 - Waste Energy, Fight Disease
3. December 4, 2007 - Fighting diseases of aging by wasting energy
4. December 6, 2007 - Fighting Diseases Of Aging By Wasting Energy, Rather Than Dieting -- Works For Mice - also here, here

Cancer stem cells

1. December 4, 2007 - Researchers find new marker to identify cancer stem cells - also here
2. December 11, 2007 - New Research Yields Clues about Makeup of Cancer Cells

Effect of cocaine or stress on a histone deacetylase

1. December 4, 2007 - Cocaine changes gene activity in mice

Insect immune systems

1. December 4, 2007 - Violent sex acts boost insect's immunity system

Meiosis of oocytes

1. December 4, 2007 - Matrimony inhibits Polo kinase
2. December 7, 2007 - Factors Responsible For Restart Of Meiotic Cycle Identified - also here

Elephant mental maps

1. December 5, 2007 - Elephants use mental maps to track family members
2. December 5, 2007 - How elephants keep tabs on family
3. December 6, 2007 - Elephants sniff urine to tell who's who

Aging and loss of brain coordination

1. December 5, 2007 - Partial Recall: Why Memory Fades with Age
2. December 5, 2007 - Older brains become less coordinated: U.S. study
3. December 5, 2007 - Faulty Wiring in the Aging Brain
4. December 5, 2007 - Cognitive 'fog' of normal aging linked to brain system disruption - also here, here
5. December 6, 2007 - The aging brain: Failure to communicate - also here
6. December 6, 2007 - Normal ageing 'can addle brain'
7. December 7, 2007 - Brain Systems Become Less Coordinated With Age, Even In The Absence Of Disease - also here

Mechanics of cell division

1. December 5, 2007 - Mutations Help Clarify Processes In Cell Division

Problem solving

1. December 5, 2007 - Complex 'Wicked' Problems Better Solved Individually Than Through Internet Groups

Naming and categorization

1. December 5, 2007 - Labeling Keeps Our Knowledge Organized, Study Shows - also here

Origins of life

1. December 5, 2007 - Life On Earth May Have Originated As The Organic Filling In A Multilayer Sandwich Of Mica Sheets - also here

Microbial migration

1. December 5, 2007 - Cosmopolitan Microbes: Hitchhikers On Darwin's Dust

Neanderthals

1. December 5, 2007 - Neanderthal Children Grew Up Fast

Proteins and water

1. December 5, 2007 - Researchers find the 'breaking point' of proteins

Dopamine and learning

1. December 6, 2007 - The gene that makes us once bitten, twice shy

DNA repair by non-homologous end joining

1. December 6, 2007 - 3D Structure Of A DNA Damage Repair Complex

Lifespan extension of fruit flies

1. December 6, 2007 - Herbal extract found to increase lifespan - also here

Homo erectus

1. December 7, 2007 - Human Ancestor Preserved in Stone
2. December 8, 2007 - Most Ancient Case Of Tuberculosis Found In 500,000-year-old Human; Points To Modern Health Issues - also here

Neural epigenetics

1. December 7, 2007 - Methylating the Mind

Cancer biology

1. December 7, 2007 - Mechanism For Faulty Protein Disposal Found - also here
2. December 9, 2007 - Scientists discover how BRCA1 gene causes cancer
3. December 9, 2007 - New study reveals for first time how BRCA1 mutations cause breast cancer - also here, here
4. December 11, 2007 - Gene's role in hereditary breast cancer unlocked - also here

Methanotrophic bacteria

1. December 7, 2007 - 'Hellish' Hot Springs Yield Greenhouse Gas-eating Bug - also here

Planarian regeneration

1. December 9, 2007 - Heads Or Tails? Scientists Identify Gene That Regulates Polarity In Regenerating Flatworms

Health and medicine

Cancer

1. December 3, 2007 - Skin cream tackles skin cancers in mice
2. December 3, 2007 - Genetic Differences Point To Ethnic And Racial Disparities In Colorectal Cancer Risk
3. December 3, 2007 - Patients Respond Well To New Minimally Invasive Treatment For Kidney Tumors
4. December 3, 2007 - Wild Strawberries May Reduce Cancer Risk - also here
5. December 3, 2007 - 'Burnt foods' linked to cancers
6. December 4, 2007 - Bowel Cancer Screening Halves Emergency Admissions And Cuts Deaths - also here
7. December 5, 2007 - Scientist: Infections can cause cancer
8. December 7, 2007 - Studies show how fruits and veggies reduce cancer
9. December 7, 2007 - Green tea may protect against colon cancer
10. December 7, 2007 - Chemoprevention, Naturally: Findings On Plant-derived Cancer Medicines
11. December 7, 2007 - Breast MRI Spots Other Cancers, May Alter Treatment Plan - also here, here
12. December 7, 2007 - Diet And Cancer Prevention: New Evidence For The Protective Effects Of Fruits And Veggies
13. December 8, 2007 - Cephalon drug works in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma: study
14. December 8, 2007 - Good Diet and Gardening Linked To Lower Lung Cancer Risk - also here, here
15. December 8, 2007 - Study points to possibility of blood test to detect lung cancer - also here, here
16. December 8, 2007 - Researchers report weight gain hurts breast cancer survival
17. December 9, 2007 - Lifestyle And Cancer Prevention: Making Choices That Change Cancer Risk
18. December 9, 2007 - Green Tea Shown To Possess Antitumor Effect In Breast Cancer

Carbon nanotube cancer therapy

1. December 3, 2007 - Radio Waves Fire Up Nanotubes Embedded in Tumors, Destroying Liver Cancer

Cardiovascular disease

1. December 3, 2007 - U.S. clears Novartis' youth high blood pressure drug
2. December 5, 2007 - Transcendental Meditation Effective In Reducing High Blood Pressure, Study Shows - also here
3. December 5, 2007 - Simple Two-in-one Test Signals High Risk After A Heart Attack - also here
4. December 5, 2007 - Dose of flu doubles risk of heart attack or stroke
5. December 6, 2007 - Cardiology: Lipid Homeostasis May Be At The Heart Of It All
6. December 6, 2007 - Overweight Adolescents Projected To Have More Heart Disease In Young Adulthood - also here, here
7. December 6, 2007 - Overweight Kids At Risk as Adults
8. December 6, 2007 - Respiratory Infections Linked To Increased Heart Attacks And Strokes - also here
9. December 7, 2007 - Lowering "bad" cholesterol cuts repeat stroke risk

Antidepressants

1. December 3, 2007 - Exercise may boost brain's natural antidepressant
2. December 3, 2007 - Newly-identified Exercise Gene Could Help With Depression - also here
3. December 6, 2007 - Natural Human hormone as the next antidepressant? - also here, here
4. December 7, 2007 - Possible genetic predictor for response to lithium augmentation in depressed patients - also here

Antibiotics

1. December 3, 2007 - UK scientists use DNA "decoy" to fight superbugs
2. December 6, 2007 - DNA-based Therapy Could Slash Development Time Of New Drugs Against Superbugs - also here
3. December 6, 2007 - 'Scrambled' polymers kill drug-resistant bacteria
4. December 6, 2007 - Scientists strike blow in superbugs struggle - also here, here

Autism

1. December 3, 2007 - Fever can unlock autism's grip: study
2. December 4, 2007 - Study: Fever Lessens Autism Symptoms
3. December 5, 2007 - Missing protein may underlie autism: U.S. study
4. December 7, 2007 - Missing Protein May Be Key To Autism - also here
5. December 9, 2007 - First-ever Genetic Animal Model Of Autism - also here, here
6. December 10, 2007 - Fever May Briefly Alleviate Autism Symptoms
7. December 24, 2007 - Study: Fever may ease autism for a while

Diabetes

1. December 3, 2007 - Antibody Therapy Shows Promise for Diabetes
2. December 5, 2007 - Treating Type 1 Diabetes By Eliminating B Cells
3. December 5, 2007 - Glucose levels vary in pregnancy by diabetes type

Sleep duration and diabetes

1. December 3, 2007 - New study finds that sleep duration raises the risk for diabetes

Sleep duration and mortality

1. December 3, 2007 - Short, long sleep duration associated with increased mortality

AIDS

1. December 3, 2007 - HIV Confirmatory Test Can Also Estimate Recent Infections
2. December 3, 2007 - Puzzling results from HIV vaccine trial
3. December 7, 2007 - Front-line AIDS drugs show staying power: study

Stem cells

1. December 3, 2007 - Could Stem Cells Be Used To Cure Crohn's Disease?
2. December 5, 2007 - Cell transplants may help heart attack victims
3. December 5, 2007 - Cells mend damaged mouse hearts
4. December 5, 2007 - Bone marrow cell transplants help nerve regeneration
5. December 6, 2007 - Implanting Embryonic Cardiac Cells Prevents Arrhythmias, The Most Dangerous Consequence Of Heart Attacks
6. December 6, 2007 - Cell transplant for heart attack
7. December 6, 2007 - Stem cells show power to predict disease, drug toxicity
8. December 7, 2007 - PET And Bioluminescent Imaging Aid Evaluation Of Stem Cells' Potential For New Ways To Treat Disease - also here
9. December 7, 2007 - Mechanism for regulation of growth and differentiation of adult muscle stem cells is revealed - also here, here
10. December 8, 2007 - 'Mini Transplant' Patients' Outcomes Similar Using Related And Unrelated Donor Cells - also here

Addiction, mental disorders, and the amygdala

1. December 3, 2007 - Mental Illness And Drug Addiction May Co-occur Due To Disturbance In Part Of The Brain - also here, here

Aerosolized lung innate immune stimulant

1. December 3, 2007 - Aerosol launches immune response in lungs to wipe out lethal infections - also here
2. December 3, 2007 - Purified bacterial extract sprayed into lungs ramps up innate immune system

Dopamine and addiction

1. December 4, 2007 - Modified mice get no kick from cocaine

Dopamine receptors, addiction, schizophrenia, and Parkinson's disease

1. December 4, 2007 - Best Treatment Option for Mental Disorders May Come Down to Genes
2. December 5, 2007 - Possible Markers For Mental Illness Discovered - also here

Fitness and longevity

1. December 4, 2007 - Fitness trumps fatness in longevity study
2. December 5, 2007 - Study finds fitness level, not body fat, may be stronger predictor of longevity for older adults
3. December 5, 2007 - New study offers hope to the heavyweights

Calcium and mental decline

1. December 4, 2007 - Calcium level may signal risk of mental decline

Schizophrenia

1. December 4, 2007 - New Genetic Method Helps Identify Novel Genes For Schizophrenia - also here
2. December 5, 2007 - New Genetic Markers Found for Schizophrenia
3. December 7, 2007 - Knowing how ketamine impairs brain circuitry may lead to new therapies for schizophrenia - also here, here
4. December 8, 2007 - New Drug Can Restore Social Ability In Schizophrenics

Low-fat diet, inflammation, and metabolic syndrome

1. December 4, 2007 - Low-carb Diet Reduces Inflammation And Blood Saturated Fat In Metabolic Syndrome - also here

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

1. December 4, 2007 - Best Treatment Identified To Reduce Deadly Staph Infections, According To Expert - also here, here
2. December 6, 2007 - 'Superbug' Infections More Than Doubled In Hospitals, Study Finds

Fitness and longevity

1. December 5, 2007 - Fitness Level, Not Body Fat, May Be Stronger Predictor Of Longevity For Older Adults

Carbohydrates and fat storage

1. December 5, 2007 - Waistline Growth On High-carb Diets Linked To Liver Gene - also here

Parkinson's disease

1. December 5, 2007 - Replacing The Cells Lost In Parkinson Disease - also here

Prions

1. December 5, 2007 - Scientists develop new tests that identify lethal prion strains quickly and accurately - also here, here

Induced pluripotent stem cells

1. December 6, 2007 - Sickle-cell mice cured with their own cells
2. December 6, 2007 - Researchers use new stem cell method to treat mice
3. December 6, 2007 - Reprogrammed Skin Cells Strut Their Stuff
4. December 6, 2007 - Scientists Cure Mice With Sickle Cell
5. December 6, 2007 - Stem cells treat anaemia in mice
6. December 7, 2007 - Adult Cells, Reprogrammed To Embryonic Stem Cell Like State, Treat Sickle-cell Anemia In Mice
7. December 7, 2007 - 'Skin cell cure' for sickle cells
8. December 7, 2007 - Scientists Cure Mice Of Sickle Cell Using Stem Cell Technique

Renin and metabolic syndrome

1. December 6, 2007 - Mice Lacking Enzyme Renin Stay Lean On High-fat Diet, With Little Exercise

Alzheimer's disease

1. December 6, 2007 - Inactivity link to mental decline
2. December 7, 2007 - Chemists Characterize Alzheimer's Neurotoxin Structure - also here

Avian flu

1. December 7, 2007 - Benin finds two bird flu outbreaks, suspects H5N1
2. December 7, 2007 - China says father of bird flu victim also infected
3. December 7, 2007 - 'Human-to-human' bird flu fears
4. December 8, 2007 - Fourth H5N1 bird flu centre found in Poland
5. December 9, 2007 - China bird flu patient recovering: report

Inflammatory disease

1. December 7, 2007 - Biomarkers For Inflammatory Disease - also here
2. December 8, 2007 - Powerful Tool To Study The Genetics Of Inflammation Developed

Cancer and schizophrenia

1. December 9, 2007 - Why People With Schizophrenia Have Lower Rates Of Cancer: New Clues - also here, here

Copyright © 2007 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved