Volume 8, Number 48 November 30, 2009 Physical sciences Technology Life sciences Neuroscience, psychology, behavior Health and medicine

Physical sciences Enceladus Water on Mars Hydrocarbons on Titan Large Hadron Collider Global warming Brown dwarfs Earthquakes T2K neutrino experiment Black holes Paleoclimatology Galaxy mergers Circumstellar disks and star formation Ocean capacity to absorb CO2 Milky Way's building blocks Blue dwarf galaxies Oceanic crust Eta Carinae Ultraluminous infrared galaxies Microquasars Herschel telescope Red hypergiant stars Spinon confinement in spin ladders Technology Brain-computer interface Quantum computing Optical chips Spintronics Supercomputing Nanotechnology Graphene Multiferroic digital memory Life sciences Ribosomes Cell development in the pancreas Leaf morphology Induced pluripotent stem cells Modeling bat migration Anti-virus immune system mechanisms Regulated errors and cellular response to stress Bacterial immune system Circadian rhythm and metabolism Bacterial proteasome, transcriptome, and metabolome Speciation and sexual selection Oskar mRNA transport Genomics Eosinophils and innate immunity Neuroscience, psychology, and behavior Modeling working memory Speed of word recall Information transmission in the brain and gamma waves Stress, epigenetic changes, and memory Neurogenesis and diet Comfort food and stress Myelin formation Brain-imaging studies Speech perception CO2, the amygdala, and fear MHC proteins and synaptic plasticity Endocannabinoid signaling Dopamine and emotion in fruit flies Auditory continuity illusion Language evolution Multilingualism and cognitive ability Schizophrenia Circadian rhythm Glutamate receptor structure Synapse formation during motor learning Gender differences in response to danger Regulation of neurogenesis Health and medicine Vitamin D Alzheimer's disease Gene therapy Stem cells Hepatitis C Diabetes Systems biology of insulin resistance Cardiovascular disease Malaria Cancer Cancer biology Dementia AIDS Control of inflammation by bacteria Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus Multiple sclerosis RNAi therapy for pachyonychia congenita Metabolomics Cancer vaccine Parkinson's disease Antibiotics Obesity, genetics, and inflammation Nanobiotechnology

Physical sciences and technology

Enceladus

1. November 23, 2009 - Cassini Visits a Science-Fiction World
2. November 23, 2009 - Cassini Sends Back Images of Enceladus as Winter Nears - also here
3. November 23, 2009 - Nasa Cassini spacecraft sends pictures of Saturn's moon

Water on Mars

1. November 23, 2009 - New computer-developed map shows more extensive valley network on Mars - also here, here
2. November 23, 2009 - New Map Bolsters Case for Ancient Ocean on Mars
3. November 25, 2009 - Martian "Lake Michigan" Filled Crater, Minerals Hint
4. November 26, 2009 - Gullies and Flow Features on Crater Wall

Hydrocarbons on Titan

1. November 23, 2009 - Icy moon's lakes brim with hearty soup for life
2. November 29, 2009 - Scientists explain puzzling lake asymmetry on Titan - also here
3. November 30, 2009 - Do Titan's Lakes Migrate South for the Winter?

Large Hadron Collider

1. November 23, 2009 - Big Bang machine achieves first particle collisions
2. November 23, 2009 - Restarted LHC Sees First Collisions
3. November 23, 2009 - LHC sees particles circulate once more
4. November 23, 2009 - Two circulating beams bring first collisions in the LHC - also here, here
5. November 23, 2009 - LHC speeds towards collisions
6. November 23, 2009 - Cern's Large Hadron Collider makes first collisions
7. November 23, 2009 - Large Hadron Collider back in operation
8. November 23, 2009 - Large Hadron Collider sends beams in 2 directions
9. November 24, 2009 - Success for LHC as first atom smashed
10. November 24, 2009 - Big Bang atom smasher starts speeding proton beams
11. November 25, 2009 - LHC begins smashing particles

Global warming

1. November 23, 2009 - Is global warming unstoppable? - also here
2. November 23, 2009 - CO2 curve ticks upward as key climate talks loom
3. November 24, 2009 - CO2 emissions continue significant climb - also here
4. November 24, 2009 - Global warming science alarming, say climate experts
5. November 24, 2009 - This year 'in top five warmest'
6. November 24, 2009 - Climate change quickens, seas feared up 2 metres
7. November 24, 2009 - Bristlecone Pines Break 4,650-Year Growth Record
8. November 25, 2009 - Climate changing faster than expected: scientists
9. November 26, 2009 - NASA Satellites Detect Unexpected Ice Loss in East Antarctica
10. November 28, 2009 - 'Permanent' Arctic ice vanishing

Brown dwarfs

1. November 23, 2009 - Spitzer Telescope Observes Baby Brown Dwarf - also here

Earthquakes

1. November 23, 2009 - Using new technique, scientists find 11 times more aftershocks for 2004 quake - also here
2. November 25, 2009 - Pacific Northwest Earthquakes Could Strike Closer to Home
3. November 25, 2009 - Small faults in Southeast Spain reduce earthquake risk of larger ones - also here

T2K neutrino experiment

1. November 24, 2009 - First Neutrino Events Observed at T2K Near Detector - also here
2. November 24, 2009 - First neutrinos for Japanese lab

Black holes

1. November 24, 2009 - First black holes may have incubated in giant, starlike cocoons - also here
2. December 8, 2009 - Monster Black Holes May Grow in Giant Star Cocoons

Paleoclimatology

1. November 24, 2009 - From Greenhouse to Icehouse
2. November 26, 2009 - Past regional cold and warm periods linked to natural climate drivers
3. November 26, 2009 - Past climate anomalies explained

Galaxy mergers

1. November 24, 2009 - 'Cosmic fruit machine' matches collisions - also here
2. November 25, 2009 - Astronomers release galactic collision game

Circumstellar disks and star formation

1. November 24, 2009 - Infrared Image of Circumstellar Disk Illuminates Massive Star Formation Process - also here

Ocean capacity to absorb CO₂

1. November 24, 2009 - Oceans absorbing carbon dioxide more slowly, scientist finds - also here

Milky Way's building blocks

1. November 25, 2009 - Cosmic "Dig" Reveals Vestiges of the Milky Way's Building Blocks - also here, here
2. November 25, 2009 - Milky Way Grew by Swallowing Other Galaxies
3. November 25, 2009 - Stellar Fossils from Milky Way's Past Revealed
4. November 27, 2009 - Dust cloud hides complex star cluster

Blue dwarf galaxies

1. November 25, 2009 - Universe peppered with 'blue fuzzies'

Oceanic crust

1. November 25, 2009 - Oceanic crust formation is dynamic after all - also here

Eta Carinae

1. November 26, 2009 - A Rogue Star Going Wild?

Ultraluminous infrared galaxies

1. November 27, 2009 - The Energy Sources of Ultraluminous Galaxies

Microquasars

1. November 27, 2009 - Fermi Telescope Peers Deep into Microquasar - also here

Herschel telescope

1. November 27, 2009 - Herschel takes a peek at the ingredients of the galaxies

Red hypergiant stars

1. November 27, 2009 - Herschel telescope 'fingerprints' colossal star

Spinon confinement in spin ladders

1. November 29, 2009 - Spinons -- confined like quarks - also here
2. November 30, 2009 - Quark-like confinement seen in the lab

Technology

Brain-computer interface

1. November 23, 2009 - Intel wants a chip implant in your brain

Quantum computing

1. November 23, 2009 - Straightening messy correlations with a quantum comb - also here

Optical chips

1. November 24, 2009 - Selling chip makers on optical computing

Spintronics

1. November 25, 2009 - Spin success for silicon
2. November 25, 2009 - A New Spin on Electronics
3. November 25, 2009 - Spin-based electronics gets boost
4. November 26, 2009 - Spins spotted in room-temperature silicon
5. November 27, 2009 - Spin polarization achieved in room temperature silicon
6. December 7, 2009 - Breakthrough in 'Spintronics' Could Lead to Energy Efficient Chips

Supercomputing

1. November 25, 2009 - New computer cluster gets its grunt from games - also here

Nanotechnology

1. November 26, 2009 - Nanowires key to future transistors, electronics - also here

Graphene

1. November 27, 2009 - Fujitsu Develops Technology for Low-Temperature Full-Service Direct Formation of Graphene Transistors on Large-Scale Sub

Multiferroic digital memory

1. November 27, 2009 - Multiferroic compounds used to produce smaller and cheaper digital memories - also here

Life sciences

Ribosomes

1. November 23, 2009 - Computational microscope peers into the working ribosome - also here

Cell development in the pancreas

1. November 23, 2009 - How Does Embryo's Pancreas 'Know' Which Cells Are to Produce Insulin?

Leaf morphology

1. November 23, 2009 - The cause behind the characteristic shape of a long leaf revealed - also here

Induced pluripotent stem cells

1. November 24, 2009 - When is a stem cell really a stem cell?

Modeling bat migration

1. November 24, 2009 - Researchers Reconstruct Evolution of Bat Migration With Aid of Mathematical Model

Anti-virus immune system mechanisms

1. November 24, 2009 - Link Between Influenza Virus and Fever: Scientists Solve Riddle of New Mechanism in Immune System

Regulated errors and cellular response to stress

1. November 25, 2009 - Cells defend themselves from viruses, bacteria with armor of protein errors - also here

Bacterial immune system

1. November 25, 2009 - Researchers discover biological basis of 'bacterial immune system' - also here, here

Circadian rhythm and metabolism

1. November 25, 2009 - Cycles of feeding and fasting drive circadian gene expression in the liver - also here

Bacterial proteasome, transcriptome, and metabolome

1. November 26, 2009 - First-ever blueprint of a minimal cell is more complex than expected - also here
2. November 26, 2009 - Single-celled life does a lot with very little
3. November 26, 2009 - 'Simple' bacterium shows surprising complexity
4. November 30, 2009 - There's No Such Thing as a 'Simple' Organism

Speciation and sexual selection

1. November 26, 2009 - Ecological speciation by sexual selection on good genes: Is speciation adaptive? - also here

Oskar mRNA transport

1. November 26, 2009 - RNA on the move - also here

Genomics

1. November 26, 2009 - Discovery Allows Scientists for the First Time to Annotate Genomes Experimentally

Eosinophils and innate immunity

1. November 29, 2009 - New Therapy May Be Effective Against Bacterial Infections and Sepsis

Neuroscience, psychology, and behavior

Modeling working memory

1. November 23, 2009 - In the Brain, Seven Is A Magic Number

Speed of word recall

1. November 23, 2009 - Measured -- The time it takes us to find the words we need

Information transmission in the brain and gamma waves

1. November 23, 2009 - How the Brain Filters out Distracting Thoughts to Focus on a Single Bit of Information

Stress, epigenetic changes, and memory

1. November 24, 2009 - Acute stress leaves epigenetic marks on the hippocampus - also here

Neurogenesis and diet

1. November 24, 2009 - Polyphenols and polyunsaturated fatty acids boost the birth of new neurons - also here

Comfort food and stress

1. November 24, 2009 - 'Comfort food' a stress killer: Australian study

Myelin formation

1. November 24, 2009 - Early protein processes crucial to formation and layering of myelin membrane - also here

Brain-imaging studies

1. November 24, 2009 - What's my brain's motivation?

Speech perception

1. November 25, 2009 - A timely touch transforms speech perception

CO₂, the amygdala, and fear

1. November 25, 2009 - Why Suffocating Is Scary
2. November 25, 2009 - Study sheds light on brain's fear processing center
3. November 26, 2009 - Brain's Fear Center Is Equipped With Built-in Suffocation Sensor

MHC proteins and synaptic plasticity

1. November 25, 2009 - Two molecules affecting brain plasticity - also here

Endocannabinoid signaling

1. November 25, 2009 - Brain's endocannabinoid signaling pathway kept in check by two enzymes

Dopamine and emotion in fruit flies

1. November 25, 2009 - Scientists find emotion-like behaviors, regulated by dopamine, in fruit flies

Auditory continuity illusion

1. November 25, 2009 - Auditory illusion: How our brains can fill in the gaps to create continuous sound - also here

Language evolution

1. November 26, 2009 - Language Evolves Through Our Own Use of It

Multilingualism and cognitive ability

1. November 26, 2009 - Brains Benefit from Multilingualism

Schizophrenia

1. November 26, 2009 - 'Mental illness gene' discovered by Scots scientists

Circadian rhythm

1. November 27, 2009 - Cell discovery clues to body clock and beating jet lag
2. November 29, 2009 - Clue to Mystery of How Biological Clock Operates on 24-Hour Cycle

Glutamate receptor structure

1. November 29, 2009 - 'Temple of the mind' unlocked

Synapse formation during motor learning

1. November 29, 2009 - Study shows new brain connections form rapidly during motor learning - also here

Gender differences in response to danger

1. November 29, 2009 - New study finds men and women may respond differently to danger - also here
2. November 30, 2009 - Men and women 'respond differently to danger'

Regulation of neurogenesis

1. November 29, 2009 - Forming New Brain Cells: Key Regulatory Peptide Discovered

Health and medicine

Vitamin D

1. November 23, 2009 - Multiple health concerns surface as winter, vitamin D deficiences arrive - also here

Alzheimer's disease

1. November 23, 2009 - Upending textbook science on Alzheimer's disease - also here
2. November 27, 2009 - New Cause for Alzheimer's Disease?

Gene therapy

1. November 23, 2009 - Gene therapy improves vision

Stem cells

1. November 23, 2009 - New research shows versatility of amniotic fluid stem cells - also here
2. November 23, 2009 - New discovery about the formation of new brain cells
3. November 26, 2009 - Physician-scientist proves stem cells heal lungs of newborn animals - also here
4. November 27, 2009 - Umbilical Cord Blood Stem Cell Transplant May Help Lung, Heart Disorders

Hepatitis C

1. November 23, 2009 - Multitasking may be Achilles heel for hepatitis C - also here

Diabetes

1. November 23, 2009 - Diabetics show alarming increase in morbid obesity - also here
2. November 24, 2009 - Molecule discovered that makes obese people develop diabetes - also here
3. November 24, 2009 - Diabetes surgery summit consensus lays foundation for new field of medicine - also here
4. November 25, 2009 - Cancer drug preserves insulin cells in diabetes

Systems biology of insulin resistance

1. November 23, 2009 - Systems biology approach provides insulin resistance insights - also here

Cardiovascular disease

1. November 23, 2009 - Moderate-to-heavy exercise may reduce risk of stroke for men - also here
2. November 23, 2009 - Abnormal cholesterol levels may raise risk of heart failure
3. November 23, 2009 - Stable plaque or heart attack plaque? Researcher builds new MEMS sensor to tell which is which
4. November 23, 2009 - Invention will help speed development of drug treatments for heart failure
5. November 23, 2009 - Gene implicated in stress-induced high blood pressure - also here
6. November 23, 2009 - Unfair Treatment on the Job? Silence Harmful
7. November 24, 2009 - Selenium supplementation may boost cholesterol
8. November 24, 2009 - High salt intake directly linked to stroke and cardiovascular disease - also here
9. November 24, 2009 - Plasma levels of GGT and ALB and their genetic correlations with cardiovascular risk factors
10. November 24, 2009 - Bottling up work woes increases heart risk: study
11. November 24, 2009 - Speak up: study shows stifling anger at work can kill
12. November 24, 2009 - "Covert" coping with job conflict ups heart risk
13. November 24, 2009 - Stifled Anger at Work Doubles Men's Risk for Heart Attack
14. November 24, 2009 - IV drug treatment for out-of-hospital cardiac arrest may not improve long-term survival - also here
15. November 24, 2009 - Beta-Blockers Can Have Helpful, or Harmful, Effect on Heart
16. November 24, 2009 - Heart attack risk 'raised by bottling-up anger'
17. November 25, 2009 - Study Finds Eating Fruits and Vegetables Lowers Risks of Heart Disease
18. November 25, 2009 - Physicians Explore Link Between Vitamin D Deficiency and Hypertension
19. November 25, 2009 - New genetic cause of cardiac failure discovered - also here
20. November 25, 2009 - Daily salt intake allowances 'were set too high'

Malaria

1. November 23, 2009 - Measuring and modeling blood flow in malaria - also here

Cancer

1. November 23, 2009 - Racial disparity in colon cancer survival not easily explained, researchers say - also here
2. November 23, 2009 - Arsenic biomethylation required for oxidative DNA damage - also here
3. November 24, 2009 - Fertility drugs may pose some uterine cancer risk
4. November 24, 2009 - Powerful new test detects 15 of cancers
5. November 24, 2009 - Gene increases effectiveness of drugs used to fight cancer and allows reduction in dosage
6. November 24, 2009 - Protein from pregnancy hormone may prevent breast cancer - also here
7. November 24, 2009 - Scientists discover soy component may be key to fighting colon cancer - also here
8. November 24, 2009 - New device enables early detection of cancerous skin tumors - also here
9. November 25, 2009 - Cancer or inflammation? New pancreas test tells
10. November 25, 2009 - The tall and short of diseases
11. November 25, 2009 - Researchers identify proteins in lung cancer cells that may provide potential drug targets - also here
12. November 25, 2009 - Etiologic factors of gastric cardiac adenocarcinoma among men in Taiwan
13. November 25, 2009 - Heparanase-specific shRNA: A novel therapeutic strategy in human gastric cancer
14. November 25, 2009 - Estrogen receptor-alpha, breast cancer patients and tamoxifen response - also here
15. November 26, 2009 - Research sheds light on workings of anti-cancer drug - also here
16. November 26, 2009 - Rectal cancer tumour destroyed by ultrasound is a first
17. November 27, 2009 - New tools for prediction of disease progression in acute childhood leukemia - also here
18. November 29, 2009 - Discerning pancreatic cancer from pancreatitis

Cancer biology

1. November 23, 2009 - Tissue tension regulates tumor progression
2. November 24, 2009 - Serotonin Made in Breast Cancer Cells, Researchers Show
3. November 25, 2009 - Crosstalk between critical cell-signaling pathways holds clues to tumor invasion and metastasis - also here
4. November 25, 2009 - Genetic Abnormality in Tumor-Associated Endothelial Cells
5. November 25, 2009 - Gene offers bowel cancer 'shield'
6. November 26, 2009 - Scientists reveal 'protector' gene behind 50-fold increase in number of bowel tumours

Dementia

1. November 23, 2009 - Fat around the middle increases the risk of dementia - also here

AIDS

1. November 23, 2009 - Vaccine quest boosted by HIV that infects monkeys
2. November 24, 2009 - Why circumcision reduces HIV risk - also here
3. November 25, 2009 - Tailor-made HIV/AIDS treatment closer to reality - also here
4. November 26, 2009 - Timely and continuous HIV care extends survival
5. November 29, 2009 - WHO issues new recommendations for HIV patients

Control of inflammation by bacteria

1. November 23, 2009 - Friendly bacteria keep your skin's defences in check

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus

1. November 24, 2009 - Drug-resistant bacteria on increase in U.S.: study
2. November 24, 2009 - New study finds MRSA on the rise in hospital outpatients - also here
3. November 26, 2009 - Plasma produces KO cocktail for MRSA - also here
4. November 26, 2009 - Device spells doom for superbugs
5. November 26, 2009 - Plasmas have healing powers

Multiple sclerosis

1. November 24, 2009 - Factors from common human bacteria may trigger multiple sclerosis - also here
2. November 24, 2009 - High unexpressed anger in MS patients linked to nervous system damage, not disease severity - also here
3. November 24, 2009 - MS progress slowed by giving birth, Belgian doctors say
4. November 27, 2009 - Multiple sclerosis 'blood blockage theory' tested

RNAi therapy for pachyonychia congenita

1. November 24, 2009 - Discovery leads to effective treatment of painful skin condition

Metabolomics

1. November 24, 2009 - Metobolomics uncovers key indicators of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - also here

Cancer vaccine

1. November 25, 2009 - A cancer vaccine -- that works?
2. November 25, 2009 - Implant-based cancer vaccine is first to eliminate tumors in mice - also here
3. November 26, 2009 - Cancer vaccine implant 'can attack and kill tumours'

Parkinson's disease

1. November 25, 2009 - Hormone ghrelin can boost resistance to Parkinson's disease - also here

Antibiotics

1. November 26, 2009 - New Imagining Technique Could Lead to Better Antibiotics and Cancer Drugs

Obesity, genetics, and inflammation

1. November 28, 2009 - Obese Patients' Reaction to Diet Can Be Predicted, Study Finds

Nanobiotechnology

1. November 29, 2009 - Tiny magnetic discs could kill cancer cells: study - also here, here
2. November 30, 2009 - Nanodiscs cause cancer cell death
3. December 7, 2009 - Attacking tumours with tiny discs

Copyright © 2009 by Charles Daney, All Rights Reserved