Newswise: SciNews

Waiting for a Sign? Researchers Find Potential Brain 'Switch' for New Behavior

University of Michigan — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:20:00 EST

You're standing near an airport luggage carousel and your bag emerges on the conveyor belt, prompting you to spring into action. How does your brain make the shift from passively waiting to taking action when your bag appears?

Study Finds Vitamin C Can Kill Drug-Resistant TB

Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University — Tue, 21 May 2013 11:00:00 EST

In a striking, unexpected discovery, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have determined that vitamin C kills drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) bacteria in laboratory culture. The finding suggests that vitamin C added to existing TB drugs could shorten TB therapy, and it highlights a new area for drug design. The study was published today in the online journal Nature Communications.

Binghamton University Putting Smart Energy Principles Into Action

Binghamton University, State University of New York — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

Binghamton University not only researches and teaches smart energy techniques and processes, the University is also putting what it knows into practice as it constructs new buildings on campus.

NYU's Movshon Receives Lashley Award for his Research on the Neuroscience of Vision

New York University — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

The American Philosophical Society (APS) has awarded New York University neuroscientist J. Anthony Movshon its 2013 Karl Spencer Lashley Award in recognition of his "pioneering work on the neuroscience of vision."

Army Ground Combat Systems Adopts Sandia Tool for Choosing Future Warfighting Vehicles

Sandia National Laboratories — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

Sandia National Laboratories, working closely with the Army and other contractors, has developed key components of a software tool to help the Program Executive Office Ground Combat System analyze countless what-if scenarios that can be manipulated as technology advances and the global environment, the federal budget or other factors change. Sandia calls this advanced combination of modeling, simulation and optimization decision support software the Capability Portfolio Analysis Tool (CPAT).

Boise State University Geochemist Aids Development of Geologic Time Scale for Study of Earth's History

Boise State University — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

The Geologic Time Scale 2012, or GTS2012, is the latest understanding of Earth's history, and the means by which geoscientists around the world investigate the rock record.

New DNA Profiling Technique Beefs Up Cattle Genomics

Cornell University — Tue, 21 May 2013 10:00:00 EST

A pioneering genomics technique developed at Cornell University to improve corn can now be used to improve the quality of milk and meat, according to research published May 17 in the online journal PLOS ONE.

U-M Water Center Awards $570k in Great Lakes Restoration Grants

University of Michigan — Tue, 21 May 2013 09:00:00 EST

The new University of Michigan Water Center today awarded 12 research grants, totaling nearly $570,000, to support Great Lakes restoration and protection efforts.

Soft Matter Offers New Ways to Study How Materials Arrange

Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications — Mon, 20 May 2013 20:00:00 EST

A fried breakfast food popular in Spain provided the inspiration for the development of doughnut-shaped droplets that may provide scientists with a new approach for studying fundamental issues in physics, mathematics and materials.

WCS Informs Discussion of Responses to a Changing Arctic

Wildlife Conservation Society — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:00:00 EST

In two critical reports released at the Arctic Council Ministerial Meeting in Kiruna, Sweden on May 15th, the scientific expertise of the Wildlife Conservation Society helped inform an international body of senior government officials about changing conditions in the Arctic, and potential responses to those changes.

Ant Study Could Help Future Robot Teams Work Underground

Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

Future teams of subterranean search and rescue robots may owe their success to the lowly fire ant, a much-despised insect whose painful bites and extensive networks of underground tunnels are all-too-familiar to people living in the southern United States.

Gym Class Reduces Probability of Obesity, Study Finds for First Time

Cornell University — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

Little is known about the effect of physical education on child weight, but a new study from Cornell University finds that increasing the amount of time that elementary schoolchildren spent in gym class reduces the probability of obesity.

High Fiber Diets May Increase Susceptibility to E. coli Infection

Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

Consuming diets higher in fiber may increase the risk for Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 infection and severe disease according to a new study, "Dietary choice affects Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) O157:H7 colonization and disease," published in the online Early Edition of The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, May 20.

Protein Study Suggests Drug Side Effects are Inevitable

Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

A new study of both computer-created and natural proteins suggests that the number of unique pockets - sites where small molecule pharmaceutical compounds can bind to proteins - is surprisingly small, meaning drug side effects may be impossible to avoid.

Amazon River Exhales Virtually All Carbon Taken Up by Rain Forest

University of Washington — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:00:00 EST

A study published this week in Nature Geoscience shows that woody plant matter is almost completely digested by bacteria living in the Amazon River, and that this tough stuff plays a major part in fueling the river's breath.

Not Just Blowing in the Wind: Compressing Air for Renewable Energy Storage

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:30:00 EST

A comprehensive study into the potential for compressed air energy storage in the Pacific Northwest has identified two locations in Washington state that could store enough Northwest wind energy combined to power about 85,000 homes each month.

"Out of This World" Space Stethoscope Valuable on Earth, Too

Johns Hopkins — Mon, 20 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

A team of students at has designed a new stethoscope for NASA to deliver accurate heart- and body-sounds to medics trying to assess astronauts' health on long missions in noisy spacecraft.

Reports from the Central African Republic Indicate Security Has Returned to Dzanga-Sangha National Park

Wildlife Conservation Society — Sun, 19 May 2013 15:00:00 EST

The following statement was released today by the Wildlife Conservation Society President and CEO Cristian Samper in response to the news that Gabon has agreed to help improve the management of the Central African Republic's protected areas, which are currently threatened by large-scale elephant poaching for ivory, and that security has returned to Dzanga-Sangha National Park.

Plea for a Correct Use of Stem Cells in Therapy

Sbarro Health Research Organization (SHRO) — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:00 EST

The "Stem Cell Research Italy" Association (www.stemcellitaly.org) and the "Sbarro Health Research Organization" (www.shro.org) make a public plea for a correct use of stem cell therapy in Italy and Europe.

New Theory on Genesis of Osteoarthritis Comes with Successful Therapy in Mice

Johns Hopkins Medicine — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:00 EST

Scientists have turned their view of osteoarthritis inside out. Instead of seeing the painful degenerative disease as a problem primarily of the cartilage that cushions joints, they now have evidence that the bone underneath the cartilage is also a key player and exacerbates the damage. Blocking the action of a critical bone regulation protein in mice halts progression of the disease.

In Early Earth, Iron Helped RNA Catalyze Electron Transfer

Georgia Institute of Technology, Research Communications — Sun, 19 May 2013 13:00:00 EST

A new study shows how complex biochemical transformations may have been possible under conditions that existed when life began on the early Earth. The study shows that RNA is capable of catalyzing electron transfer under conditions similar to those of the early Earth.

Cracking the Ice Code

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:00:00 EST

UWM geologist John Isbell reads rock, looking for the natural rules that govern the Earth's climate in the absence of human activity. His work is challenging many assumptions about the ways drastic climate change unfolds - and what to expect next.

First Atlanta Science Festival Set for 2014

Georgia Institute of Technology — Fri, 17 May 2013 13:00:00 EST

Atlanta residents of all ages will celebrate the science and technology of the region and its impact on our daily lives during the inaugural Atlanta Science Festival, March 22-29, 2014. With scientists, engineers and educators from local museums, corporations, K-12 schools and universities, the festival will host more than 40 different events for children and adults at venues across the city. Learn more at http://atlantasciencefestival.org

Invasive Species: "Away-Field Advantage" Weaker Than Ecologists Thought

Smithsonian Institution — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:05:00 EST

For decades, ecologists have assumed the worst invasive species--such as brown tree snakes and kudzu--have an "away-field advantage." They succeed because they do better in their new territories than they do at home. A new study led by the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center reveals that this fundamental assumption is not nearly as common as people might think.

Modern Lab Reaches Across the Ages to Resolve Plague DNA Debate

Northern Arizona University — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 EST

A plague from 1,500 years ago--a reputed ancestor to the Black Death--found its way back to relevance via labs in Germany and at Northern Arizona University, which collaborated to resolve a debate: The Justinianic Plague that started in A.D. 541 can indeed be placed on the family tree of the disease.