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168,137 articles from ScienceDaily

Couples need just one conversation to decide not to have children

Many couples agree not to have children after only one discussion, and sometimes none at all. "Not having children is obviously a very important decision, and what was interesting from the research was the negligible amount of discussion that couples engaged in -- many are agreeing not to have children in one conversation, or in an unspoken way," a researcher on the study noted. "One possible...

Reconstructed ancient ocean reveals secrets about the origin of life

Researchers have published details about how the first organisms on Earth could have become metabolically active. The results permit scientists to speculate how primitive cells learned to synthesize their organic components -- the molecules that form RNA, lipids and amino acids. The findings also suggest an order for the sequence of events that led to the origin of...

Small-scale, urban allotments yield food, healthy soil, study finds

Soils under Britain's allotments are significantly healthier than intensively farmed soils, researchers have found. This is the first study to show that by growing at small-scale in urban areas, it is possible to produce food sustainably without damaging the soil. As a result of the findings, planners and policy makers should increase the number of allotments available, the authors...

Two breath compounds could be associated with larynx cancer

Volatile substances exhaled by eleven people with cancer of larynx have been compared with those of another twenty healthy people. The results show that the concentrations of certain molecules, mainly ethanol and 2-butanone, are higher in individuals with carcinoma, therefore they act as potential markers of the disease. Human breath contains thousands of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and some...

Strong software protection needed for mobile devices

The massive adoption of mobile computing platforms creates the urgent need for secure application execution on such platforms. Unfortunately, today’s mobile platforms do not support strong security solutions equivalent to smartcards in set-top boxes or to dongles to reliably control licensing terms. Furthermore, many of these mobile devices are shared for professional and private applications,...

Seeking causes of hyperactivity

The 60 trillion cells that comprise our bodies communicate constantly. Information travels when chemical compounds released by some cells are received by receptors in the membrane of another cell. Mice lacking an intracellular trafficking protein called LMTK3, are hyperactive, research shows. Hyperactivity is a behavioral disorder that shows symptoms including restlessness, lack of coordination,...

New sensor molecules have potential for early cancer detection

A new water-soluble fluorescent detection system that is extremely sensitive to pyrophosphate (PPi) has been discovered by researchers. Pyrophosphate has a key role in energy transduction, DNA replication and other metabolic processes that are dysregulated in cancer cells. The discovery might lead to the development of a method for early detection of cancer...

Genetic legacy of rare dwarf trees is widespread

Genetic evidence that one of Britain's native tree species, the dwarf birch found in the Scottish Highlands, was once common in England has been found by researchers. The genes reflect a much wider distribution occupied by the "wee tree" when the British climate was colder. "As dwarf birch moved north, some of its genes were picked up by downy birch trees, which spread through Britain at the cost...

Interactive training halves malaria overdiagnosis, prevents wastage of drugs

Interactive training programs for health workers could halve the overdiagnosis of malaria and prevent wastage of valuable drugs, new research concludes. The African study compared the use of RDTs when packaged with either a basic or a comprehensive training program for clinicians. Their results showed that those undertaking the comprehensive program were much less likely to overuse...

New high-detail atlas offers tool to explore local environment, health

A detailed atlas with environment and health maps at a fine scale across England and Wales has been developed and launched by researchers. This is the first time in the UK that researchers have produced these maps at such high spatial resolution. By inputting a postcode to the online version of the atlas, users can zoom into a neighborhood (around 6,000 people) and toggle between the health and...

Chernobyl's birds adapting to ionizing radiation

Birds in the exclusion zone around Chernobyl are adapting to -- and may even be benefiting from -- long-term exposure to radiation, ecologists have found. The study is the first evidence that wild animals adapt to ionizing radiation, and the first to show that birds which produce most pheomelanin, a pigment in feathers, have greatest problems coping with radiation...

Asteroids as seen from Mars -- A Curiosity rover first

A new image from NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is the first ever from the surface of Mars to show an asteroid, and it shows two: Ceres and Vesta. These two -- the largest and third-largest bodies in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter -- are the destinations of NASA's Dawn mission. Dawn orbited Vesta in 2011 and 2012, and is on its way to begin orbiting Ceres next year. Ceres is a dwarf...

Store doping samples for 10 years to stop sports cheats, say anti-doping bodies

Blood and urine samples taken from athletes to spot signs of doping should be stored for 10 years, to enable technology to catch up with substances that currently evade detection, says a consensus statement of international anti-doping bodies. And much wider use should be made of biological profiling, they say, which will show tiny changes made to the individual's unique genetic blueprint by...

Researchers trace HIV adaptation to its human host

In a new study that traces the evolution of HIV in North America, researchers have found evidence that the virus is slowly adapting over time to its human hosts. However, this change is so gradual that it is unlikely to have an impact on vaccine design.

Higher muscle mass linked with better physical function, quality of life in dialysis patients

Dialysis patients with higher BMI, waist circumference, and abdominal fat measures had poorer scores on a 6-minute walking test, according to a new study. Patients with more muscle mass had better scores on the walking test as well as better scores on physical and mental health questionnaires. The findings may help explain the "obesity paradox" associated with dialysis patients, which relates to...


THURSDAY 24. APRIL 2014


'Horsing around' reduces stress hormones in youth

New research reveals how youth who work with horses experience a substantial reduction in stress -- and the evidence lies in kids' saliva. "We were coming at this from a prevention perspective," said a developmental psychologist working on this study. "We are especially interested in optimizing healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents, because we know from other research that healthy...

Computer program could help solve arson cases

Sifting through the chemical clues left behind by arson is delicate, time-consuming work, but researchers teaming with police scientists have found a way to speed the process. A computer program can cut the need for extra levels of human analysis, reducing the waiting time to find out the cause of a deliberately set...

Controlling brain waves to improve vision

A novel technique to test brain waves is being used to see how the brain processes external stimuli that do and don't reach our awareness. "When we have different things competing for our attention, we can only be aware of so much of what we see," said a researcher on the study. "For example, when you're driving, you might really be concentrating on obeying traffic signals." But say there's an...

What makes psychotic teens more at risk for suicide than other groups with psychosis?

Suicide is a general risk for people with psychosis. According to research, 20 percent to 40 percent of those diagnosed with psychosis attempt suicide, and up to 10 percent succeed. And teens with psychotic symptoms are nearly 70 times more likely to attempt suicide than adolescents in the general population. Researchers recently reviewed studies of teenagers with psychosis to better understand...

New guidelines aim to improve care for babies with heart problems in the womb

Heart experts have developed the first scientific statement on detecting, managing and treating heart abnormalities in the womb. Medicines, fetal procedures, careful monitoring and strategies for delivery room care are improving the health of babies with heart abnormalities from before birth and beyond. Providers should help families overcome anxiety and depression, so they can transition from...