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168,100 articles from ScienceDaily

One in five older Americans take medications that work against each other

About three out of four older Americans have multiple chronic health conditions, and more than 20 percent of them are being treated with drugs that work at odds with each other -- the medication being used for one condition can actually make the other condition worse. Direct competition between medications is just one of the concerns, the report noted. Use of multiple medications can also lead to...

Fish species unique to Hawaii dominate deep coral reefs in Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

Deep coral reefs in Papahanaumokakea Marine National Monument may contain the highest percentage of fish species found nowhere else on Earth, according to a study. In waters 100-300 feet deep, nearly 50 percent of fish observed over a two-year period were unique to Hawaii -- higher than any other marine ecosystem. The study also found that on some deeper reefs, more than 90 percent were...

Roomy cages built from DNA could one day deliver drugs, devices

A set of self-assembling DNA cages one-tenth as wide as a bacterium have been created by scientists. These DNA nanostructures are some of the largest and most complex structures ever constructed solely from DNA, and they could one day deliver drugs, or house tiny bioreactors or photonic devices that diagnose...

Migration, brain drain in China: Shifting slightly, but still going strong

The brain drain of educated workers is still felt most severely in China's central and western provinces, since most knowledge-based industries are generally concentrated in its large coastal cities. However, low-educated migrant workers increasingly find jobs in their home provinces in the central and western regions because of changing economic and government...

More accurate data on thousands of years of climate change

Using a new, cutting-edge isotopic tool, researchers have reconstructed the temperature history of a climatically important region in the Pacific Ocean. The study analyzes how much temperatures have increased in the region near Indonesia, and how ocean temperatures affect nearby tropical glaciers in Papua New Guinea and Borneo. Researchers also evaluated the accuracy of existing climate model...

Stirring the simmering 'designer baby' pot

From genetic and genomic testing to new techniques in human assisted reproduction, various technologies are providing parents with more of a say about the children they have and 'stirring the pot of 'designer baby' concerns.

When big isn't better: How the flu bug bit Google

Numbers and data can be critical tools in bringing complex issues into focus. The understanding of diseases, for example, benefits from algorithms that help monitor their spread. But without context, a number may be just a number, or even misleading. Google's data-aggregating tool Google Flu Trend was designed to provide real-time monitoring of flu cases around the world, but it also illustrates...

Turning raw natural gas into upgraded liquid alcohol fuel

Chemists have discovered of a new way to turn raw natural gas into upgraded liquid alcohol fuel. The process uses ordinary 'main group' metals like thallium and lead to trigger the conversion of natural gas to liquid alcohol. The process occurs at far lower temperatures than current industry practices. This could help reduce dependence on...

Better way to make unnatural amino acids devised

Chemists have devised a greatly improved technique for making amino acids not found in nature. These “unnatural” amino acids traditionally have been very difficult to synthesize, but are sought after by the pharmaceutical industry for their potential medical uses.

New ovarian cancer targets proposed: Proteins called TAFs

Proteins called TAFs were once thought to be generic cogs in the machinery of gene expression, but in a new study, scientists propose that they may be important suspects in the progression of ovarian cancer that should not continue to be overlooked. Scientists need such new leads in their investigation of ovarian cancer, the most deadly reproductive cancer. Mortality has remained tragically steady...

Equation to describe competition between genes

Biologists typically conduct experiments first, and then develop models afterward to show how data fit with theory. New research flips that practice on its head. A biophysicist tackles questions in cellular biology as a physicist would -- by first formulating a model that can make predictions and then testing those predictions. Using this strategy, this research group has recently developed a...

Prostate specific antigen screening declines after 2012 USPSTF recommendations

Researchers have assessed the impact of the 2012 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force recommendations against routine prostate specific antigen (PSA) cancer screenings, which cited evidence that the risks of screening outweigh the benefits. Results of the current study indicate that the USPSTF recommendations have resulted in a decrease in the number of PSA screenings ordered by doctors, with the...

Social ties influence who wins certain Hollywood movie awards

When it comes to Oscars and some other Hollywood movie awards, who your friends are affects whether you win, according to a new study. Film awards generally fall into two categories: those, such as the Oscars, given by "peers" who are actively engaged in making movies and those given by "critics" who review movies for newspapers, magazines, or other media outlets. The research showed that awards...

Scientists catch brain damage in the act

Scientists have uncovered how inflammation and lack of oxygen conspire to cause brain damage in conditions such as stroke and Alzheimer's disease, bringing researchers a step closer to finding potential targets to treat neurodegenerative disorders. Chronic inflammation and hypoxia, or oxygen deficiency, are hallmarks of several brain diseases, but little has been known about how they contribute to...

Human brains 'hard-wired' to link what we see with what we do

Your brain's ability to instantly link what you see with what you do is down to a dedicated information 'highway,' suggests new research. For the first time, researchers have found evidence of a specialized mechanism for spatial self-awareness that combines visual cues with body motion. The newly-discovered system could explain why some schizophrenia patients feel like their actions are controlled...

Reversible mechanism that increases muscle elasticity discovered

A new form of mechanical memory that adjusts the elasticity of muscles to their history of stretching has been discovered. Using highly sensitive atomic force microscopes, the researchers detected a chemical reaction that increases the elasticity of muscle proteins. Crucially, this reaction targets molecules that have been exposed to a stretching force. This finding changes our understanding of...

Africans' ability to digest milk linked to spread of cattle raising

A new study -- constituting the largest investigation ever of lactose tolerance in geographically diverse populations of Africans -- investigated the genetic origins of this trait and offers support to the idea that the ability to digest milk was a powerful selective force in a variety of African populations which raised cattle and consumed the animals' fresh...

Extinct California porpoise had a unique underbite

Millions of years ago, the coast of California was home to a species of porpoise distinguished from its living relatives by a lower jaw that extended well beyond the upper. In other words, the long-lost porpoise had a rather distinct and unusual underbite. Careful analysis of the fossilized Semirostrum ceruttii skull also shows that the porpoise's pronounced beak included innervated jaws, which...

Commonly used pain relievers have added benefit of fighting bacterial infection

Some commonly used drugs that combat aches and pains, fever, and inflammation are also thought to have the ability to kill bacteria. New research reveals that these drugs, better known as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, act on bacteria in a way that is fundamentally different from current antibiotics. The discovery could open up new strategies for fighting drug-resistant infections and...