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168,137 articles from ScienceDaily

Depression linked to breast cancer outcomes

This year, more than 230,000 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and nearly 40,000 women will not survive their battle with cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. New research shows that certain factors, including marital status, having children in the home, income level and age, affect the likelihood of depression in breast cancer survivors. Further, depressed patients are less...

Watching the birth of an iceberg

After discovering an emerging crack that cuts across the floating ice shelf of Pine Island Glacier in Antarctica, NASA's Operation IceBridge has flown a follow-up mission and made the first-ever detailed airborne measurements of a major iceberg calving in progress.

Born to roar: Lions' and tigers' fearsome roars are due to their unusual vocal cords

When lions and tigers roar loudly and deeply -- terrifying every creature within earshot -- they are somewhat like human babies crying for attention, although their voices are much deeper. So says the senior author of a new study that shows lions' and tigers' loud, low-frequency roars are predetermined by physical properties of their vocal fold tissue -- namely, the ability to stretch and shear --...

Chantix unsuitable for first-line smoking cessation use, study finds

The poor safety profile of the smoking-cessation drug varenicline (Chantix) makes it unsuitable for first-line use, according to a new study. Varenicline, which already carries a "black box warning" from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, showed a substantially increased risk of reported depression or suicidal behavior compared to other smoking-cessation treatments, according to...

Hospital tests reveal the secrets of an Egyptian mummy

An ancient Egyptian mummy has had quite an afterlife, traveling more than 6,000 miles, spending six decades in private hands, and finally, in 1989, finding a home at the World Heritage Museum (now the Spurlock Museum) at the University of Illinois. The mummy's travels did not end there, however. It has made two trips to a local hospital -- once in 1990 and again this year -- for some...


WEDNESDAY 2. NOVEMBER 2011


Maryland climate plan passes key tests

Maryland's plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25 percent by 2020 meets a series of benchmark tests set by state lawmakers, concludes a new pair of new studies. The findings should help clear the way for adoption of a full Climate Action Plan next year, the researchers say.

Nicotine as a gateway drug: Biological mechanism in mice identified

A landmark study in mice identifies a biological mechanism that could help explain how tobacco products could act as gateway drugs, increasing a person's future likelihood of abusing cocaine and perhaps other drugs as well, according to researchers. The study is the first to show that nicotine might prime the brain to enhance the behavioral effects of...

Scientists outline steps toward Epstein-Barr virus vaccine

Epstein-Barr virus infects nine out of ten people worldwide at some point during their lifetimes. Infections in early childhood often cause no disease symptoms, but people infected during adolescence or young adulthood may develop infectious mononucleosis, a disease characterized by swollen lymph nodes, fever and severe...

Interactive play with blocks found to facilitate development of spatial vocabulary

Parents and researchers have long speculated that play with construction toys might offer a rich environment that would support later learning in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines. Researchers have found that when playing with blocks under interactive conditions, children hear the kind of language that helps them think about space, such as "over," "around" and...

Link between air pollution and cyclone intensity in Arabian Sea: Disruption of wind shear enables stronger storms

Pollution is making Arabian Sea cyclones more intense, according to a new study. Traditionally, prevailing wind shear patterns prohibit cyclones in the Arabian Sea from becoming major storms. The paper suggests that weakening winds have enabled the formation of stronger cyclones in recent years -- including storms in 2007 and 2010 that were the first recorded storms to enter the Gulf of...

New evidence for the earliest modern humans in Europe

The timing, process and archeology of the peopling of Europe by early modern humans have been actively debated for more than a century. Reassessment of the anatomy and dating of a fragmentary upper jaw with three teeth from Kent's Cavern in southern England has shed new light on these...

Newly discovered diffuse interstellar bands support ideas of carbon-based organic 'carriers' in interstellar dust clouds?

The discovery of 13 diffuse interstellar bands with the longest wavelengths to date could someday solve a 90-year-old mystery. Astronomers have now discovered new bands using data collected by the Gemini North telescope of stars in the center of the Milky Way. The new findings support recent ideas about the presence of large, possibly carbon-based organic molecules -— “carriers” —- hidden...

Humans and climate contributed to extinctions of large Ice Age mammals, new study finds

Both climate change and humans were responsible for the extinction of some large mammals, according to research that is the first of its kind to use genetic, archeological, and climatic data together to infer the population history of large Ice Age mammals. The large international team's research is expected to shed light on the possible fates of living species of mammals as our planet continues...