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168,132 articles from ScienceDaily

Darwin Killed Off The Werewolf

It was Darwinian theory that did away with the werewolf. The publication of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species exactly 150 years ago focused minds on a different kind of monster – ape-men such as the Yeti, Bigfoot and Sasquatch. From then onwards, werewolves were relegated to a fictional...

Developmental Experiences May Explain 'Unexplained' Medical Symptoms?

A new theory on the role of developmental experiences has been described. Maternal perception of a threatening environment may be transmitted to the fetus when hormones cross the placenta and affect fetal physiology, effectively 'programming' the fetal stress response system and associated behaviors toward enhanced...

Early and Easy Detection Of Alzheimer's Disease?

A new diagnostic technique which may greatly simplify the detection of Alzheimer's disease has been discovered. There is currently no accepted blood test for Alzheimer's, and the diagnosis is usually based on expensive and labor-intensive neurological, neuropsychological and neuroimaging...

European Satellites Probe A New Magnetar

NASA's Swift satellite reported multiple blasts of radiation from a rare object known as a soft gamma repeater, or SGR. Now, astronomers report an in-depth study of these eruptions using the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton and International Gamma-Ray Astrophysics Laboratory...

Farmed Fish May Pose Risk For Mad Cow Disease

Neurologists questions the safety of eating farmed fish, adding a new worry to concerns about the nation’s food supply. They suggest farmed fish could transmit Creutzfeldt Jakob disease -- commonly known as mad cow disease -- if they are fed byproducts rendered from cows.

Global Sunscreen Won't Save Corals

Emergency plans to counteract global warming by artificially shading the Earth from incoming sunlight might lower the planet's temperature a few degrees, but such "geoengineering" solutions would do little to stop the acidification of the world oceans that threatens coral reefs and other marine life, report the authors of a new study. The culprit is atmospheric carbon dioxide, which even in a...

How To Get Wind Turbines To Work Harder

How much usable energy do wind turbines produce? It is a question that perplexes engineers and frustrates potential users, especially on windless days. A new study provides a formula for answering this vexing question.

Maya Intensively Cultivated Manioc 1,400 Years Ago

Archeologists have uncovered an ancient and previously unknown Maya agricultural system -- a large manioc field intensively cultivated as a staple crop that was buried and exquisitely preserved under a blanket of ash by a volcanic eruption in present-day El Salvador 1,400 years...

Measuring Brain Atrophy In Patients With Mild Cognitive Impairment

Scientists have shown that a fully automated procedure called Volumetric MRI -- which measures the "memory centers" of the brain and compares them to expected size -- is effective in predicting the progression from mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to Alzheimer's disease. The procedure can be readily used in clinics to measure brain atrophy, and may help physicians to predict decline in MCI...

New Fabricated Material Changes Color Instantly In Response To External Magnetic Field

Chemists have fabricated microscopic polymer beads that change color instantly and reversibly when external magnetic fields acting upon the microspheres change orientation. Applications of the new material include display type units such as rewritable or reusable signage, posters, papers and labels, and other magnetically activated security features, as well as environmentally friendly pigments...

Novel Light-sensitive Compounds Show Promise For Cancer Therapy

Chemists have developed novel compounds that show promise for photodynamic cancer therapy, which uses light-activated drugs to kill tumor cells. The new compounds, called dye-sensitized ruthenium nitrosyls, are absorbed by cancer cells and respond to specific wavelengths of light by releasing nitric oxide, which triggers cell...

Plant Microbe Shares Features With Drug-resistant Pathogen

Scientists have discovered extensive similarities between a strain of bacteria commonly associated with plants and one increasingly linked to opportunistic infections in hospital patients. The findings suggest caution in the use of the plant-associated strain for a range of biotech...

Plastics From Biomass? Inexpensive Method For Removing Oxygen From Biomass Discovered

In revisiting a chemical reaction that's been in the literature for several decades and adding a new wrinkle of their own, researchers have discovered a mild and relatively inexpensive procedure for removing oxygen from biomass. This procedure, if it can be effectively industrialized, could allow many of today's petrochemical products, including plastics, to instead be made from...

Pneumococcal Vaccine Reduces Child Deaths In Developing Countries

A new trial has found that pneumococcal vaccine is effective in preventing severe pneumonia, the leading cause of death among children in developing countries. The large scale efficacy trial – first of its kind in Asia - was carried out in the Philippines to investigate the effect of an investigational pneumococcal...