Mutant gene lessens devastation of flesh-eating bacteria

Scientists recently discovered a simple gene mutation that decreases the chance people will get a flesh-eating disease called necrotizing fasciitis. Further, they proved that inactivating this section of the gene lessens the devastating disease in humans.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm

Evolution caught in the act: Scientists measure how quickly genomes change

Mutations are the raw material of evolution. Scientists have now been able to measure for the first time directly the speed with which new mutations occur in plants. Their findings shed new light on a fundamental evolutionary process. They explain, for example, why resistance to herbicides can appear within just a few years.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm

Carbon nanotubes show promise for high-speed genetic sequencing

Scientists have demonstrated the potential of a new DNA sequencing method in which a single-stranded ribbon of DNA is threaded through a carbon nanotube.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm

Changing Behavior Helps Patients Take Medication As Prescribed

Researchers found that applying behavior changing strategies, such as using pill boxes or reducing the number of daily doses, can improve patients' abilities to take their medications as required.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm

Two proteins act as molecular tailors in DNA repair

Every day tiny segments of our DNA are chipped or fragmented or get stuck together when they should really be pulled apart. But what our genome necessarily lacks in stability it makes up for with a phalanx of guards that monitor and repair the damage.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm

Alzheimer's: How amyloid beta reduces plasticity related to synaptic signaling

The early stages of Alzheimer's disease are thought to occur at the synapse, since synapse loss is associated with memory dysfunction. Evidence suggests that amyloid beta plays an important role in early synaptic failure, but little has been understood about amyloid beta's effect on the plasticity of dendritic spines.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm

'Lifeless' prions capable of evolutionary change and adaptation

Scientists have determined for the first time that prions, bits of infectious protein devoid of DNA or RNA that can cause fatal neurodegenerative disease, are capable of Darwinian evolution.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am

Unusual protein modification involved in muscular dystrophy, cancer

With the discovery of a new type of chemical modification on an important muscle protein, a new study improves understanding of certain muscular dystrophies and could potentially lead to new treatments for the conditions.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am

Physiologic factors linked to image quality of multidetector computed tomography scans

The image quality of multidetector computed tomography scans, used for the noninvasive detection of coronary artery disease, can be significantly affected by patient characteristics such as ethnicity, body mass index and heart rate, according to a new study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am

Whiskers hold secrets of invasive minks

Details of the lifestyle of mink, which escaped from fur farms and now live wild in the UK, have been revealed through analysis of their whiskers. New research reveals more about the diet of this invasive species and provides a clue to its whereabouts. There are now plans to use the findings to eradicate it from environments where it can be devastating to native species.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 9:00 am

The nation's weather (AP)

AP - A Pacific storm was expected to slam into the Northwest on Sunday, renewing moderate rain and high-elevation snow in Washington and Oregon. The heaviest precipitation wasn't expected to fall until late in the afternoon and through the evening through Monday. This activity was to expand eastward into the Intermountain West through Monday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 2:47 am

Spaceman

Fingers crossed for Mars' Spirit of exploration
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 3 Jan 2010 | 2:44 am

Cold spell kills dozens of homeless in north India (AP)

AP - More than 30 people have died in cold weather-related incidents in northern India in the past 24 hours, including 10 people killed in train accidents caused by dense fog, police said Sunday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 2:18 am

Remains of early 1900s plane found in Antarctica (AP)

AP - Remains of the first airplane ever taken to Antarctica, in 1912, have been found by Australian researchers, the team announced.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Jan 2010 | 12:54 am

North China oil spill threatens Yellow River (AFP)

AFP - A burst oil pipeline in north China has spewed thousands of gallons (litres) of diesel into a major tributary of the Yellow River, state media said Sunday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Jan 2010 | 11:11 pm

Workers contain fuel leak in China river (AP)

AP - Workers in northern China dug diversion channels and used floating dams and solidifying agents to stem a diesel fuel leak from flowing into the Yellow River, the water source for millions of Chinese.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Jan 2010 | 9:07 pm

Mystery of San Francisco's lost sea lions 'solved'

Scientists in the US believe they may have solved the riddle of San Francisco's vanishing sea lions.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 2 Jan 2010 | 8:38 pm

Ten million Britons at risk from cancer, reveals new research

Swedish scientists confirm role played by high blood sugar levels

One in six Britons with high blood-sugar levels faces a greater danger of developing cancer, according to new research.

The findings are worrying because an estimated 10.1 million people in the UK have high blood-sugar, largely as a result of unhealthy lifestyles, especially eating foods containing a lot of sugar, salt or fat.

Excess blood sugar means someone could be more likely both to develop cancer and also to die from it, according to research in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal. Women were more vulnerable than men and high blood sugar is linked to a range of different cancers for each gender, it found.

The 10.1 million people include 2.6 million diagnosed diabetics, 500,000 others who have the disease but do not know it, and a further seven million who have pre-diabetes, a precursor to the full-blown condition.

Scientists at Umea University in Sweden, funded by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), examined blood sugar levels in 274,126 men and 275,818 women from Norway, Austria and Sweden with an average age of 44.8, then followed them up a decade later to see how many had developed or died from cancer.

They write: "Significant increases in risk among men were found for incident and fatal cancer of the liver, gallbladder, and respiratory tract, for incident thyroid cancer and multiple myeloma, and for fatal rectal cancer. In women, significant associations were found for incident and fatal cancer of the pancreas, for incident urinary bladder cancer, and for fatal cancer of the uterine corpus, cervix uteri and stomach."

Dr Tanja Stock, the lead researcher, said: "The results suggest that, for women, the higher the level of sugar in the blood, the higher the risk. For men, there was still an association, but it was weaker."

The study is significant because it found that the increased likelihood of cancer occurred regardless of the participants' body mass index levels. It does not prove that blood glucose of itself leads to cancer, but it suggests that it might promote tumour growth by acting as a source of fuel for tumour cells, especially fast-growing, highly proliferative cells.

Dr Panagiota Mitrou, the WCRF's science programme manager, said the findings "raise the possibility that controlling blood sugar levels may be a way to reduce risk of some cancers". A previous South Korean study found the same link, but this is the first research to do so among Europeans.

Dr Iain Frame, director of research at Diabetes UK, said: "This study looked at the link between high blood glucose levels such as those found in people with pre-diabetes and the relative risk of both getting cancer and dying from it. It is important, however, not to oversimplify the findings of this study. It would be wrong to conclude that high blood glucose levels alone are causing the increase in cancer cases and deaths. Nor can we say that, by controlling blood glucose levels alone, we could lower the risk of cancer. There are likely to be other factors at work, such as genetics, diet and levels of physical activity, which are all also linked to both cancer and blood glucose levels," said Frame.

People could reduce their risk of developing either pre-diabetes or Type 2 diabetes by being more physically active and eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and avoiding foods high in sugar, salt and fat, Frame added.

Dr Laura Bell, Cancer Research UK's science information officer, said: "This is an interesting study looking at blood-sugar levels and cancer risk, but it's really only looking at one part of a complicated picture.

"Research consistently shows that what we eat and drink, our levels of physical activity, our body weight – and, of course, smoking – all play a part in our cancer risk. Studies like this can help us to understand more about these links, and adds to the evidence that a healthy diet and staying active can help to reduce the risk of cancer, as well as many other diseases."

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:06 pm

Sweden culls its resurgent wolves

Sweden begins a legal cull of wolves with more than half the quota of 27 believed to have been killed on the first day.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 2 Jan 2010 | 1:44 pm

A Look At The Science Of 'Avatar'

This past holiday season's movie blockbuster Avatar was great for getting the public thinking about the possibility of extraterrestrial life. When discussing the movie on the drive home from the cinema, folks must wonder if there could be such a ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 2 Jan 2010 | 11:49 am

New Device Prints Human Tissue (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Invetech has delivered what it calls the "world's first production model 3D bio-printer" to Organovo, developers of the proprietary NovoGen bioprinting technology. Organovo will in turn supply the devices to institutions investigating human tissue repair and organ replacement.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Jan 2010 | 10:25 am

Future Truck

Businesses can be so busy doing what they do, they don't have time to do what they do, better. Take the trucking industry. Things that have been around since the sixties (the cab mounted roof deflector to be specific) still ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:54 am

Long-Lived Mars Rovers Begin Year 7 on Red Planet (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Six years ago, NASA's Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity touched down on the red planet with a team of scientists eagerly looking ahead to their short, three-month missions.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:46 am

Remains of Early 1900s Plane Found in Antarctica

An Australian explorer had once hoped to use the single-propeller plane as a motorized sled.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 2 Jan 2010 | 5:03 am