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ScienceDaily: Latest Science News
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Good news for nanomedicine: Quantum dots appear safe in pioneering study on primates
A pioneering study to gauge the toxicity of quantum dots in primates has found the tiny crystals to be safe over a one-year period, a hopeful outcome for doctors and scientists seeking new ways to battle diseases like cancer through nanomedicine.
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First, do no harm: Danger in standard treatment for a serious lung disease
A combination of three drugs used worldwide as the standard of care for a serious lung disease puts patients in danger of death or hospitalization, and should not be used together to treat the disease, called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, according to the surprising results of a rigorous independent study. The findings show the importance of testing treatments that doctors give for any condition -- to see if they truly help, and don't harm, patients.
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Prenatal pollution exposure dangerous for children with asthma
The link between prenatal exposure to air pollution and childhood lung growth and respiratory ailments is well established, and now a new study suggests that these prenatal exposures can be especially serious for children with asthma.
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Children Exposed to Smoking Face Long-Term Respiratory Risks
A new study shows that the health risks associated with exposure to environmental tobacco smoke among children whose parents smoke persist well beyond childhood, independent of whether or not they end up becoming smokers.
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Treatment of childhood OSA reverses brain abnormalities
Treatment of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in children normalizes disturbances in the neuronal network responsible for attention and executive function, according to a new study.
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Songbirds' learning hub in brain offers insight into motor control
To learn its signature melody, the male songbird uses a trial-and-error process to mimic the song of its father, singing the tune over and over again, hundreds of times a day, making subtle changes in the pitch of the notes. To accomplish this feat, the Bengalese finch's brain must receive and process large quantities of information about its performance and use that data to precisely control the complex vocal actions that allow it to modify the pitch and pattern of its song. Now, scientists have shown that a key brain structure acts as a learning hub, receiving information from other regions of the brain and figuring out how to use that information to improve its song, even when it's not directly controlling the action.
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Experimental bariatric surgery controls blood sugar in rodents with diabetes via novel sensing signals in gut
For the first time, scientists have shown that an experimental bariatric surgery can lower blood sugar levels in rats with type 1 diabetes.
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Arthritis drug effective against global parasite, study suggests
Medical researchers have identified an approved arthritis drug that is effective against amoebas in lab and animal studies, suggesting it could offer a low-dose, low cost treatment for the amoebic infections that cause human dysentery throughout the world.
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Drug found for parasite that is major cause of death worldwide
An existing drug has been found to be effective against Entamoeba histolytica. This parasite causes amebic dysentery and liver abscesses and results in the death of more than 70,000 people worldwide each year.
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New target to battle rheumatoid arthritis
Scientists have identified the mechanism by which a cell signaling pathway contributes to the development of rheumatoid arthritis (RA).
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Falcon 9 aborts launch attempt
A SpaceX Falcon 9 aborted its launch May 19 moments after its engines ignited when computers detected higher pressure readings than allowed. The center engine pressure built above limits and a shutdown occurred one-half second before liftoff, SpaceX officials said.
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Oxytocin improves brain function in children with autism
Preliminary results from an ongoing, large-scale study shows that oxytocin -- a naturally occurring substance produced in the brain and throughout the body -- increased brain function in regions that are known to process social information in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
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Pollution teams with thunderclouds to warm atmosphere
New simulation study shows that atmosphere warms when pollution intensifies storms. How much the warming effect of these clouds offsets the cooling that other clouds provide is not yet clear.
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Coffee drinkers have lower risk of death, study suggests
Older adults who drank coffee -- caffeinated or decaffeinated -- had a lower risk of death overall than others who did not drink coffee, according a new study.
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Newfound exoplanet may turn to dust: Planet’s dust cloud may explain strange patterns of light from its star
Researchers have detected a possible planet, some 1,500 light years away, that appears to be evaporating under the blistering heat of its parent star. The scientists infer that a long tail of debris -- much like the tail of a comet -- is following the planet, and that this tail may tell the story of the planet's disintegration. According to the team's calculations, the tiny exoplanet, not much larger than Mercury, will completely disintegrate within 100 million years.
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