Brightsurf Science News and Current Science News Events
 
Does too much sun cause melanoma?
We are continuously bombarded with messages about the dangers of too much sun and the increased risk of melanoma (the less common and deadliest form of skin cancer), but are these dangers real, or is staying out of the sun causing us more harm than good?


Heart disease is linked to worse mental processes that, in turn, predict the onset of dementia
Coronary heart disease is associated with a worse performance in mental processes such as reasoning, vocabulary and verbal fluency, according to a study of 5837 middle-aged Whitehall civil servants.




New Guidelines for Treating Rheumatoid Arthritis
Proven combinations of medicines and the introduction of new anti-arthritis drugs have significantly improved the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), according to guidelines issued by the American College of Rheumatology and co-authored by physicians at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB).


Outflow from World's Largest River - the Amazon - Powers Atlantic Ocean Carbon
Nutrients from the Amazon River's outflow spread well beyond the continental shelf and drive carbon cycling in the tropical ocean, say scientists who conducted a multi-year study. They will publish their results this week online in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).


Unique fossil discovery shows Antarctic was once much warmer
A new fossil discovery- the first of its kind from the whole of the Antarctic continent- provides scientists with new evidence to support the theory that the polar region was once much warmer.


Age-old magic tricks can provide clues for modern science
Revealing the science behind age-old magic tricks will help us better understand how humans see, think, and act, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia and Durham University in the U.K.


Action needed now for Minnesota to reach goals in reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2015
The state of Minnesota must act now if it wants to reach its Minnesota Next Generation Energy Act goals of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 15 percent by 2015, according to a team of University of Minnesota transportation and public policy researchers.


Scientists find new clues to explain Amazonian biodiversity
Ice age climate change and ancient flooding-but not barriers created by rivers-may have promoted the evolution of new insect species in the Amazon region of South America, a new study suggests.


New Chlorine-Tolerant, Desalination Membrane Hopes to Boost Access to Clean Water
A chemical engineering professor at The University of Texas at Austin is part of a team that has developed a chlorine-tolerant membrane that should simplify the water desalination process, increasing access to fresh water and possibly reducing greenhouse gases.


Nanotech: A regulatory blueprint for the next administration
Nanotechnology will significantly change virtually every facet of the way we live. The next president has the opportunity to shape these changes and to ensure that nanotechnology's benefits will be maximized and its risks identified and controlled.


Study suggests past climate changes may have promoted the formation of new species in the Amazon
The results of a new study suggest that past climate changes and sea level fluctuations may have promoted the formation of new species in the Amazon region of South America.


No need for gene screens in breast cancer families
Research reported today should provide relief to women who are worried after a relative's breast cancer diagnosis. The study in the open access journal BMC Cancer shows that a family history of breast cancer does not give a useful indication of the likelihood that a woman will develop it herself at an early age.


Tuberculosis presents major challenges to HIV treatment in developing countries
Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care and treatment programs in resource-limited settings must aggressively address tuberculosis (TB) and the emerging multidrug-resistant TB epidemic to save patient lives and to curb the global TB burden, a major cause of death for persons with HIV.


Cancer drug delivery research at Case Western Reserve University cuts time from days to hours
Researchers at Case Western Reserve University have developed a technique that has the potential to deliver cancer-fighting drugs to diseased areas within hours, as opposed to the two days it currently takes for existing delivery systems.


'Stuffy nose' mouse: A promise to help treat 31 million with sinusitis
Mice with inflamed nasal tissue being tested at a Johns Hopkins laboratory may be unable to tell if something smells bad or good, but their sensory deficit is nothing to turn up a nose at.


Use of sildenafil associated with improvement in antidepressant-related sexual dysfunction in women
Women with sexual dysfunction caused by the use of antidepressants experienced a reduction in adverse sexual effects with use of sildenafil, commonly known as the erectile dysfunction medication Viagra.


Biology enters 'The Matrix' through new computer language
Ever since the human genome was sequenced less than 10 years ago, researchers have been able to access a dizzying plethora of genomic information with a simple click of a mouse. This digitizing of genomic data-and its public access-is something that would have been unthinkable a generation earlier.


Sugar study is sweetener for stem cell science
Scientists at The University of Manchester are striving to discover how the body's natural sugars can be used to create stem cell treatments for heart disease and nerve damage - thanks to a £370,000 funding boost.


Bovine tuberculosis in wildlife threatens endangered lynx and cattle health
In an epidemiological survey of Spain's Doñana National Park, the findings of which are published on July 23 in the journal PLoS ONE, Christian Gortázar and colleagues studied the prevalence of bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) infection among populations of wild boar, red deer and fallow deer in the national park, which is located in southern Spain.


Checking more lymph nodes linked to cancer patient survival
Why do patients with gastric or pancreatic cancer live longer when they are treated at cancer centers or high-volume hospitals than patients treated at low-volume or community hospitals?


Identification of protein able to stimulate production of T-cells
A team of Canadian and Finnish scientists has identified a protein able to stimulate the production of T-cells, the white blood cells involved in the recognition and the elimination of infectious agents.


Parasitic worm infections increase susceptibility to AIDS viruses
Persons infected with schistosomes, and possibly other parasitic worm infections, may be more likely to become infected with HIV than persons without worm infections, according to a study published July 23rd in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases.


Study helps identify which populations of foreign-born persons living in US at higher risk of TB
The relative yield of finding and treating latent tuberculosis is particularly high among higher-risk groups of foreign-born persons living in the U.S., such as individuals from most countries of sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia.


Pandemic flu: Most nursing homes don't have a plan
If an influenza pandemic hits the United States, acute care hospitals are likely to be overwhelmed. Nursing homes may then be expected to assist with the patient overflow, but a new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggests that many are not prepared for such a task.


Robot playmates may help children with autism
Papers delivered at three conferences in the US and Europe this summer report on new research at the University of Southern California Viterbi School of Engineering studying interactions of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) with bubble-blowing robots.


Scientists Test System to Forecast Flash Floods along Colorado's Front Range
People living near vulnerable creeks and rivers along Colorado's Front Range may soon get advance notice of potentially deadly floods, thanks to a new forecasting system being tested this summer by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, Colo.


Mars Sample Return: bridging robotic and human exploration
The first robotic mission to return samples to Earth from Mars took a further step toward realisation with the recent publication of a mission design report by the iMARS Working Group. The report defines key elements of the future internationally-funded mission involving the cooperation of ESA, NASA and other national agencies.


Small birth size linked to changes in the cardiovascular system that predispose to later disease
Researchers have found the first evidence that smaller size at birth is associated with specific alterations in the functioning of the heart and circulation in children and that these changes differ between boys and girls.


How carrots help us see the color orange
One of the easiest ways to identify an object is by its color -- perhaps it is because children's books encourage us to pair certain objects with their respective colors. Why else would so many of us automatically assume carrots are orange, grass is green and apples are red?


Drug abuse accounts for a third of the deaths behind Scotland's higher mortality rate
Drug abuse accounts for a third of the deaths behind Scotland's higher mortality rate, according to a study published on bmj.com today.


Security flaws in online banking sites found to be widespread
More than 75 percent of the bank Web sites surveyed in a University of Michigan study had at least one design flaw that could make customers vulnerable to cyber thieves after their money or even their identity.


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