13424478
submission
mmmscience writes:
In 2009, a series of small earthquakes shook the region of L'Aquila, Italy. Seismologists investigated the tremors, but concluded that there was no direct indication of a big 'quake on the horizon. Less than a month later, a magnitude-6.3 earthquake killed more than 300 people. Now, the chief prosecutor of L'Aquila is looking to charge the scientists with gross negligent manslaughter for not predicting the 'quake.
7634022
submission
mmmscience writes:
Researches have found a new sensory system in the skin that is completely separate from the traditional nerve network that gives us the sense of touch. The new system, comprised of sensory nerves found on blood vessels and sweat glands, is not nearly as potent, but does allow people to sense temperatures and textures. The research suggests that the system may play a role in chronic pain disorders such as migraines and fibromyalgia, conditions whose causes remain a mystery.
7099048
submission
mmmscience writes:
CT scans of mummies have revealed that heart disease was also a common problem 3500 years ago. The scans show calcification of arterial pathways, a preserved sign of atherosclerosis, the heart disease caused by hardening arteries. Of the 16 mummies that had intact arteries, nine showed signs of significant calcification. Dr. Gregory Thomas, co-lead author on the study, stated, "The findings suggest that we may have to look beyond modern risk factors to fully understand the disease."
5576147
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m8d17-Up-to-90-percent-of-US-paper-money-has-traces-of-cocaine Scientists have found that up to 90% of US paper money has some cocaine contamination, up from the 67% mark measured two years ago. Looking at bills from 17 cities, it's no surprise that the city with the highest level was Washington DC, where up to 95% of bills gathered there tested positive. From a global standpoint, both Canada and Brazil tested rather high (85% and 80%, respectively), But China and Japan were well behind the curve at 20% and 12%. The researchers hope that studies such as these will be of help to law enforcement agencies that are attempting to understand the growth and flow of drug use in communities.
5441007
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m8d4-Psychopaths-have-brain-structure-abnormality A group of scientists have identified a structure in the brain of psychopaths that is abnormal when compared to controls. The change is found in the uncinate fasciculus, a bridge of white matter that connects the amygdale (emotion/aggression brain region) and the orbitofrontal cortex (decision making region). Interestingly, the greater the abnormality in the region, the more severe the levels of sociopathy in a subject. A researcher on the team suggests the finding could have considerable implications in the world of criminal justice, where such scans could presumably be presented as evidence in a trial.
5134605
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m7d8-Monkeys-show-language-recognition The cotton-top tamarin monkeys can apparently tell the difference between suffixes and prefixes. They will turn to face the direction of recorded words when they hear the nonsense syllables "bi-shoy" change to "shoy-bi." The lead author, Ansgar Endress, suggests that this is just like how human infants learn language, by tracking the beginning and ends of words.
5056517
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m7d1-Daily-sex-helps-improve-fertility While fertility studies lately seem to have been exclusively focused on in vitro fertilization [IVF], new data coming out of Australia may help with unaided successful conceptions. The study has found that men who have ejaculate daily produce sperm with less damaged DNA. While such actions decrease sperm concentration, it does increase motility, meaning healthier sperm have a better chance of making it all the way to the egg. Good news, as another report [http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/esfh-cpa063009.php] has found severe chromosome abnormalities in over 90% of IVF eggs, meaning artificial insemination is just now discovering a whole new field of problems.
4834013
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m6d12-Wiihab-boosts-Parkinsons-treatments Scientists are investigating the use of Wii Sports as a form of treatment for those suffereing form Parkinson's. After a four-week study, researchers found that rounds of tennis, bowling, and boxing improved rigidity, movement, fine motor skills and energy levels as well as decreasing the occurrence of depression. It is thought that combining exercise and video games helps to increase dopamine levels, a chemical that is deficient in Parkinson's. The therapy is gaining notoriety under the name of Wii-hab.
4396943
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m5d5-New-study-finds-the-flu-virus-paralyzes-immune-system A study coming out of Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, has found that the influenza virus manages to dysregulate the immune system, allowing other infections to thrive in the body. This discovery, coming at an opportune time as the world battles the new H1N1 flu outbreak, may be the first step in understanding why the flu can cause such high mortality rates in normally healthy individuals.
4318747
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m4d28-Evidence-that-some-large-dinosaurs-survived-mass-extinction A US paleontologist are challenging one of the field's greatest theories: the mass extinction of dinosaurs at the end of the Cretaceous period. Jim Fassett, a paleontologist who holds an emeritus position at the U. S. Geological Survey, recently published a paper in Palaeontologia Electronica with evidence that points to a pocket of dinosaurs that somehow survived in remote parts New Mexico and Colorado for up to half a million years past the end of the Cretaceous period. If true, these dinosaurs would be the only ones that made it to the Paleocene Age. The original journal article can be read here: http://www.palaeo-electronica.org/2009_1/149/index.html
4062995
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m4d7-New-discovery-may-end-transplant-rejection Big news in the medical world: scientists in Australia have found a way to stop the body from attacking organ transplants, greatly decreasing the possibility of organ rejection. Researchers focused on regulatory T cells which are capable of quieting the immune system, stopping the killer T cells from seeking out and attacking foreign objects such as newly transplanted tissue.
3943961
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m3d29-Researchers-identify-brain-activity-related-to-phantom-limbs Researchers in Switzerland think they had identified the regions of the brain responsible for creating phantom limbs and the senses that go along with them. Scientists studied a stroke victim who claimed that the phantom limb of her now-paralyzed left arm could do a number of things a normal limb could do, including "scratch an itch on her head, with an actual sense of relief."
3784703
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m3d17-Against-the-odds-ancient-octopus-fossils-discovered A new study published in a recent copy of Paleontology is a truly terrific find. Not only did a group of European scientists find a fossilized octopus, they found five complete fossils that show all eight legs in great detail, including a ghost of the characteristic suckers. The discovery of the 95-million-year-old specimens was made in Lebanon.
3549757
submission
mmmscience writes:
http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m2d25-UCLA-team-creates-functional-neurons-from-adult-somatic-cells Researchers at UCLA have accomplished a task that has long vexed stem cell researchers: They've created the first electronically active neurons from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. This is a great leap forward for stem cell researchers, who can apply these neurons to the study of neurodegenerative diseases.
