Science News – Newsletter for November 11, 2010

Tiny cricket possesses world’s ‘biggest’ testicles

LONDON – It may only be half the size of a human finger, but the tuberous bushcricket has the biggest testicles in the world relative to its body weight!

Scientists have discovered that the male of the specie has testes which are 14 percent of its whole body mass. It would be the human …. Original article  : Tiny cricket possesses world’s ‘biggest’ testicles.

Study finds marketing strategies of beer ‘affect alcohol intake in students’

WASHINGTON – In a new study, psychologists from the University of Missouri have found that marketing strategies can affect individual behaviours in very significant ways.

Two MU psychologists have found that students who viewed images of beer cans packaged and displayed in university colours …. Source  : Study finds marketing strategies of beer ‘affect alcohol intake in students’.

Smoking ban leads to major decrease in maternal smoking, pre-term births

WASHINGTON – A new study revealed that strong smoke-free policies can improve foetal outcomes by significantly reducing the prevalence of maternal smoking.

Researchers from the University of Colorado School of Pharmacy collected data from mothers residing in Pueblo, Colo., before and after a citywide smoking ban took effect.

Results … Read : Smoking ban leads to major decrease in maternal smoking, pre-term births.

Scientists discover ‘gateway of fear’ in brain

LONDON – a research team led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has taken an important step toward understanding how the brain reacts to fear.

David J. Anderson, the Benzer Professor of Biology at Caltech and a Howard Hughes Medical … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Scientists discover ‘gateway of fear’ in brain.

Tiny paper plane soars at 90,000 feet in space

LONDON – Who needs a multi-billion-dollar spacecraft to study the earth when you can use a paper plane?

The plane, with a wing span of three feet and made of paper straws, was launched using just a large helium balloon.
The craft soared to 90,000 feet before the balloon exploded, after which the plane glided …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Developing nations facing ‘obesity epidemic’

WASHINGTON – A global policy group has called on the governments of developing nations to take comprehensive action to tackle the rising incidence of obesity.

According to a new report released by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), obesity levels have reached endemic proportions in such countries, reports Discovery News.

The OECD assessed obesity …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Developing nations facing ‘obesity epidemic’.

New electronic sensor ‘better than sniffer dogs’ at detecting bombs

WASHINGTON – Tel Aviv University scientists have developed a new electric sensor that is small, portable, and is more sensitive and reliable at detecting explosives than any sniffer dog.

Prof. Fernando Patolsky said the sensor is especially effective at detecting TNT.

However, drawbacks include high cost, lengthy decoding times, size, and a need for expert analyses.

“There is … Read more >>>.

Global dimming threatening Beijing, Delhi the most, warn scientists

LONDON – Scientists and environmental experts scheduled to attend a UN-sponsored Environment Program in Cancun, Mexico, this month, have warned that “global dimming” is emerging as the latest threat to planet Earth, and added that cities like Beijing and New Delhi lie just beneath atmospheric brown cloud, thought to be caused mainly by the use … Original article on : Global dimming threatening Beijing, Delhi the most, warn scientists.

190-mn-yr old ‘world’s oldest’ dino embryos discovered in South Africa

WASHINGTON – Palaeontologists have discovered the world’s oldest known dinosaur embryos that date to the early Jurassic Period 190 million years ago, in South Africa.

They belong to Massospondylus, a member of a group of dinosaurs called prosauropods that were ancestors to the giant, plant-eating sauropods. Sauropods are the iconic four-legged dinosaurs known for their long …. Source  : 190-mn-yr old ‘world’s oldest’ dino embryos discovered in South Africa.

Deaf adults ’see better’ than hearing people

WASHINGTON – A new research at the University of Sheffield has revealed that deaf adults can react more quickly to visual cues than those who can hear well.

Dr Charlotte Codina, from the University’s Academic Unit of Ophthalmology and Orthoptics found that children born deaf are slower to react to objects in their peripheral vision compared …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Deaf adults ’see better’ than hearing people.

Dietary intervention in infancy can cut diabetes risk among kids

WASHINGTON – Dietary intervention in infancy can prevent the initiation of the disease process leading to Type 1 diabetes among high-risk children, a Finnish study has shown.

The study population comprised 230 newborn infants with at least one family member affected by type 1 diabetes and a predisposing genotype based on screening cord blood at birth. … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Dietary intervention in infancy can cut diabetes risk among kids.

Mid-aged women with high cholesterol not at risk for Alzheimer

WASHINGTON – A new Johns Hopkins-led research has found that high cholesterol levels in middle age do not appear to increase women’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia later in life.

It found that women whose cholesterol levels decline from middle age to old age are at 2.5 times greater risk of … Original article on : Mid-aged women with high cholesterol not at risk for Alzheimer.

Bed rests for pregnant mums may be harmful: Study

WASHINGTON – A recent study by a nurse has found that prescribed bed rest has a down side for pregnant women.

Judith Maloni, professor at the Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, said a comprehensive review of more than 70 evidence-based research articles challenges whether bed rest is healthy for …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Bed rests for pregnant mums may be harmful: Study.

Sociability ‘may lie in our genes’

WASHINGTON – How well a person performs in a group may be hereditary, according to a new study by University of Edinburgh researchers.

They found that strong genetic influences have a major influence on how loyal a person feels to their social group.

Scientists asked sets of twins a series of questions about how important it was … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Sociability ‘may lie in our genes’.

Extramarital sexual affairs were common in Amazonian cultures

WASHINGTON – A new study has revealed that in some Amazonian cultures, extramarital sexual affairs were common, and people believed that when a woman became pregnant, each of her sexual partners would be considered part-biological father.

The study by University of Missouri found that up to 70 percent of Amazonian cultures might have believed in …. Source  : Extramarital sexual affairs were common in Amazonian cultures.

Trojan Horse trick to deliver drugs into brains of stroke patients

WASHINGTON – Development of a long-sought method with the potential for getting medication through a biological barrier that surrounds the brain, where it may limit the brain damage caused by stroke, has been reported by scientists.

Their approach for sneaking the nerve-protective drug erythropoietin into the brain is medicine’s version of the Trojan Horse ploy straight … Read : Trojan Horse trick to deliver drugs into brains of stroke patients.

Pregnant mums using paracetamol ‘may up risk of childhood asthma’

WASHINGTON – Team of UK scientists has found an evidence suggesting that the risk of childhood asthma associated with prenatal paracetamol exposure may depend on antioxidant genes in the mother.

Led by Seif Shaheen, Professor of Respiratory Epidemiology at Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, the team examined data from the British Avon … Read more : Pregnant mums using paracetamol ‘may up risk of childhood asthma’.

Coming soon: Device that wakes up drivers snoozing at the wheel

LONDON – In an aim to help keep drowsy drivers alert on the road, a team of German scientists have invented a built-in sensor that will sound an alarm the moment it detect their eyelids have closed.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Media Technology have developed an eye-tracking device that could save 300,000 lives …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Pleasurable activities like food, sex cut stress: study

WASHINGTON – Researchers at the University of Cincinnati have said that pleasurable activity, whether food or sex, reduces stress by inhibiting anxiety responses in the brain.

Experiments designed by Yvonne Ulrich-Lai, research assistant professor, James Herman, director of the Laboratory of Stress Neurobiology at UC, and colleagues also indicated that the reduced-stress effects continued for at … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Pleasurable activities like food, sex cut stress: study.

Genes may influence cancer growth: Study

WASHINGTON – A study has indicated that the genes we possess not only determine the color of our eyes and hair and how our bodies grow, but they might also influence the changes that occur in tumors when we develop cancer.

A study by researchers at the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer …. Read the original article  : Genes may influence cancer growth: Study.