Science News – Newsletter for December 21, 2010

Our brains have built-in lie detector

LONDON – Scientists have discovered a circuit in our brain that lets us predict when someone is about to lie to us.

Humans have the ability to imagine what others are thinking and learn from their social habits, giving them clues as to when something is amiss.
The findings could also help explain why some …. Read the original article  : Our brains have built-in lie detector.

‘Bionic eye’ to help the blind ’see’

MELBOURNE – Blind people may soon be able to regain their sight – with help of a ‘bionic eye’.

The recruitment process has begun for the first UK trial of the ‘bionic eye, which can restore sight to blind people.

The microchip implant has already been tested in Germany, where it allowed patients to read letters and …. Original article  : ‘Bionic eye’ to help the blind ’see’.

Mice study finds link between depression and inflammatory response

WASHINGTON – Researchers at the Vanderbilt University have found that depression may be triggered by the same mechanisms that enable the immune system to respond to infection.

Chong-Bin Zhu, William Hewlett and colleagues activated the immune system in mice to produce “despair-like” behaviour that has similarities to depression in humans.

“Many people exhibit signs of … Original source on Gaea Times at : Mice study finds link between depression and inflammatory response.

Ocean acidification alters nitrogen cycling in world seas

WASHINGTON – Scientists say that increasing acidity in the sea’s waters may fundamentally change how nitrogen is cycled in them.

Nitrogen, one of the most important nutrients in the oceans, is used by all organisms to make proteins and other important compounds.

One of these groups, the ammonia oxidizers, plays an important role in determining which forms … Read more >>>.

New technology could sequence a person’s genome in minutes

WASHINGTON – Researchers at the Imperial College London scientists are developing technology that could lead to ultrafast DNA sequencing tool within ten years.

The new technology could ultimately sequence a person’s genome in mere minutes, at a fraction of the cost of current commercial techniques.

The research has suggested that scientists could eventually sequence an entire genome … Read : New technology could sequence a person’s genome in minutes.

Why Alzheimer’s patients could forget that zebras have stripes

WASHINGTON – A normal person wouldn’t forget that a zebra has stripes or that a giraffe has four legs because these are concepts related to semantic memory – something that allows us to assign meaning to words and to recall general knowledge that we have learned.

Now, a group of scientists has identified the elements of … Read : Why Alzheimer’s patients could forget that zebras have stripes.

Kashmir’s ‘Chillai Kalan’ begins, bringing on chill and memories

SRINAGAR – Tuesday marked the beginning of “Chillai Kalan”, the traditional 40-day period considered the coldest in the Kashmir Valley that ignited fond memories of the winters of yore and saw temperatures plunge to their lowest in some parts.

“As expected, the minimum temperature fell to minus 6.2 degrees in Srinagar Tuesday, which is the …. Original article  : Kashmir’s ‘Chillai Kalan’ begins, bringing on chill and memories.

Julian Assange turns on enemies, allies to defend self

MELBOURNE – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has lashed out at his enemies and his allies in a bid to defend his public and private conduct.

According to an interview with British newspaper the Times, Assange, 39, accused his media partners at the Guardian newspaper of unfairly tarnishing him by revealing the sex assault allegations he [..] Read the original article: here.

Dogs can tell size of another dog by listening to its growls

WASHINGTON – A new study from Eotvos Lorand University in Budapest, Hungary, has shown that dogs can tell the size of another dog by listening to its growls.

Peter Pongracz and his team recruited 96 dogs of various breeds and ages and presented a test group of 24 of the dogs with two projected images of …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

It’s true – winter blues really do exist!

WASHINGTON – Do you feel low during winters or are you the kind who hates summers? Turns out, weather affects our moods more than we think.

Researchers at Humboldt University in Berlin studied more than 2,000 Germans and found that people can be categorised in four basic ways – those people who are unaffected by the … Read : It’s true – winter blues really do exist!.

Autistic kids lack visual skills essential for independence: Study

WASHINGTON – A University of Bristol research has concluded that the ability to find shoes in the bedroom, apples in a supermarket, or a favourite animal at the zoo is impaired among children with autism.

This new research indicates that children with autism are unable to search effectively for objects in real-life situations – a skill … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Autistic kids lack visual skills essential for independence: Study.

Robotic surgery shows promise for head and neck cancer

WASHINGTON – University of Alabama at Birmingham researchers have suggested that less-invasive robotic surgery for upper airway and digestive track malignant tumors is as effective as other minimally invasive surgical techniques based on patient function and survival.

Head and neck squamous cell carcinomas account for about 4 percent of malignant tumors diagnosed in the United States … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Robotic surgery shows promise for head and neck cancer.

An iPhone app that acts like a ‘therapist’ to soothe your soul

WASHINGTON – Going through holiday stress? Here’s an iPhone app to soothe your soul.

The ‘pocket psychotherapist’ application has been launched just in time to help ease the end-of-the-year burdens of the workplace, shopping and family gatherings.

‘Awareness’, the brainchild of holistic therapist Ronit Herzfeld and launched last week, allows the ever-stressed, particularly at holiday time, to … Original article on : An iPhone app that acts like a ‘therapist’ to soothe your soul.

Food in early life affects fertility: Study

WASHINGTON – A new research by the University of Sheffield has revealed that the reproductive success of men and women is influenced by the food they receive at an early stage in life.

The research is the first study of its kind to show that early life food can …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

World’s best selling anti-baldness drug ‘risking men’s sexual health’

LONDON – Some doctors have claimed that young men could be jeopardizing their sexual health by taking the world’s best selling anti-baldness drug.

According to researchers, finasteride – sold in UK as Propecia – can cause serious side effects and that the drug’s labelling is inadequate.

The prescription pill [..] Read the original article: here.

Part of our brain that tells us when someone lying discovered

LONDON – Scientists from Oxford University have identified a circuit in our brain that acts as a lie detector.

Humans have the ability to imagine what others are thinking and learn from their social habits – giving them clues as to when something is incorrect.

The findings [..] Read the original article: here.

Injectable, oral contraceptives ‘don’t affect glucose, insulin levels’

WASHINGTON – A new study has found that glucose and insulin levels are not adversely affected by injectable or oral contraception.

There’s only slight increase among women using depot medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), commonly known as the birth control shot.

Researchers … Read more »».

It’s natural for girls to play with dolls and boys to like guns

WASHINGTON – Girls like to play with dolls and boys love guns because they’re programmed to do so, not due to social conditioning, suggests a new study.

Scientists have found that young chimpanzees in the wild play both boy and girl games, much like their human counterparts.

They found that although … Read more »»».

Neuroimaging ‘predicts’ which dyslexics will learn to read

WASHINGTON – Stanford University researchers have used brain imaging to predict with 90 percent precision which teenagers with dyslexia would improve their reading skills over time.

Their study, the first to identify specific brain mechanisms involved in a person’s ability to overcome reading …. Source article  : Neuroimaging ‘predicts’ which dyslexics will learn to read.

Tiger killed in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR – A tiger was found dead in Chhattisgarh with its head missing amid rising awareness across the globe to save the endangered big cats, an official said Tuesday.

The killing was reported from Amnia village, a forested zone under Kawardha, the home district of Chief Minister Raman Singh. The forest department has suspended two …. Original source  : Tiger killed in Chhattisgarh.