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Electrical engineers build 'no-waste' laser - Researchers have built the smallest room-temperature nanolaser to date, as well as an even more startling device: a highly efficient, "thresholdless" laser that funnels all its photons into lasing, without any waste....

'Dark plasmons' transmit energy - Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via "dark plasmons," according to researchers....

Substance P causes seizures in patients infected by pork tapeworm - A neuropeptide called Substance P is the cause of seizures in patients with brains infected by the pork tapeworm....

Deconstructing a mystery: What caused Snowmaggedon? - Scientists are using computer models to help unravel the mystery of a record-setting snowfall in the Washington, DC area in early 2010....

Most lethal known species of prion protein identified - Scientists have identified a single prion protein that causes neuronal death similar to that seen in "mad cow" disease, but is at least 10 times more lethal than larger prion species....

Hydrogen from acidic water: Potential low cost alternative to platinum for splitting water - A technique for creating a new molecule that structurally and chemically replicates the active part of the molybdenite catalyst paves the way for developing catalytic materials that can serve as effective low-cost alternatives to platinum for generating hydrogen gas from water....

To perform with less effort, practice beyond perfection - Whether you are an athlete, a musician or a stroke patient learning to walk again, practice can make perfect, but more practice may make you more efficient, according to a surprising new study....

Ocean microbe communities changing, but long-term environmental impact is unclear - As oceans warm due to climate change, water layers will mix less and affect the microbes and plankton that pump carbon out of the atmosphere ? but researchers say it's still unclear whether these processes will further increase global warming or decrease it. It could be either, they say....

Chemists harvest light to create 'green' tool for pharmaceuticals - Researchers have created a new, ?green? method for developing medicines. The researchers used energy from a light bulb to create an organic molecule that may be useful in the treatment of Alzheimer?s and other brain diseases....

Gene therapy boosts brain repair for demyelinating diseases - Our bodies are full of tiny superheroes -- antibodies that fight foreign invaders, cells that regenerate, and structures that ensure our systems run smoothly. One such structure is myelin, a material that forms a protective cape around the axons of our nerve cells so that they can send signals quickly and efficiently. But myelin becomes damaged in demyelinating diseases like multiple sclerosis, leaving neurons without their sheaths. Researchers now believe they have found a way to help the brain replace damaged myelin....

Ocean warming causes elephant seals to dive deeper - Global warming is having an effect on the dive behavior and search for food of southern elephant seals. Researchers have discovered that the seals dive deeper for food when in warmer water. The scientists attribute this behavior to the migration of prey to greater depths and now wish to check this theory using a new sensor which registers the feeding of the animals below water....

Seismic resistance: Model analyzes shape-memory alloys for use in earthquake-resistant structures - Recent earthquake damage has exposed the vulnerability of existing structures to strong ground movement. Researchers are now analyzing shape-memory alloys for their potential use in constructing seismic-resistant structures....

Baby knows best: Baby-led weaning promotes healthy food preferences - A new study has shown that babies who are weaned using solid finger food are more likely to develop healthier food preferences and are less likely to become overweight as children than those who are spoon-fed pureed food....

New battery could lead to cheaper, more efficient solar energy - Scientists have found that a new type of battery has the potential to improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of solar power....

Physically abused children report higher levels of psychosomatic symptoms - Children who display multiple psychosomatic symptoms, such as regular aches and pains and sleep and appetite problems, are more than twice as likely to be experiencing physical abuse at home than children who do not display symptoms. Researchers who studied 2,510 children found a strong association between reported physical abuse and three or more psychosomatic symptoms. The association was highest in children who were physically abused and also witnessed intimate partner violence....

Secrets of immune response illuminated in new study - When disease-causing invaders like bacteria infect a human host, cells of various types swing into action, coordinating their activities to address the threat. Scientists have now investigated the coordination of a particular type of immune response, involving the release of of IFN-λ -- a cell-signaling protein molecule known as a cytokine....

Nanotube therapy takes aim at breast cancer stem cells - Researchers have again shown that injecting multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) into tumors and heating them with a quick, 30-second laser treatment can kill them....

Right hand or left? How the brain solves a perceptual puzzle - When you see a picture of a hand, how do you know whether it's a right or left hand? This "hand laterality" problem may seem obscure, but it reveals a lot about how the brain sorts out confusing perceptions. Now, a new study challenges the long-held consensus about how we solve this problem....

What kind of chocolate is best? The last you taste, says a new study - Like to save the best for last? Here's good news: If it's the last, you'll like it the best....

How the zebra got its stripes - Horseflies are unpleasant insects that deliver powerful bites and now it seems that zebras evolved their stripes to avoid attracting the unpleasant pests. New research show that zebras have the least attractive hides for horseflies....

Amazing skin gives sharks a push - Shark skin has long been known to improve the fish's swimming performance by reducing drag, but now a new study show that in addition, the skin generates thrust, giving the fish an extra boost. The duo also discovered that Speedo's shark skin-inspired Fastskin® FS II fabric surface does not improve swimming speed, although they point out that the figure hugging costumes probably enhance performance in other ways....

Mobile launcher tests confirm designs, NASA analysis concludes - The 355-foot-tall mobile launcher, or ML, behaved as expected during its move to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in November 2011, an analysis of multiple sensors showed. The top of the tower swayed less than an inch each way....

Fruit fly turn-on: A sexy, youthful smell may make up for advancing age - Beauty is more than skin deep, at least for fruit flies studied in new research that demonstrates how age-related changes in pheromone production can reduce sexual attractiveness....

NASA small explorer mission celebrates 10 years and 40,000 X-ray flares - On February 5, 2002, NASA launched what was then called the High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI) into orbit. Renamed within months as the Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) after Reuven Ramaty, a deceased NASA scientist who had long championed the mission, the spacecraft's job was to observe giant explosions on the sun called solar flares. Ten years since its launch, RHESSI has observed more than 40,000 X-ray flares, helped craft and refine a model of how solar eruptions form, and fueled additional serendipitous science papers on such things as the shape of the sun and thunder-storm-produced gamma ray flashes....

Mars-bound NASA rover carries coin for camera checkup - The camera at the end of the robotic arm on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has its own calibration target, a smartphone-size plaque that looks like an eye chart supplemented with color chips and an attached penny. When Curiosity lands on Mars in August, researchers will use this calibration target to test performance of the rover's Mars Hand Lens Imager, or MAHLI. MAHLI's close-up inspections of Martian rocks and soil will show details so tiny, the calibration target includes reference lines finer than a human hair. This camera is not limited to close-ups, though. It can focus on any target from about a finger's-width away to the horizon....

NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer in standby mode - NASA's Galaxy Evolution Explorer, or Galex, was placed in standby mode Feb. 7, 2012 as engineers prepare to end mission operations, nearly nine years after the telescope's launch. The spacecraft is scheduled to be decommissioned -- taken out of service -- later this year. The mission extensively mapped large portions of the sky with sharp ultraviolet vision, cataloguing millions of galaxies spanning 10 billion years of cosmic time....

Global sea level rise: NASA mission takes stock of Earth's melting land ice - In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, researchers have used NASA data to calculate how much Earth's melting land ice is adding to global sea level rise. Using satellite measurements from the NASA/German Aerospace Center Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), the researchers measured ice loss in all of Earth's land ice between 2003 and 2010, with particular emphasis on glaciers and ice caps outside of Greenland and Antarctica. The total global ice mass lost from Greenland, Antarctica and Earth's glaciers and ice caps during the study period was about 4.3 trillion tons (1,000 cubic miles), adding about 0.5 inches (12 millimeters) to global sea level. That's enough ice to cover the United States 1.5 feet (0.5 meters) deep....

New views show old NASA Mars landers - The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter recorded a scene on Jan. 29, 2012, that includes the first color image from orbit showing the three-petal lander of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Spirit mission. Spirit drove off that lander platform in January 2004 and spent most of its six-year working life in a range of hills about two miles to the east....

Presdisposition to common heart disease 'passed on from father to son' - A common heart disease which kills thousands each year may be passed genetically from father to son, according to a new study....

Tiny primate is ultrasonic communicator - Tarsiers' ultrasonic calls -- among the most extreme in the animal kingdom -- give them a "private channel" of communication, says an anthropologist....

Financial burden of prescription drugs is dropping, U.S. study finds - The financial challenge Americans face paying out-of-pocket costs for prescription drugs has declined, but the costs remain a burden to many families, according to a new study. Despite the improvement, more than 8 million non-elderly Americans live in families with a high drug-cost burden....

Memory strengthened by stimulating key site in brain - Ever gone to the movies and forgotten where you parked the car? New research may one day help you improve your memory. Neuroscientists have demonstrated that they can strengthen memory in human patients by stimulating a critical junction in the brain....

January 2012 fourth warmest for contiguous United States, but Alaska extremely cold - During January, warmer-than-average conditions enveloped most of the contiguous United States, with widespread below-average precipitation. The overall weather pattern for the month was reflected in the lack of snow for much of the Northern Plains, Midwest, and Northeast. This scenario was in stark contrast to Alaska where several towns had their coldest January on record....

DNA sequencing helps identify cancer cells for immune system attack - DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists. The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack. The new results suggest that scientists may now be able to combine DNA sequencing data with their knowledge of the triggers and targets that set off immune alarms to more precisely develop vaccines and other immunotherapies for cancer....

Transformational fruit fly genome catalog completed - Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail ? more insight into predicting how an animal?s genes affect physical or behavioral traits ? now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries in everything from pest control to personalized medicine....

Fasting weakens cancer in mice - New study finds that short fasting cycles can work as well as chemotherapy, and the two combined greatly improve survival....

Gene therapy for inherited blindness succeeds in patients' other eye - Gene therapy for congenital blindness took another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. The patients were better able to see in dim light, with no adverse effects....

Some formerly cohabiting couples with children keep romantic relationship - When low-income cohabiting couples with children decide to no longer live together, that doesn?t necessarily mean the end of their romantic relationship, a new study suggests....

Sound rather than sight can activate 'seeing' for the blind, say researchers - Scientists have tapped onto the visual cortex of the congenitally blind by using sensory substitution devices (SSDs), enabling the blind in effect to "see" and even describe objects. SSDs are non-invasive sensory aids that provide visual information to the blind via their existing senses. For example, using a visual-to-auditory SSD in a clinical or everyday setting, users wear a miniature video camera connected to a small computer (or smart phone) and stereo headphones. The images are converted into "soundscapes," using a predictable algorithm, allowing the user to listen to and then interpret the visual information coming from the camera....

New image captures 'stealth merger' of dwarf galaxies - New images of a nearby dwarf galaxy have revealed a dense stream of stars in its outer regions, the remains of an even smaller companion galaxy in the process of merging with its host. The host galaxy, known as NGC 4449, is the smallest primary galaxy in which a stellar stream from an ongoing merger has been identified and studied in detail....

Milky Way's black hole found grazing on asteroids - The giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the frequent flares observed, according to astronomers....

Study to determine whether fish oil can help prevent psychiatric disorders - A new study was designed to test whether Omega-3 fatty acids improve clinical symptoms, and help adolescents and young adults (ages 12 to 25) who are at elevated risk for severe psychiatric disorders function better in school, work and other social environments....

Why bad immunity genes survive - Biologists have found new evidence of why mice, people and other vertebrate animals carry thousands of varieties of genes to make immune-system proteins named MHCs -- even though some of those genes make vertebrate animals susceptible to infections and to autoimmune diseases....

After-school program can reduce alcohol use among middle school students, study finds - A voluntary substance prevention program held after school and presented by trained facilitators can help reduce alcohol use among young adolescents, according to a new study....

Report on Texas fire urges firefighters to consider wind effects - Wind conditions at a fire scene can make a critical difference on the behavior of the blaze and the safety of firefighters, even indoors, according to a new report....

New 'cell assay on a chip:' Solid results from simple means - A research engineer combined a glass slide, plastic sheets and double-sided tape to build a "diffusion-based gradient generator", a tool to rapidly assess how changing concentrations of specific chemicals affect living cells....

Octagonal window of opportunity for carbon capture - Scientists have gathered new insight into the performance of a material called a zeolite that may filter carbon dioxide far more efficiently than current industrial "scrubbers" do....

Charter service: Encasing the Magna Carta - You often hear about the Framers of the Constitution, but not so much the framers of the Magna Carta. They work for the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Not the authors, of course; they've been dead 700 years. But a NIST engineering team, at the behest of the National Archives, designed and built a state-of-the-art encasement and transport cart to protect the Archive's prized copy of the 1297 Magna Carta....

Timing capability added to living cell sensors - Individual cells modified to act as sensors using fluorescence are already useful tools in biochemistry, but now they can add good timing to their resume....

Flipping a light switch in the cell: Quantum dots used for targeted neural activation - By harnessing quantum dots, researchers have developed a new and vastly more targeted way to stimulate neurons in the brain. Being able to switch neurons on and off and monitor how they communicate with one another is crucial for understanding -- and, ultimately, treating -- a host of brain disorders....

Unusual 'collapsing' iron superconductor sets record for its class - Scientists have found an iron-based superconductor that operates at the highest known temperature for a material in its class. The discovery inches iron-based superconductors closer to being useful in many practical applications....

Heart disease may be a risk factor for prostate cancer - In a large analysis of men participating in a prostate drug trial, researchers found a significant correlation between coronary artery disease and prostate cancer, suggesting the two conditions may have shared causes....

Arsenic criticality poses concern for modern technology - Risks related to the critical nature of arsenic -- used to make high-speed computer chips that contain gallium arsenide -- outstrip those of other substances in a group of critical materials needed to sustain modern technology, a new study has found. Scientists evaluated the relative criticality of arsenic and five related metals....

'Shish kebab' structure provides improved form of 'buckypaper' - Scientists are reporting development of a new form of buckypaper, which eliminates a major drawback of these sheets of carbon nanotubes -- 50,000 times thinner than a human hair, 10 times lighter than steel, but up to 250 times stronger -- with potential uses ranging from body armor to next-generation batteries....

Lull in ship noise after Sept. 11 attacks eased stress on right whales - Exposure to low-frequency ship noise may be associated with chronic stress in whales, according to a new study. The study, conducted in Canada's Bay of Fundy, has implications for all baleen whales in areas with heavy ship traffic, and for the recovery of the endangered North Atlantic right whale population....

Physical activity yields feelings of excitement, enthusiasm - People who are more physically active report greater levels of excitement and enthusiasm than people who are less physically active, according to researchers. People also are more likely to report feelings of excitement and enthusiasm on days when they are more physically active than usual....

Bubble-powered microrockets zoom have potential to zoom through the human stomach, other acidic environments - Scientists have developed a new kind of tiny motor -- which they term a "microrocket" -- that can propel itself through acidic environments, such as the human stomach, without any external energy source, opening the way to a variety of medical and industrial applications. Their report describes the microrockets traveling at virtual warp speed for such devices. A human moving at the same speed would have to run at a clip of 400 miles per hour....

Spotlight on Carina Nebula stellar nursery - Astronomers have obtained the most detailed ? and dramatic - infrared image of the Carina Nebula stellar nursery taken so far. Many previously hidden features have emerged....

Obstacles no barrier to higher speeds for worms - Obstacles in an organism's path can help it to move faster, not slower, researchers have found through a series of experiments and computer simulations. Their findings have implications for a better understanding of basic locomotion strategies found in biology, and the survival and propagation of the parasite that causes malaria....

Growing up on a farm directly affects regulation of the immune system, study finds - A new study has shown, for the first time, that growing up on a farm directly affects the regulation of the immune system and causes a reduction in the immunological responses to food proteins....