Public Release: 4-Oct-2006
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Hail to the hornworts: New plant family tree sheds light on evolution of life cycles
In the history of life on earth, one intriguing mystery is how plants made the transition from water to land and then went on to diversify into the array of vegetation we see today, from simple mosses and liverworts to towering redwoods.
National Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Michigan Society of Fellows

Public Release: 4-Oct-2006
Journal of Virology
New drug blocks influenza, including bird flu virus
Opening a new front in the war against flu, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have reported the discovery of a novel compound that confers broad protection against influenza viruses, including deadly avian influenza.
UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health Education and Research Committee, National Institutes of Health, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

Public Release: 4-Oct-2006
Attachment and Human Development
U of I study: Parent's conversational style contributes to child's security
Parents who use a particular conversational style with their children -- drawing them out to elicit detailed memories about past shared events and to talk about emotions -- contribute to the child's secure attachment, sense of self-worth and eventual social competence, says a new University of Illinois study published in a September special edition of Attachment and Human Development.
National Science Foundation

Public Release: 4-Oct-2006
Astrophysical Journal
Supernova radioisotopes show sun was born in star cluster, scientists say
The death of a massive nearby star billions of years ago offers evidence the sun was born in a star cluster, say astronomers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Rather than being an only child, the sun could have hundreds or thousands of celestial siblings, now dispersed across the heavens.
NASA, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 4-Oct-2006
Psychopharmacology
Black tea soothes away stress
Daily cups of tea can help you recover more quickly from the stresses of everyday life, according to a new study by UCL (University College London) researchers. New scientific evidence shows that black tea has an effect on stress hormone levels in the body.
Unilever, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council


Public Release: 2-Oct-2006
American Naturalist
New study explains why hotter is better for insects
Organisms have been able to adapt to environments ranging from cold polar oceans to hot thermal vents. However, University of Washington researchers have discovered a limit to the powerful forces of natural selection, at least when it comes to the adaptation of insects to cold temperatures.


Public Release: 2-Oct-2006
Pediatrics
New study: Preterm birth causes one-third of all infant deaths
Nearly twice as many babies died because they were born premature than official government statistics indicate, according to a new analysis of birth and death certificates. Preterm birth, birth at less than 37 completed weeks gestation, contributed to more than one-third of infant deaths within the first year of life in 2002. The findings confirms the urgent role preventing preterm birth can play in improving infant mortality in the United States.


Public Release: 1-Oct-2006
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Almost half of men who pay for sex already have a partner
Almost half of men who pay for sex already have a partner, reveals a small survey reported in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections. The authors used survey data from a standard health screening questionnaire completed by more than 2500 men at one sexual health clinic between October 2002 and February 2004.


Public Release: 30-Sep-2006
American Journal of Psychiatry
Men, women have similar rates of compulsive buying, Stanford study shows
Contrary to popular opinion, nearly as many men as women experience compulsive buying disorder, a condition marked by binge buying and subsequent financial hardship, according to new research from the Stanford University School of Medicine.


Public Release: 29-Sep-2006
Brain
Study identifies part of brain responsible for tone deafness
A new study has discovered that the brains of people suffering from tone deafness are in fact lacking in white matter. The study published in the current issue of Brain was conducted by a team of researchers from the Université de Montréal, the Montreal Neurological Institute and the Newcastle University Medical School.
Fonds de recherche en santé du Québec, Centre for Interdisciplinary Research in Music Media and Technology, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Wellcome Trust (UK)


Public Release: 28-Sep-2006
Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis
Psychologist increases preschooler compliance in study
Parents and teachers can dramatically increase the compliance of preschool children who don't obey -- and head off serious behavior problems down the road -- by closely following a little-known, three-step "guided compliance" regimen.


Public Release: 28-Sep-2006
Science
Montessori education provides better outcomes than traditional methods, study indicates
A study comparing outcomes of children at a public inner-city Montessori school with children who attended traditional schools indicates that Montessori education leads to children with better social and academic skills. The study appears in the Sept. 29, 2006, issue of the journal Science.


Public Release: 27-Sep-2006
Nature
Tarantulas produce silk from their feet
Researchers have found for the first time that tarantulas can produce silk from their feet as well as their spinnerets, a discovery with profound implications for why spiders began to spin silk in the first place.


Public Release: 27-Sep-2006
Journal of Law and Economics
FSU study: Abortion notification, consent laws reduce risky teen sex
Laws that require minors to notify or get the consent of one or both parents before having an abortion reduce risky sexual behavior among teens, according to a Florida State University law professor in Tallahassee, Fla.

I have culled these most recent scientific finds as being the most significant from EurekAlert!'s Breaking News.

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Public Release: 23-Sep-2006
Geology
Dinosaurs' climate shifted too, reports show
Ancient rocks from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean suggest dramatic climate changes during the dinosaur-dominated Mesozoic Era, a time once thought to have been monotonously hot and humid.
National Science Foundation, Geological Society of America

Public Release: 22-Sep-2006
2006 General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union
Astrophysical Journal
Hubble finds hundreds of young galaxies in the early universe
Astronomers analysing two of the deepest views of the cosmos made with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have uncovered a gold mine of galaxies, more than 500, that existed less than a thousand million years after the Big Bang.

Public Release: 22-Sep-2006
Paleobiology
Ancient birds flew on all-fours
The earliest known ancestor of modern-day birds took to the skies by gliding from trees using primitive feathered wings on their arms and legs, according to new research by a University of Calgary paleontologist. In a paper published in the journal Paleobiology, Department of Biological Sciences Ph.D. student Nick Longrich challenges the idea that birds began flying by taking off from the ground while running and shows that the dinosaur-like bird Archaeopteryx soared using wing-like feathers on all of its limbs.

Public Release: 21-Sep-2006
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Lucky find off Galapagos
During a research expedition off South America, scientists discover widespread ethane and propane produced by microorganisms in deeply-buried sediments. Their findings on the production of energy-laden gases appear in the online edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings suggest that microbes in the ecosystem below the seafloor carry out hitherto unrecognized processes, relevant to both our understanding of global element cycles and the metabolic abilities of Earth's microbial biosphere.

Public Release: 21-Sep-2006
Nature
Meet the earliest baby girl ever discovered
The find of an australopithecus afarensis child will help to answer important questions concerning human evolution.

Public Release: 20-Sep-2006
Nature Immunology
Killer' B cells demonstrate evolutionary link between fish and mammal immune systems
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have discovered a unique evolutionary link between the immune systems of fish and mammals in the form of a primitive version of B cells, white blood cells of the immune system. Unlike mammalian B cells, which produce antibodies, these "killer" B cells actually ingest foreign particles and microbes. The finding represents a sizeable evolutionary step and offers a potential strategy for developing needed fish vaccines.
National Science Foundation, US Department of Agriculture

Public Release: 20-Sep-2006
Biology Letters
Squid skin reveals hidden messages
In research published today in the journal Biology Letters, MBL (Marine Biological Laboratory) researchers Lydia Mäthger and Roger Hanlon present evidence that the polarized aspect of the skin of the longfin inshore squid, Loligo pealeii, is maintained after passing through the pigment cells responsible for camouflage.

Public Release: 20-Sep-2006
Earth's most diverse marine life found off Indonesia's Papua Province
Two recent expeditions led by Conservation International (CI) to the heart of Asia's "Coral Triangle" discovered dozens of new species of marine life including epaulette sharks, "flasher" wrasse and reef-building coral, confirming the region as the Earth's richest seascape.
Conservation International

Public Release: 20-Sep-2006
Neuron
Emotional control circuit of brain's fear response discovered
Columbia University Medical Center researchers have identified the neurocircuit that controls the brain's response to fear. Results suggest that it may be possible to understand psychiatric disorders, such as anxiety or depression, from the underlying neurophysiology -- workings of the brain.

Public Release: 20-Sep-2006
Neuron
How the brain keeps emotions at bay
Daily life requires that people cope with distracting emotions -- from the basketball player who must make a crucial shot amidst a screaming crowd, to a salesman under pressure delivering an important pitch to a client. Researchers have now discovered that the brain is able to prevent emotions from interfering with mental functioning by having a specific "executive processing" area of the cortex inhibit activity of the emotion-processing region.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Kavli Institute for Brain Sciences, Neurobiology and Behavior Research Training Program

Public Release: 19-Sep-2006
Scientists discover new ring and other features at Saturn
Saturn sports a new ring in an image taken by NASA's Cassini spacecraft on Sunday, Sept. 17, during a one-of-a-kind observation. Other spectacular sights captured by Cassini's cameras include wispy fingers of icy material stretching out tens of thousands of kilometers from the active moon, Enceladus, and a cameo color appearance by planet Earth.

Public Release: 19-Sep-2006
Optics Express
Breakthrough in computer chip design eliminates wires in data transmission
Research slated to appear in the Oct. 2 edition of the Optical Society of America's Optics Express will unveil that researchers have created a new laser-silicon hybrid computer chip that can produce laser beams that will make it possible to use laser light rather than wires to send data between chips, removing the most significant bottleneck in computer design.

Public Release: 19-Sep-2006
Current Biology
UCI scientists discover a new healthy role for fat
Too much body fat may be a bad thing, but there is increasing evidence that too little fat also may have some surprisingly negative consequences.

Public Release: 19-Sep-2006
American Journal of Epidemiology
Same mortality but higher suicide rate among women with breast implants
A study conducted among 24,600 women by two Université Laval Faculty of Medicine researchers and their colleagues from the Canadian Public Health Agency and Cancer Care Ontario concludes that having breast implants does not increase mortality risk. However, the study reveals that the suicide rate among women with breast implants is 73 percent higher than in the general population.

Public Release: 19-Sep-2006
Brain
First evidence that musical training affects brain development in young children
Researchers have found the first evidence that young children who take music lessons show different brain development and improved memory over the course of a year compared to children who do not receive musical training, according to research published in the journal Brain.
International Foundation for Music Research, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Sound Technology Promotion Foundation

Public Release: 18-Sep-2006
Astrophysical Journal
Scientists snap images of first brown dwarf in planetary system
Scientists using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered and directly imaged a small brown dwarf star, 50 times the mass of Jupiter, orbiting with a planet around a sun-like star. Such an arrangement has never before been seen but might be common, the scientists say, leading to solar systems with distorted planetary orbits.
NASA, Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council of the UK, Italian Space Agency

Public Release: 18-Sep-2006
Current Biology
Brain's action center is all talk
Areas in the premotor cortex involved in specific actions (kicking, biting, etc.) are also active when subjects hear descriptions of those actions. The first direct comparison of action and language in specific motor areas, this study supports the thesis that meaning is "embodied" rather than segregated in a separate area of the brain.
National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation

Public Release: 18-Sep-2006
Current Biology
Mirrors in the mind: New studies elucidate how the brain reflects onto itself the actions of others
In three new independent studies, researchers have deepened our understanding of the remarkable ability of some specialized areas of the brain to activate both in response to one's own actions and in response to sensory cues, such as sight, of the same actions perpetrated by another individual. This ability is thought to be based in the activity of so-called mirror neurons, which have been hypothesized to contribute to skills such as empathy, socialized behavior and language acquisition.
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Oderzoek vidi, Brain Mapping Medical Research Organization

Public Release: 7-Sep-2006
Journal of Biogeography
Scientist's persistence sheds light on marine science riddle
When he started compiling an online database of seashells 15 years ago, Dr. Gary Rosenberg did not envision that his meticulous record-keeping would eventually shed light on a 40-year-old evolutionary debate. The debate involves the mechanism underlying the island rule: that small animals isolated on islands evolve to be larger than their mainland relatives, and large animals evolve to be smaller.

Public Release: 7-Sep-2006
Intelligence
Males have greater G: sex differences in general mental ability
A study of 100,000 17- to 18-year-olds on the Scholastic Assessment Test published in the September 2006 issue of the journal Intelligence, has confirmed a surprising new finding-that men have a 4- to 5-point IQ advantage over women by adulthood. Because girls mature faster than boys, the sex difference is masked during the school years, which explains why the sex difference was missed for 100 years.

Public Release: 7-Sep-2006
British Journal of Psychiatry
Study of twins finds genetic link to fatigue
A genetic study of twins by researchers in Cardiff University's School of Medicine (Department of Psychological Medicine) found that although disabling fatigue and depression occur together, they have different genetic and environmental causes.

Public Release: 7-Sep-2006
Feelings matter less to teenagers
Teenagers take less account than adults of people’s feelings and, often, even fail to think about their own, according to a UCL neuroscientist. The results, presented at the BA Festival of Science today, show that teenagers hardly use the area of the brain that is involved in thinking about other people’s emotions and thoughts, when considering a course of action.

Public Release: 7-Sep-2006
BA Festival of Science
Climate change rocked cradles of civilization
Severe climate change was the primary driver in the development of civilisation, according to new research by the University of East Anglia.

Public Release: 6-Sep-2006
White on white: Nation's first ever 'whiteness' survey provides new insight on race
What whites think about their own race is the focus of a first-of-its-kind national survey by researchers in the University of Minnesota's department of sociology. From a telephone survey of more than 2,000 households nationwide, results show that there is more recognition among white people of their own racial identity and the social privileges that come with it than was previously thought.

Public Release: 31-Aug-2006
Statistics in Medicine
St. Jude first to describe new statistical method
Statisticians at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have developed a new technique that allows researchers to statistically analyze results of clinical trials.
National Institutes of Health, American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities

Public Release: 31-Aug-2006
Cell
In a technical tour de force, Salk scientists take a global view of the epigenome
A collaboration between researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of California at Los Angeles captured the genome-wide DNA methylation pattern of the plant Arabidopsis thaliana - the "laboratory rat" of the plant world - in one big sweep. "In a single experiment we recapitulated 20 years worth of anecdotal findings and then some," says senior author Joseph Ecker, Ph.D., a professor in the Salk Institute's Plant Biology Laboratory.