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Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 8, 2014 at 9:25am

Why Indian party manifestoes are silent on science
How committed are Indian political parties on science and research? Not much, if one is to go by their manifestoes.
http://www.mizonews.net/nation/why-indian-party-manifestoes-are-sil...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 8, 2014 at 9:16am

Yawning cools the brain?
Common belief is that yawning helps to increase the oxygen supply. However, previous research has failed to show an association between yawning and blood oxygen levels. New research by a team of researchers led by Psychologist Andrew Gallup of SUNY College at Oneonta, USA now reveals that yawning cools the brain. Sleep cycles, cortical arousal and stress are all associated with fluctuations in brain temperature, Yawning subsequently functions to keep the brain temperature balanced and in optimal homeostasis. According to this theory, yawning should also be easily manipulated by ambient temperature variation, since exchange with cool ambient air temperature may facilitate lowering brain temperature. Specifically, the researchers hypothesized that yawning should only occur within an optimal range of temperatures, i.e., a thermal window.
While most research on contagious yawning emphasizes the influence of interpersonal and emotional-cognitive variables on its expression, this report adds to accumulating research suggesting that the underlying mechanism for yawning, both spontaneous and contagious forms, is involved in regulating brain temperature. In turn, the cooling of the brain functions to improve arousal and mental efficiency. The authors of this study suggest that the spreading of this behavior via contagious yawning could therefore function to enhance overall group vigilance.
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/05/07/yawning.cool.brain

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 8, 2014 at 7:12am

A new combination of immunotherapies seems to work better than anyone had expected. Therapies that target the tumor with immunotherapies that boost a patient’s own defenses.”

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 8, 2014 at 7:08am

Surgeons Try Cold Cutting for Critically Injured
A clinical trial tests whether induced hypothermia can allow surgeons to save critically wounded patients who would not survive surgery at normal temperatures

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 8, 2014 at 6:50am

Age- and diet-associated metabolome remodeling characterizes the aging process driven by damage accumulation
Aging is thought to be associated with increased molecular damage, but representative markers vary across conditions and organisms, making it difficult to assess properties of cumulative damage throughout lifespan. We used nontargeted metabolite profiling to follow age-associated trajectories of >15,000 metabolites in Drosophila subjected to control and lifespan-extending diets. We find that aging is associated with increased metabolite diversity and low-abundance molecules, suggesting they include cumulative damage. Remarkably, the number of detected compounds leveled-off in late-life, and this pattern associated with survivorship. Fourteen percent of metabolites showed age-associated changes, which decelerated in late-life and long-lived flies. In contrast, known metabolites changed in abundance similarly to nontargeted metabolites and transcripts, but did not increase in diversity. Targeted profiling also revealed slower metabolism and accumulation of lifespan-limiting molecules. Thus, aging is characterized by gradual metabolome remodeling, and condition- and advanced age-associated deceleration of this remodeling is linked to mortality and molecular damage.
http://elifesciences.org/content/3/e02077

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 7, 2014 at 9:39am

Facial Expressions Aren’t As Universal As Scientists Have Thought
For nearly half a century, social scientists have operated under the assumption that all basic human emotions are universally recognizable. Countless cross-cultural experiments—not to mention a few television shows—have both directly and implicitly referenced the notion that every person on earth expresses facial emotion in the same way. Regardless of cultural context, we can all interpret happiness, sadness, anger, fear, and disgust in the expressions of the people around us.

Led by Northeastern University’s Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett and her post-doctoral researcher Maria Gendron, the new study shows that facial emotional recognition isn’t universal at all, and that previous studies pointing to universal expressions used methods that were highly dependent on context. In reality, a person’s ability to correctly register the emotion on another’s face hinges entirely on how those emotions are presented.
http://www.popsci.com/article/science/facial-expressions-arent-univ...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 7, 2014 at 9:38am

Taking notes longhand will help you remember information better than typing them out, according to new research from a pair of psychologists from Princeton University and UCLA.

The study, published in the journal Psychological Science, compared how well more than 300 students retained information after taking notes on 15-minute TED Talks either by hand or with a laptop. Across three different experiments, the researchers found that taking notes with a laptop can be detrimental to learning. Both groups performed about the same when recalling facts from the lectures half an hour later, but longhand note-takers were much better at recalling concepts.
http://www.fastcodesign.com/3029713/the-best-way-to-remember-someth...

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 7, 2014 at 9:30am

Gender may contribute to recovery time after concussion
A study of concussion patients using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) found that males took longer to recover after concussion than females did. Results of the study, which show that DTI can be used as a bias-free way to predict concussion outcome, are published online in the journal Radiology.
"Diffusion tensor imaging is the first imaging technique that shows abnormalities associated with concussion, because it is able to see white matter tracts at a microscopic level."
The DTI scans revealed that compared to the female mTBI patients, the male mTBI patients had significantly decreased UF FA values.
''Sex Differences in White Matter Abnormalities after Mild Traumatic Brain Injury: Localization and Correlation with Outcome ''
http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/abs/10.1148/radiol.14132512

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 7, 2014 at 9:24am

Each time a human cell divides, it must first make a copy of its 46 chromosomes to serve as an instruction manual for the new cell. Normally, this process goes off without a hitch. But from time to time, the information isn't copied and collated properly, leaving gaps or breaks that the cell has to carefully combine back together. Researchers have long recognized that some regions of the chromosome,called "fragile sites," are more prone to breakage and can be a breeding ground for human cancers. But they have struggled to understand why these weak spots in the genetic code occur in the first place.

A comprehensive mapping of the fragile sites in yeast by a team of Duke researchers shows that fragile sites appear in specific areas of the genome where the DNA-copying machinery is slowed or stalled, either by certain sequences of DNA or by structural elements. The study, which appears May 5 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, could give insight into the origins of many of the genetic abnormalities seen in solid tumors.
In this study, researchers wanted to find the link between the copier malfunction and its genetic consequences on a genome-wide scale. First, he knocked down the levels of DNA polymerase in yeast cells to ten-fold lower than normal. Then he used microarray or "gene chip" technology to map where segments of DNA had been rearranged, indicating that a fragile site had once been there.

After finding those fragile sites, his laboratory spent more than a year combing through the literature for any recurring themes among the genomic regions they had uncovered. Eventually they showed that the fragile sites were associated with sequences or structures that stalled DNA replication, esoteric entities such as inverted repeats, replication termination signals, and transfer RNA genes.
In addition these fragile sites created a surprisingly unstable genome, resulting in a chaotic milieu of rearrangements, duplications and deletions of pieces of DNA or even the gain or loss of entire chromosomes.
"It has been known for a long time that many cancer cells have an abnormal number of chromosomes, and many different chromosome rearrangements have been observed in various tumor cells. It is likely that there are many different causes of chromosome instability in cancer cells. The current work suggests that those chromosomal rearrangements observed at fragile sites and found in solid tumors may be due to breaks from perturbed replication."

-http://duke.edu/

Comment by Dr. Krishna Kumari Challa on May 7, 2014 at 9:19am

Are we ready for contact with extraterrestrial intelligence?
The SETI project scientists are known for tracking possible extraterrestrial signals, but now they are also considering sending messages from Earth telling of our position. A researcher from the University of Cádiz (Spain) questions this idea in view of the results from a survey taken by students, revealing the general level of ignorance about the cosmos and the influence of religion when tackling these matters. The Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence (SETI) project is an initiative that began in the 70s with funding from NASA, but that has evolved towards the collaboration of millions of Internet users for the processing of data from the Arecibo Observatory (Puerto Rico), where space tracking is carried out.

Now the members of this controversial project are trying to go further and not only search for extraterrestrial signs, but also actively send messages from Earth (Active SETI) to detect possible extraterrestrial civilisations.. Astrophysicists, such as Stephen Hawking, have already warned of the risk that this implies for humanity, since it could favour the arrival of beings with more advanced technology and dubious intentions.
The ethical and sociological implications of this proposal have been analysed by the neuro-psychologist Gabriel G. de la Torre, professor at the University of Cádiz and participant in previous projects such as Mars 500 or space psychology topical team project financed by the European Space Agency, who wonders: "Can such a decision be taken on behalf of the whole planet? What would happen if it was successful and 'someone' received our signal? Are we prepared for this type of contact?"
The results, published in the journal 'Acta Astronautica', indicate that, as a species, humanity is still not ready for trying to actively contact a supposed extraterrestrial civilisation, since people lack knowledge and preparation. For this reason, SETI researchers are recommended in this study to look for alternative strategies.

"This pilot study demonstrates that the knowledge of the general public of a certain education level about the cosmos and our place within it is still poor. Therefore, a cosmic awareness must be further promoted -- where our mind is increasingly conscious of the global reality that surrounds us -- using the best tool available to us: education," De la Torre emphasised. "In this respect, we need a new Galileo to lead this journey."

It was deduced from the questionnaires, which will soon be available to everyone on line, that university students and the rest of society lack awareness on many astronomical aspects, despite the enormous progress of science and technology. It also revealed that the majority of people consider these subjects according to their religious belief and that they would rely on politicians in the event of a huge global-scale crisis having to be resolved.

"Regarding our relation with a possible intelligent extraterrestrial life, we should not rely on moral reference points of thought, since they are heavily influenced by religion. Why should some more intelligent beings be 'good'?," added the researcher, who believes that this matter should not be monopolized by a handful of scientists: "In fact, it is a global matter with a strong ethical component in which we must all participate."
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/05/06/are.we.ready.contact.wi...

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