SciTech Daily

May 13, 2013

Meta-Analysis Identifies Four New Genetic Risk Factors for Testicular Cancer

Researchers have identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer, supporting the notion that testicular cancer is a disorder of germ cell development and maturation. Philadelphia — A new study looking at the genomes of more than 13,000 men identified four new genetic variants associated with an increased risk of [...]

May 13, 2013

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Study Shows Link Between Individual Experience and Brain Structure

In a new study, neuroscientists examine how individual experiences influence the development of new neurons, leading to measurable changes in the brains of mice. How do organisms evolve into individuals that are distinguished from others by their own personal brain structure and behavior? Scientists in Dresden, Berlin, Münster, and Saarbrücken have now taken a decisive [...]

May 13, 2013

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Earthquake Doublets Reveal Changing Speed of the Earth’s Inner Core

A newly published study provides the first experimental evidence that the Earth’s inner core has rotated at a variety of different speeds and suggests that the Earth’s solid inner core rotates at a different rate than the mantle. We all know that the Earth rotates beneath our feet, but new research from ANU has revealed [...]

May 13, 2013

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BEER Algorithm Identifies Exoplanet Kepler-76b

Using the BEER algorithm, which relies on Einstein’s special theory of relativity, scientists discovered a new exoplanet known as Kepler-76b. Cambridge, Masschusetts – Detecting alien worlds presents a significant challenge since they are small, faint, and close to their stars. The two most prolific techniques for finding exoplanets are radial velocity (looking for wobbling stars) [...]

May 13, 2013

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Hubble Views Galaxy 2MASX J05210136-2521450

This new image from the Hubble Space Telescope shows galaxy 2MASX J05210136-2521450. When we look into the distant cosmos, the great majority of the objects we see are galaxies: immense gatherings of stars, planets, gas, dust, and dark matter, showing up in all kind of shapes. This Hubble picture registers several, but the galaxy cataloged [...]

May 10, 2013

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Researchers Improve Spin Coherence Time of Nitrogen Vacancy Centers

In a new study, researchers demonstrate an improvement of more than two orders of magnitude in the spin coherence time of nitrogen-vacancy centers as compared with previous measurements. The findings could advance quantum sensing, enable squeezing and many-body entanglement, and open a path to simulating driven, interaction-dominated quantum many-body Hamiltonians. From brain to heart to [...]

May 10, 2013

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Protein Makes Old Hearts Younger, Reverses Some Effects of Aging

Researchers have identified a protein in the blood of mice and humans that may prove to be the first effective treatment for a form of age-related heart failure, finding in mice that hearts reduced in size and thickness and resembled healthy hearts of younger mice when the protein GDF-11 was injected. Two Harvard Stem Cell [...]

May 10, 2013

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Physicists Discover First Direct Evidence of Pear Shaped Nuclei in Exotic Atoms

A newly published study details the how physicists discovered the first direct evidence of pear shaped nuclei in exotic atoms, a finding that could help explain why the Big Bang created more matter than antimatter. Ann Arbor — An international team of physicists has found the first direct evidence of pear shaped nuclei in exotic [...]

May 10, 2013

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Study Suggests Earth and Moon Have Common Water Source

Using a multicollector ion microprobe to study hydrogen-deuterium ratios in lunar rock and on Earth, a new study suggests that water on the Moon is leftover from when a giant collision sent a disc of debris from Earth to form the Moon, about 4.5 billion years ago. Providence, Rhode Island (Brown University) — Water inside [...]

May 10, 2013

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Project 1640 Reveals Precise Composition Information about Four HR 8799 Planets

Using infrared cameras equipped with spectrographs at the Palomar Observatory in California, Project 1640 was able to get precise composition information about four planets around one overwhelmingly bright star, HR 8799. The data revealed that all four planets, though nearly the same in temperature, have different compositions. Gone are the days of being able to [...]

May 9, 2013

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Hubble Finds Planetary Debris Whirling Around Two White Dwarfs

The Hubble Space Telescope has detected signs of Earth-like planets in debris whirling around two white dwarfs, finding silicon in the stars’ atmospheres and detecting low levels of carbon. The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has found signs of Earth-like planets in an unlikely place: the atmospheres of a pair of burnt-out stars in a nearby [...]

May 9, 2013

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Brainwave Activity Predicts How Well People Can Overcome Ingrained Biases

A newly published study found that theta brainwave activity in the prefrontal cortex predicts how well people can overcome ingrained biases when better choices are available. The research could be applied to studying and treating conditions such as addiction or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Providence, Rhode Island — Vertebrates are predisposed to act to gain rewards and [...]