news 2012

By combining the observing powers of ESA's Herschel space observatory and the ground-based Keck telescopes, astronomers have characterised hundreds of previously unseen starburst galaxies, revealing extraordinary high star-formation rates across the history of the Universe. Starburst galaxies give birth to hundreds of solar masses' worth of stars each year in short-lived but intense events.

Humans may be endowed with the ability to perform complex forms of learning, attention and function but the evolutionary process that led to this has put us at risk of mental illness. Data from new research, published today , was analysed by Richard Emes, a bioinformatics expert from the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science at The University of Nottingham.

Using a new method for estimating greenhouse gases that combines atmospheric measurements with model predictions, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) researchers have found that the level of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas, in California may be 2.5 to 3 times greater than the current inventory.

Claims that forest leaves rich in nitrogen may aid in reflecting infrared radiation - thereby cooling the atmosphere - have been challenged by new research that shows that the structure of forests' canopies is a more important factor in infrared reflection. Recent studies have noticed a strong positive correlation between the concentration of nitrogen in forests and infrared reflectance measured from aircraft and satellites.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. An animal scientist in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences played a role in the first complete sequencing of the pig genome by an international team of researchers. The study, conducted by the International Swine Genome Sequencing Consortium, provides a genetic comparison of the domesticated pig and its wild cousins.

Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have shown that the cells that produce glucagon are stimulated by the hormone itself. A previous study by the same group demonstrated that this principle also applies to insulin. This means that a feedback system is at work in the body, whereby hormone secreting cells receive an immediate signal to produce more of the hormone.

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It's a basic tenet of physics that scientists are trying to explain in graphene, single-atom thick sheets of carbon: When electrons are excited, or heated, how quickly do they relax, or cool? A research team supported by the Kavli Institute at Cornell for Nanoscale Science has shed some light on the topic through the first known direct measurements of hot electrons cooling down in graphene.

Scientists have found that low-level exposure to organophosphates (OPs) produces lasting decrements in neurological and cognitive function. Memory and information processing speed are affected to a greater degree than other cognitive functions such as language. The systematic review of the literature was carried out by researchers at UCL and the Open University.

Based on a news release from the Wellcome Trust Researchers have identified four new genetic regions that influence birth weight, providing further evidence that genes as well as maternal nutrition are important for growth in the womb. Three of the regions are also linked to adult metabolism, helping to explain why smaller babies have higher rates of chronic diseases later in life.

Women suffering from sleep apnea have, on the whole, a higher degree of brain damage than men with the disorder, according to a first-of-its-kind study conducted by researchers at the UCLA School of Nursing . The findings are reported in the December issue of the peer-reviewed journal SLEEP. Obstructive sleep apnea is a serious disorder that occurs when a person's breathing is repeatedly interrupted during sleep, sometimes hundreds of times.

Four new genetic regions that influence babies' birth weight have been identified by an international research team involving the University of Oxford. The findings provide further evidence that genes are important for growth in the womb, as well as the mother's nutrition. Together, the newly identified genetic regions have a surprisingly large effect on birth weight when compared with other known influences.

ANN ARBOR-New research from the University of Michigan School of Public Health found BPA, or bisphenol A, in fetal liver tissue, demonstrating that there is considerable exposure to the chemical during pregnancy. Researchers also found a proportionately higher concentration of free BPA-as opposed to the conjugated forms modified by the body for elimination-further showing that in fetuses the ability to eliminate the chemical from the body is not the same as in adults.

Empirically rich new study finds most people alter their risk-management approach depending on the type of financial decision. Take a moment to consider some of the financial choices you've made in recent years. Do you have a consistent approach to your money, either by playing it safe or having a willingness to take risks?

A team of researchers from the University of Warwick, working with the University of Manchester, have been awarded £5.2 million to investigate our immune response and how it is affected by ageing. The grant is part of BBSRC 's Strategic Longer and Larger Awards scheme, which give world-leading teams the time and resources to address areas of key strategic importance.

The assumption that childhood cancer in developing countries is prohibitively expensive to treat is challenged by new research contributed to by the University of Sydney. "Our findings mean it is time to re-evaluate global health policy," said Alexandra Martiniuk from the University's School of Public Health and The George Institute.

Researchers have identified four new genetic regions that influence birth weight, providing further evidence that genes as well as maternal nutrition are important for growth in the womb. Three of the regions are also linked to adult metabolism, helping to explain why smaller babies have higher rates of chronic diseases later in life.

Everyone knows that men and women tend to hold different views on certain things. However, new research by scientists from the University of Bristol and published in PLoS ONE indicates that this may literally be the case. Researchers examined where men and women looked while viewing still images from films and pieces of art.

Diagram showing the hierarchy of TFs and CGGs networks and the novel strategy of drug design based on hierarchical gene-TF network analysis. The blue squares are schizophrenia-related; the red squares are autism-related CGGs and TFs. Some CGGs and TFs are common for both disorders, while some are unique for each disorder.

After two decades of satellite observations, an international team of experts brought together by ESA and NASA has produced the most accurate assessment of ice losses from Antarctica and Greenland to date. This study finds that the combined rate of ice sheet melting is increasing. The new research shows that melting of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets has added 11.1 mm to global sea levels since 1992.