Naked Science News

Reducing Cancer Risk Factors

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:31:56 +0000

The biggest study so far into cancer risk factors confirms our understanding of the lifestyle choices that may lead to cancer... Kat - For my day job I work for Cancer Research UK and we put o...

Fred Flintstone's bed uncovered

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 18:23:34 +0000

Writing in this week's Science, University of Witwatersrand palaeontologist Professor Lyn Wadley and her colleagues describe an excavation they have carried out in a cave site called Sibudu in South A...

Seed and soil - understanding how cancers spread

Sun, 11 Dec 2011 16:15:42 +0000

Cancer is a growing problem - and because we're all living longer, we're more likely to develop the disease at some point in our lifetime. Although we've got a lot better at treating the disease in re...

Voyager Casts off the Hydrogen-Tinted Spectacles

Sun, 4 Dec 2011 12:15:03 +0000

This week a team of researchers in France, Russia and the USA have reported that Voyager Spacecrafts 1 2 - launched 34 years ago - have made it far enough out of the solar system to detect Lyman...

Spooky Diamonds a Step Towards Quantum Computing

Sun, 4 Dec 2011 12:07:30 +0000

This week, researchers from the UK, Canada and Singapore have accomplished quantum entanglement on the macro scale, entangling two millimeter-sizeddiamonds. Typically we think of objects movin...

Gauging photo fakery

Sat, 3 Dec 2011 09:06:57 +0000

A technique to quantify the perceptual impact of photo-manipulation on fashion shots has been developed by US scientists. On a daily basis, billboards, magazines and websites dish up a deluge of wri...

Antibody-based vaccine for HIV

Sat, 3 Dec 2011 08:49:14 +0000

A modified virus encoding an anti-AIDS antibody can protect animals from HIV infection. An estimated 7000 new cases of HIV occur each day, the majority of them in developing countries where access t...

Key to the Blood Brain Barrier

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 17:35:08 +0000

A signal that controls the integrity of the blood brain barrier -the system that protects and chemically cocoons the brain from the rest of the body - has been discovered. Early during embryon...

A Diode for light

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:32:28 +0000

For many years engineers have wanted to use light instead of electricity to build circuits with. It moves slightly faster, but more importantly signals can pass one another without interfering. This l...

The coldest point water can remain a liquid has been calculated

Sun, 27 Nov 2011 00:26:26 +0000

If you ask any group of school children what temperature does pure water freeze at and you will normally get the answer 0 degrees celsius, which is the standard answer and it is the temperature below ...

Statins in the water?

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:32:52 +0000

Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs are safe and a very effective way to reduce the risk of heart attacks, new research has confirmed. The latest study, which is published in the Lancet me...

Nerve transplants wire themselves into host brains

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:09:50 +0000

Embryonic nerve cells transplanted into a recipient brain survive, wire themselves up and can even correct a metabolic disorder in vulnerable individuals, scientists have discovered. Successful brai...

First seafaring fisherman

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 13:57:35 +0000

The world's oldest tackle, together with evidence of deep-sea fishing 40,000 years ago, has been unearthed in East Timor. Early human migrants, including those who first set foot in Australia 50,000...

Powering up radiotherapy

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:30:41 +0000

A way to boost the effectiveness of radiotherapy and protect patients and even astronauts fromthe effects of radiation exposure has been discovered by scientists at Oslo University. Radiothera...

Bringing Together Brain Scientists

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 18:47:24 +0000

Over 32, 000 neuroscientists, from around the world, converged in Washington, DC, this week for the 2011 Society for Neuroscience Conference, which included over 16,000 presentations! Here are just a...

More superluminal neutrinos

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:36:17 +0000

In September results indicating that neutrinos travel faster than the speed of light were released, this week the same group has released further data.The experiment is spread out between CERN near Ge...

Tree based brew

Sun, 20 Nov 2011 16:31:47 +0000

There is a large amount of energy locked up in all the wood that is left over after your planks and paper have been made, and most of this wood is in the form of soft woods from conifers. You can rele...

Chemical liposuction: fat-reducing injection success in primates

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 17:39:08 +0000

A fat-reducing drug, Adipotide, that can reverse obesity in monkeys has been successfully tested by US scientists. The agent, which was injected daily over afour week study period into a group...

The HIV transmission bottleneck

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:28:26 +0000

Researchers have found that the strain of Human Immunodeficiency Virus most abundantly present in the genital tract is not necessarily the strain that infects a sexual partner. Unprotected heterosex...

Warming Earth not so good for Arctic tree growth

Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:19:27 +0000

A group of researchers from Columbia University publishing in the journal Environmental Research Letters have found that the growth of white spruce trees on the northern treeline in the far north of A...

Pristine primordial Big Bang gas discovered

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 14:18:10 +0000

Two gas clouds containing pristine samples of the gas spawned by the Big Bang has been spotted by astronomers. Using the powerful, Hawaii-based Keck I telescope, University of California Santa Cruz ...

The National Cancer Research Institute's Cancer Conference

Mon, 7 Nov 2011 16:29:18 +0000

Kat Arney offers a roundup of the latest news, and what to expect from the National Cancer Research Institute's annual cancer conference, held this year in Liverpool... Kat - This is the Nati...

Remove Genes to Repair Nerves

Sat, 5 Nov 2011 14:05:03 +0000

Deletion of two regulatory genes allows damaged neurons to grow back in a sustained way. This could point the way to new drug targets that encourage nerve regrowth. This slide is the composite ...

Plastic brains - how IQ and brain structure change during the teenage years

Tue, 1 Nov 2011 12:05:12 +0000

Listen to an Interview with Professor Cathy Price IQ - a measure of a person's general intellectual ability - is not fixed as we first thought, but instead changes as we grow and develop, new resea...

Antiviral for Alzheimer's

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 13:50:39 +0000

Drugs targeting herpes simplex virus (HSV), the agent that causes cold sores, might also abate Alzheimer's, new research has shown. Previous research has tied HSV to dementing diseases like Alzheime...

Seaweed makes coral sea-sick

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 19:00:42 +0000

Seaweeds, also known as macroalgae, can unleash a chemical arsenal toxic to corals, scientists have found. Writing in PNAS, Georgia Institute of Technology researcher Douglas Rasher and his colleagu...

Cause of chronic fatigue?

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:47:01 +0000

A patient receiving treatment for lymphoma simultaenously recovered from chronic fatigue syndrome, revealing a novel way to combat the conditions, researchers have revealed. Chronic fatigue syndrome...

Beetle Antimicrobial peptides

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:35:23 +0000

Sitophilus, a type of beetle, have an intimate relationship with bacteria. They produce an antimicrobial peptide to control the bacteria but when it is missing, the bacteria are able to invade through...

The Importance of Sitting on Genes

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 18:22:39 +0000

Changes to DNA can occur by genetic spelling mistakes, altering the sequence of the code, or epigenetic changes. Epigenetic changes, from the Greek 'to stand on a gene', occur by sticking extra info...

Water in Another Solar System

Sun, 23 Oct 2011 17:07:33 +0000

Our Solar System may not be alone in having an abundant supply of water. That's according to a paper published this week in the Journal Science. Michiel Hogerheijde and his colleagues have been using ...

Protein "Restraining Order" for Gut Bacteria

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 12:14:11 +0000

An antibacterial protein secreted in the small intestine creates a tiny "no man's land" between the wall of the intestine and the bacteria that live inside the gut. Breakdown of this physical bu...

Need help? Ask a Child, Not a Chimp

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 09:56:44 +0000

Children are more likely to seek assistance in a task than chimpanzees, suggesting that a motivation to work together could be part of what makes us "human". Writing in the journal Current Biology, Mi...

A low protein diet increases snacking

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 14:12:02 +0000

A study published in PLoS One that shows that having a lower percentage of protein in the diet can lead to more snacking behaviour and more perceived hunger. The team from the University of Sydney, l...

Black Death Bacterium Unchanged in Centuries

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 10:52:17 +0000

Researchers have for the first time mapped the genome of Yersinia pestis, the bacterium that caused the Black Death - the plague between 1347 and 1351 that killed up to 30 million people - 50% of the ...

Always Look on the Bright Side of Life

Sun, 9 Oct 2011 16:16:36 +0000

This weekend may have brought disappointing news for English rugby fans - although well done to the Welsh - but there's always next time. Or maybe we'll win the football. For non-sports fans, this kin...

Where Earth got its water

Sun, 9 Oct 2011 10:16:17 +0000

A comet not far from Earth has shed some light on how our planet could have come by much of its water, a new study has revealed. Writing in Nature, Paul Hartogh, who is based atGermany's Max P...

Antimicrobial chemical keeps injured arteries open

Sun, 9 Oct 2011 09:29:58 +0000

Researchers have discovered a chemical signal secreted by blood cells thatprevents arteries from furring up again following injury or angioplasty. Called cathelicidin, the substance, whic...

Probing the Formation of Mercury

Tue, 4 Oct 2011 11:48:15 +0000

The Journal Science has published a special issue this week presenting the first 90 days of the MESSENGER probe's observations of the planet Mercury. The densest planet in the Solar System, Mercury is...

Designer plastics

Sun, 2 Oct 2011 14:45:49 +0000

Plastics are used all over the modern world from toothbrushes to fighter jets, because they have a very wide range of physical properties. This is partly because there are lots of different plastics w...

Solar powered air conditioning

Sun, 2 Oct 2011 14:42:00 +0000

If you are trying to use the heat from the sun, the more you can concentrate it the more useful it is, the problem is that optically the more you concentrate the sun the more directional it is and the...

Bat echlocation depends upon superfast muscles

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:02:51 +0000

A form of superfast muscle, not previously known to exist in mammals, endows bats with their echlocating abilities. Insect-eating bats hunt and navigate by firing off salvos of high-pitched soundwav...

Getting to the heart of coronary risk prediction

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 15:00:21 +0000

An analysis of electrical heart tracings from thousands of patients has revealed a new way to spot those at risk of repeat heart attacks. University of Michigan scientist Zeeshan Syed and his collea...

Moods worldwide revealed by Twitter

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 14:53:53 +0000

An analysis of over half a billion tweets worldwide has confirmed that, regardless of country or culture, we're all in a better mood in the morning! Researchers Scott Gelder and Michael ...

DEET Scrambles Sense of Smell

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:54:47 +0000

DEET is one of the most common chemicals in insect repellents, but since its invention scientists have been unable to settle a decision about exactly how it works. Now, work published in Nature ...

Teaching T Cells to Tolerate Friends

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 12:44:03 +0000

Teaching the immune system to tolerate certain friendly bacteria is an important step towards gut health, and this week researchers in America have shed some light on how and where those lessons take ...

Predator-Prey role reversal: hunter becomes hunted

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 09:23:56 +0000

A beetle larva that waves its antennae to attract amphibians before grabbing them, drinking their body juices and reducing them to a dessicated husk has been discovered by scientists in Israel. Small...

Pitcher plant-inspired liquid repellent

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 17:43:33 +0000

Inspired by the insect-eating pitcher plant, scientists have created a material capable of repelling almost any liquid, including bloodand even crude oil. Dubbed slippery liquid infused p...

Cows vs. Zebras - a Battle with Benefits

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 15:45:38 +0000

Mingling with wild herbivores at certain times of year could help livestock thrive, according to a report this week in the journal Science. For a long time it has been assumed by farmers who raise th...

Movies in the mind read by brain scanner

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:57:10 +0000

Using a brain scanner, scientists have successfully decoded and reconstructed the visual images experienced by volunteers viewing a sequence of Hollywood movies. Writing in Current Biology, Universit...

Transforming Fat by Socialising

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:18:57 +0000

Engaging in a more socially and physically challenging environment alters the type of fat in your body from white, which is for storage, to brown, which is burnt to generate heat. This study, publishe...