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• Research backs more strategies for children with autism
• New test targets salmonella
• Salamanders help predict health of forest ecosystems, inform forest management
• 'Love hormone' oxytocin carries unexpected side effect
• Wolf predation of cattle affects calf weight in Montana
• Reducing liver protein SIRT1 levels
• Polar bear diet changes as sea ice melts
• Best techniques for intracellular particle tracking
• Online comments can undermine anti-smoking PSAs
• Analysis of salamander jump reveals an unexpected twist
• Parental exposure to marijuana linked to drug addiction, compulsive behavior in unexposed progeny
• Organic chemical origins in hydrothermal systems
• A gel that is clearly revolutionary: soft hydrogels turned into ionic conductors with diverse applications, from artificial muscles to transparent audio speakers
• Small elliptical exercise device may promote activity while sitting
• Famine, not calcium absorption, may have driven evolution of milk tolerance in Europeans
• Old bird, New World: Did the South American hoatzins originate in Europe?
• Climate change research is globally skewed
• Spider silk ties scientists up in knots
• Internet advertising: Paid search ads don't always pay off, study finds
• Study could aid in development of 'liquid biopsy' screening, diagnostic tests for bladder cancer
• Unlocking the brain's secrets using sound
• New index detects early signs of deviation from normal brain development
• Source of Galapagos eruptions not where models place it
• Pathogenic plant virus jumps to honeybees, may explain bee population decline

Research backs more strategies for children with autism Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:28 AM PST The National Professional Development Center on Autism Spectrum Disorders has released its much-anticipated update on evidence-based practices for children and youth with autism. Articles published over two decades were reviewed in order to locate the soundest research on interventions for children from birth to age 22.

New test targets salmonella Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:27 AM PST An array of tiny diving boards can perform the Olympian feat of identifying many strains of salmonella at once.

Salamanders help predict health of forest ecosystems, inform forest management Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:27 AM PST Researchers have determined that salamander population size reflects forest habitat quality and can predict how ecosystems recover from forest logging activity. They believe these findings can be translated to other species within forest ecosystems throughout the world.

'Love hormone' oxytocin carries unexpected side effect Posted: 22 Jan 2014 08:26 AM PST Some psychologists are keen to prescribe oxytocin off-label, in order to treat mild social unease in those who don't suffer from a diagnosed disorder. Not such a good idea, say researchers.

Wolf predation of cattle affects calf weight in Montana Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:41 AM PST A recent study found that wolf predation of cattle contributes to lower weight gain in calves on western Montana ranches. This leads to an economic loss at sale several times higher than the direct reimbursement ranchers receive for a cow killed by wolves.

Reducing liver protein SIRT1 levels Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:41 AM PST A new study demonstrates that the abnormal metabolism linked to obesity could be regulated in part by the interaction of two metabolic regulators, called the NAD-dependent deacetylase SIRT1 and fibroblast growth factor 21. Using experimental models, the researchers found that a lack of SIRT1 protein in the liver led to lower levels of a liver secreted protein FGF21, which resulted in an increased likelihood of developing fatty liver disease and obesity.

Polar bear diet changes as sea ice melts Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:40 AM PST At least some polar bears in the western Hudson Bay population are using flexible foraging strategies while on land, such as prey-switching and eating a mixed diet of plants and animals, as they survive in their rapidly changing environment, new research suggests.

Best techniques for intracellular particle tracking Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:40 AM PST A new article describes a contest for the best technique of intracellular particle tracking. Intracellular particle tracking requires simultaneous tracking of the motions of hundreds and thousands of intracellular organelles, virions and even individual molecules. Techniques proposed by all the participants find their own ways for solving the problem.

Online comments can undermine anti-smoking PSAs Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:40 AM PST Commentary accompanying anti-smoking public service announcements (PSAs) in online forums like YouTube has an impact on the PSA's overall effectiveness. Both negative and positive comments accompanying PSAs degrade the persuasiveness of the videos.

Analysis of salamander jump reveals an unexpected twist Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:25 AM PST A small, secretive creature with unlikely qualifications for defying gravity may hold the answer to an entirely new way of getting off the ground. Analysis of high-speed film reveals how salamanders —- or at least several species of the Plethodontidae family -— achieve vertical lift.

Parental exposure to marijuana linked to drug addiction, compulsive behavior in unexposed progeny Posted: 22 Jan 2014 07:25 AM PST Teen marijuana use may have repercussions in unexposed progeny. This rodent study found that parental use of marijuana/THC was linked to molecular and neurobiological disturbances and increased motivation to get drugs.

Organic chemical origins in hydrothermal systems Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:24 AM PST Researchers have revealed the mechanisms for the formation of methane, which may have been a crucial stage in the origin of life on Earth.

A gel that is clearly revolutionary: soft hydrogels turned into ionic conductors with diverse applications, from artificial muscles to transparent audio speakers Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:24 AM PST An innovative design turns soft hydrogels into ionic conductors with diverse applications, from artificial muscles to transparent audio speakers.

Small elliptical exercise device may promote activity while sitting Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:19 AM PST People may be able to keep the weight off by using a compact elliptical device while sitting at a desk or watching TV, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers.

Famine, not calcium absorption, may have driven evolution of milk tolerance in Europeans Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:18 AM PST Ancient DNA from early Iberian farmers shows that the wideheld evolutionary hypothesis of calcium absorption was not the only reason Europeans evolved milk tolerance. In the West we take milk drinking for granted because most people of European decent are able to produce the enzyme lactase in adulthood and so digest the milk sugar lactose. However, this is not the norm in much of the world, and was not the norm for our Stone Age ancestors.

Old bird, New World: Did the South American hoatzins originate in Europe? Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:17 AM PST The oldest fossil discoveries from France show that hoatzins once existed in Europe.

Climate change research is globally skewed Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:17 AM PST The supply of climate change knowledge is biased towards richer countries - those that pollute the most and are least vulnerable to climate change – and skewed away from the poorer, fragile and more vulnerable regions of the world. That creates a global imbalance between the countries in need of knowledge and those that build it. This could have implications for the quality of the political decisions countries and regions make to prevent and adapt to climate change, warn experts.

Spider silk ties scientists up in knots Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:17 AM PST Two years ago, researchers published a study which concluded that spider silk conducts heat as well as metals. Now scientists have repeated the experiment and the results throw this discovery into question. The resistance and elasticity of spiders' webs is widely known, but scientists announced in 2012 that they are also excellent thermal conductors.

Internet advertising: Paid search ads don't always pay off, study finds Posted: 22 Jan 2014 06:13 AM PST Businesses spend billions to reach customers through online advertising but just how effective are paid search ads? Using data from eBay, economists compared whether consumers are more likely to click on paid ads than on free, generic search results and found that advertisers may not be getting their money's worth.

Study could aid in development of 'liquid biopsy' screening, diagnostic tests for bladder cancer Posted: 21 Jan 2014 12:16 PM PST Findings from a study ultimately could lead to tests to screen for and diagnose bladder cancer.

Unlocking the brain's secrets using sound Posted: 21 Jan 2014 10:00 AM PST Scientists might be on the verge of finally understanding how ultrasound affects nerve cells. The breakthrough could lead the way to important new medical advances, including the noninvasive treatment of epileptic seizures and restoration of sight.

New index detects early signs of deviation from normal brain development Posted: 21 Jan 2014 08:33 AM PST Researchers generated a brain development index from MRI scans that captures the complex patterns of maturation during normal brain development. This index will allow clinicians and researchers for the first time to detect subtle, yet potentially critical early signs of deviation from normal development during late childhood to early adult.

Source of Galapagos eruptions not where models place it Posted: 21 Jan 2014 07:42 AM PST Images gathered by scientists using seismic waves penetrating to a depth of 300 kilometers have found an anomaly that likely is the volcanic mantle plume of the Galapagos Islands. It's not where geologists and computer modeling had assumed.

Pathogenic plant virus jumps to honeybees, may explain bee population decline Posted: 21 Jan 2014 06:30 AM PST A viral pathogen that typically infects plants has been found in honeybees and could help explain their decline. Researchers working in the U.S. and Beijing, China report their findings in a recently published article.

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