Science and society news from SciGuru.com for latest developments http://www.sciguru.com http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3813/Beware-the-smell-of-bitter-almonds.-Why-do-many-food-plants-contain-cyanide?-/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:10:50 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3813 In murder mysteries, the detective usually diagnoses cyanide poisoning by the scent of bitter almonds wafting from the corpse. The detective knows wha http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3811/Excellence-programs-do-not-identify-safest-hospitals-for-bariatric-surgery/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:36:14 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3811 New data emerges this week about the safety of bariatric surgery and the quality of hospitals that perform the increasingly common weight loss procedu http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3808/Study:-Weight-issues-move-up-need-for-walkers,-canes,-other-devices/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 10:16:25 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3808 Obese older adults are more likely to use walkers, canes and other mobility devices at a younger age, and may run the risk of using them incorrectly, http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3805/Best-hope-for-saving-Arctic-sea-ice-is-cutting-soot-emissions,-says-Stanford-researcher/ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 18:07:31 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3805 Soot from the burning of fossil fuels and solid biofuels contributes far more to global warming than has been thought, according to a new Stanford stu http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3802/In-the-'neck'-of-time:-Scientists-unravel-key-evolutionary-trait-leading-to-better-brain-power/ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 17:41:37 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3802 By deciphering the genetics in humans and fish, scientists now believe that the neck - that little body part between your head and shoulders - gave hu http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3801/Sea-snail-saliva-may-become-new-treatment-for-most-severe-pain/ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:51:09 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3801 Scientists have developed a new version of a medication, first isolated from the saliva of sea snails, that could be taken in pill form to relieve the http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3789/Toward-a-new-generation-of-superplastics/ Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:15:42 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3789 Scientists are reporting an in-depth validation of the discovery of the world's first mass producible, low-cost, organoclays for plastics. The powdere http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3788/Oil-dispersants-used-in-Gulf-of-Mexico-unlikely-to-be-endocrine-disrupters-and-have-low-toxicity/ Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:05:25 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3788 Government scientists are reporting that eight of the most commonly used oil dispersants used to fight oil spills, such as the massive episode in the http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3783/Children-with-brain-injuries-have-problems-with-story-telling,-research-suggests/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:44:18 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3783 Children with brain injuries have difficulty developing story-telling skills even though other language abilities, such as vocabulary, tend to catch u http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3781/UBC-researcher-discovers-ancient-"stress-hormone"-in-pre-historic-fish/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 17:33:58 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3781 A University of British Columbia zoologist has discovered a new corticosteroid hormone in the sea lamprey, an eel-like fish and one of the earliest ve http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3767/Researchers-identify-DNA-damage-repair-gene-in-Fanconi-anemia-pathway/ Sun, 25 Jul 2010 08:01:28 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3767 After more than a century of technological refinements, zippers still get stuck. So do the molecular machines that routinely unzip the double helix of http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3764/The-World's-Smallest-Cup-of-Water:-Location-of-water-relative-to-prototypic-protein/ Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:40:15 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3764 By combining theoretical and experimental expertise in the United States, Japan, and France, a team of scientists determined that a water molecule (gu http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3763/Polymer-synthesis-could-aid-future-electronics/ Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:28:41 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3763 Tomorrow's television and computer screens could be brighter, clearer and more energy-efficient as a result of a process developed by a team of resear http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3762/Scientific-review-of-how-music-training-primes-nervous-system-and-boosts-learning/ Sat, 24 Jul 2010 16:15:24 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3762 Those ubiquitous wires connecting listeners to you-name-the-sounds from invisible MP3 players -whether of Bach, Miles Davis or, more likely today, Lad http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3746/Healthy-dividing-cells-spontaneously-trigger-tumor-suppressor,-study-shows-/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 15:06:48 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3746 A major tumor suppressor protein (p53) that defends the body against severe cancer also pulses with similar alarm in healthy dividing cells, presumabl http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3745/'Runaway'-development-implicated-in-loss-of-function-of-the-aging-brain/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 14:47:45 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3745 The brain undergoes rapid growth and development in the early years of life and then degenerates as we progress into old age, yet little is known abou http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3741/Hyperfast-Star-Was-Booted-From-Milky-Way/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 12:29:50 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3741 A hundred million years ago, a triple-star system was traveling through the bustling center of our Milky Way galaxy when it made a life-changing misst http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3738/Arctic-Voyage-Illuminating-Ocean-Optics/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 07:15:49 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3738 During NASA's ICESCAPE voyage to the Arctic, scientists have been looking at the phytoplankton in the Arctic's Chukchi Sea - how many, how big and at http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3735/A-New-Drug-Treatment-to-Close-the-Window-on-Colon-Cancer,-Blocking-stress-response/ Wed, 21 Jul 2010 21:59:35 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3735 Cancer surgery wreaks havoc on a body's immune system and stress hormones exacerbate the problem. As a result, about half of those who undergo surgery http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3726/New-MIT-technology-allows-high-speed-study-of-zebrafish-larvae,-often-used-to-model-human-diseases./ Tue, 20 Jul 2010 11:13:45 -0400 http://www.sciguru.com/newsitem/3726 One of the most commonly studied laboratory animals is the zebrafish - a tiny fish with transparent embryos, or larvae, whose internal organs can be e