New light shed on how blood clots form

ScienceDaily (2011-06-14) -- Scientists have discovered new elements of the blood clot-process. The findings could lead to better drugs for preventing heart attacks and other clot-related conditions.

The downside -- and surprising upside –- of microcredit

ScienceDaily (2011-06-10) -- Microcredit, which involves giving small loans to very small businesses in an effort to promote entrepreneurship, has been widely touted as a way to reduce poverty and stimulate economic growth. But in a new study, researchers find that the practice may not be an efficient tool in promoting business growth or improving the lives of its beneficiaries, but could instead have just the opposite effect. However, they did discover other surprising advantages.

NASA goes below the surface to understand salinity

ScienceDaily (2011-06-10) -- When NASA's Aquarius mission launches, its radiometer instruments will take a "skin" reading of the oceans' salt content at the surface. From these data of salinity in the top 0.4 inch (1 centimeter) of the ocean surface, Aquarius will create weekly and monthly maps of ocean surface salinity all over the globe for at least three years. To better understand what's driving changes and fluctuations in salinity -- and how those changes relate to an acceleration of the global water cycle and climate change -- scientists will go deeper.

Squeeze an arm, protect the heart: New technique for heart protection analyzed

ScienceDaily (2011-06-08) -- Scientists in the UK are investigating a novel technique that promises to protect heart muscle from life-threatening damage following a heart attack -- simply by squeezing an arm. Heart attacks are the major cause of premature death in England, with massive implications for survival and costs of long-term health care.

Moderate to intense exercise may protect the brain

ScienceDaily (2011-06-09) -- Older people who regularly exercise at a moderate to intense level may be less likely to develop the small brain lesions, sometimes referred to as "silent strokes," that are the first sign of cerebrovascular disease, according to a new study.

First-of-its-kind fluorescence map offers a new view of the world's land plants

ScienceDaily (2011-06-07) -- Scientists from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have produced groundbreaking global maps of land plant fluorescence, a difficult-to-detect reddish glow that leaves emit as a byproduct of photosynthesis. While researchers have previously mapped how ocean-dwelling phytoplankton fluoresce, the new maps are the first to focus on land vegetation and to cover the entire globe.

Toxic Contamination in Offices: New Study Reveals Hidden Chemicals in Dust on Environmental Expert

Toxic Contamination in Offices: New Study Reveals Hidden Chemicals in Dust on Environmental Expert