Science Sunday: Wrap-up of recent advancements in science from EurekAlert!

Self-cooling soda bottles?:

Every day, the sun bathes the planet in energy--free of charge--yet few systems can take advantage of that source for both heating and cooling. Now, researchers are making progress on a thin-film technology that adheres both solar cells and heat pumps onto surfaces, ultimately turning walls, windows, and maybe even soda bottles into climate control systems.

Scientists build brain box computer:

Scientists at The University of Manchester are to build a new type of computer which mimics the complex interactions within the human brain.

Allergy battle could be won in five years, says scientist:

Allergies such as asthma, eczema and hay fever could be snuffed out within five years thanks to pioneering work at The University of Manchester.

Gene screen for breast cancer better than pathologist's 'eye':

Johns Hopkins scientists have found that a method they developed to screen body fluids for certain kinds of cells and some of their genetic blueprint is twice as accurate at spotting breast cancer cells as a pathologist's view with a microscope.

Scientists identify protein with a crucial role in cell death:

Ageing, and the processes of deterioration that go with it, are largely attributable to cells that die off in a controlled manner. Therefore, gaining better understanding of this controlled cell death is very important in the fight against deterioration diseases like dementia. In this light, VIB researchers, in collaboration with researchers from the Dulbecco-Telethon Institute hosted by the Veneto Institute of Molecular Medicine in Padua (Italy), have now discovered the function of the PARL protein.

Sharply-tuned nanostrings work at room temperature:

Using a fast, low-cost fabrication technique that allows inexpensive testing of a wide variety of materials, Cornell University researchers have come up with nanoscale resonators -- tiny vibrating strings -- with the highest quality factor so far obtainable at room temperature for devices so small.

Brown engineers use DNA to direct nanowire assembly and growth:

A small but growing number of engineers are using nature's engineer -- DNA -- to create nanomaterials that can be used in everything from medical devices to computer circuits. A team from Brown University and Boston College is the first to use DNA to direct construction and growth of complex nanowires. Their work appears in Nanotechnology.

Tumor wizardry wards off attacks from the immune system:

Like the fictional wizard Harry Potter, some cancerous tumors seem capable of wrapping themselves in an invisibility cloak. Researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that pancreatic tumors hide from the body's immune surveillance by surrounding themselves with cells that make it hard for the immune system to detect them.

Carnegie Mellon researchers discover key deficiencies in brains of people with autism:

In a pair of groundbreaking studies, brain scientists at Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh have discovered that the anatomical differences that characterize the brains of people with autism are related to the way those brains process information.

Researchers build sharpest tip:

Forget the phrase, "sharp as a tack." Now, thanks to new University of Alberta research the popular expression might become, "sharp as a single atom tip formed by chemically assisted spatially controlled field evaporation." Maybe it doesn't roll off the tongue as easily, but considering the researchers have created the sharpest object ever made, it would be accurate.

3-D model reveals secrets of metastasis:

Researchers develop 3-D model for imaging cancer metasasis.

UCSF study shows suppression of telomerase enzyme can inhibit spread of melanoma:

UCSF researchers have found that the spread of melanoma can be inhibited by suppressing telomerase, the enzyme active in cancer cell growth.