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Tuesday, January 10, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Clearest picture yet of dark matter points the way to better understanding of dark energy

Posted: 09 Jan 2012 12:57 PM PST

Scientists have independently made the largest direct measurements of the invisible scaffolding of the universe, using the gravitational lensing effect known as "cosmic shear" to build maps of the distribution of dark matter. Their methods show that surveys with ground-based telescopes can measure cosmic shear with enough accuracy to aid in better understanding the mysterious space-stretching effects of dark energy.

Could Siberian volcanism have caused the Earth's largest extinction event?

Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:27 AM PST

Around 250 million years ago there was a mass extinction so severe that it remains the most traumatic known species die-off in Earth's history. Although the cause of this event is a mystery, it has been speculated that the eruption of a large swath of volcanic rock in Russia was a trigger for the extinction. New research offers insight into how this volcanism could have contributed to drastic deterioration in the global environment of the period.

How does our brain know what is a face and what's not?

Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:27 AM PST

Objects that resemble faces are everywhere. Whether it's New Hampshire's erstwhile granite "Old Man of the Mountain," or Jesus' face on a tortilla, our brains are adept at locating images that look like faces. However, the normal human brain is almost never fooled into thinking such objects actually are human faces. New research by neuroscientists helps explain how the brain recognizes faces.

Astronomers reach new frontiers of dark matter

Posted: 09 Jan 2012 10:27 AM PST

For the first time, astronomers have mapped dark matter on the largest scale ever observed. New findings reveal a Universe comprising an intricate cosmic web of dark matter and galaxies spanning more than one billion light years.

Scientists discover a Saturn-like ring system eclipsing a sun-like star

Posted: 09 Jan 2012 08:58 AM PST

A team of astrophysicists has discovered a ring system in the constellation Centaurus that invites comparisons to Saturn. This is the first system of discrete, thin, dust rings detected around a very low-mass object outside of our solar system.

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