ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• The Rhine is five million years older than first thought: Age of the river corrected based on fossils
• Damaged connections in Phineas Gage's brain: Famous 1848 case of man who survived accident has modern parallel
• NASA survey counts potentially hazardous asteroids
• Head impacts in contact sports may reduce learning in college athletes
• Alzheimer's gene causes brain's blood vessels to leak toxins and die
• Colorful butterflies increase their odds of survival by sharing traits
• Human genes transplanted into zebrafish: Helps identify genes related to autism, schizophrenia and obesity
• Humanmade pollutants may be driving Earth's tropical belt expansion: May impact large-scale atmospheric circulation
• People with paralysis control robotic arms to reach and grasp using brain computer interface
• Ancient tree-ring records from southwest U.S. suggest today's megafires are truly unusual
• Baby galaxies grew up quickly
• Common fungicide wreaks havoc on freshwater ecosystems
• Let's get moving: Unraveling how locomotion starts
• Microscope looks into cells of living fish
• Character traits determined genetically? Genes may hold the key to a life of success, study suggests
• Chocolate and diamonds: Why volcanoes could be 'a girl's best friend'

The Rhine is five million years older than first thought: Age of the river corrected based on fossils Posted: 16 May 2012 04:54 PM PDT Scientists have examined the age of the Rhine based on fossils. They have discovered that the river is five million years older than previously believed.

Damaged connections in Phineas Gage's brain: Famous 1848 case of man who survived accident has modern parallel Posted: 16 May 2012 04:54 PM PDT In 1848, Phineas Gage survived an accident that drove an iron rod through his head. Researchers, for the first time, used images of Gage's skull combined with modern-day brain images to suggest there was extensive damage to the white matter "pathways" that connected various regions of his brain.

NASA survey counts potentially hazardous asteroids Posted: 16 May 2012 03:06 PM PDT Observations from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) have led to the best assessment yet of our solar system's population of potentially hazardous asteroids. The results reveal new information about their total numbers, origins and the possible dangers they may pose.

Head impacts in contact sports may reduce learning in college athletes Posted: 16 May 2012 02:37 PM PDT A new study suggests that head impacts experienced during contact sports such as football and hockey may worsen some college athletes' ability to acquire new information.

Alzheimer's gene causes brain's blood vessels to leak toxins and die Posted: 16 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT ApoE4, a well-known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease triggers a cascade of signaling that ultimately results in leaky blood vessels in the brain, allowing toxic substances to pour into brain tissue in large amounts, scientists report.

Colorful butterflies increase their odds of survival by sharing traits Posted: 16 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Bright black-and-red butterflies that flit across the sunlit edges of Amazonian rain forests are natural hedonists, and it does them good, according to new genetic data.

Human genes transplanted into zebrafish: Helps identify genes related to autism, schizophrenia and obesity Posted: 16 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Researchers have transplanted a set of human genes into a zebrafish and then used it to identify genes responsible for head size at birth. This finding also is related to some cases of autism and possibly schizophrenia and childhood obesity.

Humanmade pollutants may be driving Earth's tropical belt expansion: May impact large-scale atmospheric circulation Posted: 16 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Black carbon aerosols and tropospheric ozone, both humanmade pollutants emitted predominantly in the Northern Hemisphere's low- to mid-latitudes, are most likely pushing the boundary of the tropics further poleward in that hemisphere, new research shows. While stratospheric ozone depletion has already been shown to be the primary driver of the expansion of the tropics in the Southern Hemisphere, the researchers are the first to report that black carbon and tropospheric ozone are the most likely primary drivers of the tropical expansion observed in the Northern Hemisphere.

People with paralysis control robotic arms to reach and grasp using brain computer interface Posted: 16 May 2012 11:00 AM PDT Two people with tetraplegia were able to reach for and grasp objects in three-dimensional space with robotic arms that they controlled directly with brain activity. They used the BrainGate neural interface system, an investigational device currently being studied under an IDE. One participant used the system to serve herself coffee for the first time since becoming paralyzed nearly 15 years ago.

Ancient tree-ring records from southwest U.S. suggest today's megafires are truly unusual Posted: 16 May 2012 09:03 AM PDT Today's mega forest fires of the southwestern U.S. are truly unusual and exceptional in the long-term record, suggests an unprecedented study that examined 1,500 years of ancient tree ring and fire data from two distinct climate periods. Researchers constructed and analyzed a statistical model and found that today's dry, hot climate combined with the past century of human fire suppression is causing megafires.

Baby galaxies grew up quickly Posted: 16 May 2012 09:02 AM PDT Baby galaxies from the young universe more than 12 billion years ago evolved faster than previously thought, shows new research. This means that already in the early history of the universe, there was potential for planet formation and life.

Common fungicide wreaks havoc on freshwater ecosystems Posted: 16 May 2012 09:01 AM PDT A new study on chlorothalonil, one of the world's most common fungicides, shows it was lethal to a wide variety of freshwater organisms.

Let's get moving: Unraveling how locomotion starts Posted: 16 May 2012 08:59 AM PDT Scientists have shed new light on one of the great unanswered questions of neuroscience: How the brain initiates rhythmic movements like walking, running and swimming.

Microscope looks into cells of living fish Posted: 16 May 2012 08:59 AM PDT Microscopes provide valuable insights in the structure and dynamics of cells, in particular when the latter remain in their natural environment. However, this is very difficult especially for higher organisms. Researchers have now developed a new method to visualize cell structures of an eighth of a micrometer in size in living fish larvae.

Character traits determined genetically? Genes may hold the key to a life of success, study suggests Posted: 16 May 2012 08:59 AM PDT Genes play a greater role in forming character traits -- such as self-control, decision making or sociability -- than was previously thought, new research suggests.

Chocolate and diamonds: Why volcanoes could be 'a girl's best friend' Posted: 16 May 2012 06:32 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a previously unrecognized volcanic process, similar to one that is used in chocolate manufacturing, which gives important new insights into the dynamics of volcanic eruptions. The scientists investigated how a process called 'fluidized spray granulation' can occur during kimberlite eruptions to produce well-rounded particles containing fragments from the Earth's mantle, most notably diamonds.

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