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Friday, May 18, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Ancient history of circumarctic peoples illuminated

Posted: 17 May 2012 04:31 PM PDT

Scientists have discovered new information about the migration patterns of the first humans to settle the Americas. The studies identify the historical relationships among various groups of Native American and First Nations peoples and present the first clear evidence of the genetic impact of the groups' cultural practices.

Giant galaxy-packed filament revealed

Posted: 17 May 2012 11:36 AM PDT

Astronomers have discovered a giant, galaxy-packed filament ablaze with billions of new stars. The filament is the first structure of its kind spied in a critical era of cosmic buildup when colossal collections of galaxies called superclusters began to take shape. The glowing galactic bridge offers astronomers a unique opportunity to explore how galaxies evolve and merge to form superclusters.

Slew of rare DNA changes following population explosion may hold clues to common diseases

Posted: 17 May 2012 11:36 AM PDT

Scientists have taken a first step toward understanding how rare genetic differences among people contribute to leading chronic illnesses. One-letter DNA code changes occur frequently in human genomes, but each variant is usually found in only a few individuals. This phenomenon is consistent with the population explosion of the past 5,000 years. Studying the evolution of rare genetic variants and their health impact is critical as low cost, rapid sequencing enters clinical use. Such information would help doctors interpret personal genomes.

In chemical reactions, water adds speed without heat

Posted: 17 May 2012 11:35 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered how adding trace amounts of water can tremendously speed up chemical reactions -— such as hydrogenation and hydrogenolysis —- in which hydrogen is one of the reactants, or starting materials.

Forest diversity from Canada to the sub-tropics influenced by family proximity

Posted: 17 May 2012 11:35 AM PDT

How species diversity is maintained is a fundamental question in biology. Biologists have shown for the first time that diversity is influenced on a spatial scale of unparalleled scope, in part, by how well tree seedlings survive under their own parents.

Suspicion resides in two regions of the brain: Our baseline level of distrust is distinct and separable from our inborn lie detector

Posted: 17 May 2012 10:21 AM PDT

Scientists have found that suspicion resides in two distinct regions of the brain: the amygdala, which plays a central role in processing fear and emotional memories, and the parahippocampal gyrus, which is associated with declarative memory and the recognition of scenes.

Extended daily fasting overrides harmful effects of a high-fat diet: Study may offer drug-free intervention to prevent obesity and diabetes

Posted: 17 May 2012 10:17 AM PDT

It turns out that when we eat may be as important as what we eat. Scientists have found that regular eating times and extending the daily fasting period may override the adverse health effects of a high-fat diet and prevent obesity, diabetes and liver disease in mice.

RNA modification influences thousands of genes: Revolutionizes understanding of gene expression

Posted: 17 May 2012 10:16 AM PDT

Over the past decade, research in the field of epigenetics has revealed that chemically modified bases are abundant components of the human genome and has forced us to abandon the notion we've had since high school genetics that DNA consists of only four bases.

Ancient giant turtle fossil was size of Smart car

Posted: 17 May 2012 10:16 AM PDT

Picture a turtle the size of a Smart car, with a shell large enough to double as a kiddie pool. Paleontologists have found just such a specimen -- the fossilized remains of a 60-million-year-old South American giant that lived in what is now Colombia.

Parents are happier people: Parents experience greater happiness and meaning in life than nonparents, psychologists find

Posted: 17 May 2012 08:54 AM PDT

Contrary to recent scholarship and popular belief, parents experience greater levels of happiness and meaning in life than people without children, according to researchers. Parents also are happier during the day when they are caring for their children than during their other daily activities, the researchers found in a series of studies conducted in the United States and Canada.

Three-telescope interferometry allows astrophysicists to observe how black holes are fueled

Posted: 16 May 2012 11:01 AM PDT

By combining the light of three powerful infrared telescopes, scientists have observed the active accretion phase of a supermassive black hole in the center of a galaxy tens of millions of light years away, a method that has yielded an unprecedented amount of data for such observations. The resolution at which they were able to observe this highly luminescent active galactic nucleus has given them direct confirmation of how mass accretes onto black holes in centers of galaxies.

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