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Monday, August 20, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


The wasp that never cries wolf

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 06:12 PM PDT

European paper wasps (Polistes dominula) advertise the size of their poison glands to potential predators. The brighter the color, the larger the poison gland. Aposematism is used by many different animals to warn potential predators that they are poisonous. Usually this takes the form of distinctive coloration or patterns which predators quickly learn to avoid.

Meddling with male malaria mosquito 'mating plug' to control an epidemic

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 06:11 PM PDT

Using information about the unique mating practices of the male malaria mosquito - which, unlike any other insect, inserts a plug to seal its sperm inside the female - scientists are zeroing in on a birth-control drug for Anopheles mosquitoes, deadly carriers of the disease that threatens 3 billion people, has infected more than 215 million and kills 655,000 annually.

Rover's laser instrument zaps first Martian rock

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 01:52 PM PDT

NASA's Mars rover Curiosity fired its laser for the first time on Mars, using the beam from a science instrument to interrogate a fist-size rock called "Coronation." The mission's Chemistry and Camera instrument, or ChemCam, hit the fist-sized rock with 30 pulses of its laser during a 10-second period. Each pulse delivers more than a million watts of power for about five one-billionths of a second.

Researchers make quantum processor capable of factoring a composite number into prime factors

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:37 PM PDT

Computing prime factors may sound like an elementary math problem, but try it with a large number, say one that contains more than 600 digits, and the task becomes enormously challenging and impossibly time-consuming. Now, a group of researchers has designed and fabricated a quantum processor capable of factoring a composite number -- in this case the number 15 -- into its constituent prime factors, 3 and 5. Factoring very large numbers is at the heart of cybersecurity protocols, such as the most common form of encoding, known as RSA encryption.

Massachusetts butterflies move north as climate warms

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:37 PM PDT

A new study shows that, over the past 19 years, a warming climate has been reshaping Massachusetts butterfly communities. Subtropical and warm-climate species -- many of which were rare or absent in Massachusetts as recently as the late 1980s -- show sharp increases in abundance. At the same time, more than three quarters of northerly species -- species with a range centered north of Boston -- are now declining in Massachusetts, many of them rapidly.

Inspired by genetics, chemistry finally takes hold of its own code: Chemists can attain more complex supramolecular structures?

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:37 PM PDT

Nature proves every day that it is both complex and efficient. Organic chemists are envious of it; their conventional tools confine them to simpler achievements. These limitations could become a thing of the past. New research offers a new kind of code to chemists, allowing them to access new levels of complexity.

'DNA wires' could help physicians diagnose disease

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:37 PM PDT

Scientists have found that Mother Nature uses DNA as a wire to detect the constantly occurring genetic damage and mistakes that can result in diseases like cancer. DNA wires are potentially useful in identifying people at risk for certain diseases.

Improving water quality can help save coral reefs

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:36 PM PDT

Researcher have found that an imbalance of nutrients in reef waters can increase the bleaching susceptibility of reef corals. Corals are made up of many polyps that jointly form a layer of living tissue covering the calcareous skeletons. They depend on single-celled algae called zooxanthellae, which live within the coral polyps. The coral animal and the associated zooxanthellae depend on each other for survival in a symbiotic relationship, where the coral supplies the algae with nutrients and a place to live. In turn, the algae offer the coral some products of their photosynthesis, providing them with an important energy source. High water temperatures can block photosynthetic reactions in the algal cells causing a build-up of toxic oxygen compounds, which threaten the coral and can result in a loss of the zooxanthellae.

A new route to dissipationless electronics

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:36 PM PDT

A team of researchers has demonstrated a new material that promises to eliminate loss in electrical power transmission. The surprise is that their methodology for solving this classic energy problem is based upon the first realization of a highly exotic type of magnetic semiconductor first theorized less than a decade ago - a magnetic topological insulator.

Red wine compound could help seniors walk away from mobility problems

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:34 PM PDT

In a stride toward better health in later life, scientists have reported that resveratrol, the so-called "miracle molecule" found in red wine, might help improve mobility and prevent life-threatening falls among older people.

Good mood foods: Some flavors in some foods resemble a prescription mood stabilizer

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:34 PM PDT

New evidence reveals the possibility of mood-enhancing effects associated with some flavors, stemming at least in part from natural ingredients bearing a striking chemical similarity to valproic acid, a widely used prescription mood-stabilizing drug, scientists have reported. This effect joins those previously reported for chocolate, teas and some other known comfort foods.

New space-age insulating material for homes, clothing and other everyday uses

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:34 PM PDT

A major improvement in the world's lightest solid material and best solid insulating material may put more of this space-age wonder into insulated clothing, refrigerators with thinner walls that hold more food, building insulation and other products.

Artificial intelligence allows automated worm sorting

Posted: 19 Aug 2012 12:34 PM PDT

Scientists have demonstrated an automated system that uses artificial intelligence and cutting-edge image processing to rapidly examine large numbers of individual nematodes -- a species widely used in biological research.

What’s best for very low birth weight babies

Posted: 16 Aug 2012 05:15 PM PDT

While the health benefits of breast feeding baby are well known, a new study finds that, for very low birth weight (VLBW) babies, a small amount of fortification can improve growth rates without sacrificing the benefits associated with mother's milk. Human milk provides babies with exactly the right nutrients for growth and also helps protect against infections and diseases. Breast fed babies are less likely to have diarrhea or vomiting, they have fewer chest and ear infections, and long term are less likely to become obese or develop eczema. However, in hospitals human milk is also associated with slower growth in the first few months of life compared to formula-fed infants.

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