RefBan

Referral Banners

Friday, December 20, 2013

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


A micro-muscular breakthrough: Powerful new microscale torsional muscle/motor from vanadium dioxide

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:01 PM PST

Researchers have demonstrated a micro-sized robotic torsional muscle/motor made from vanadium dioxide that for its size is a thousand times more powerful than a human muscle, able to catapult objects 50 times heavier than itself over a distance five times its length faster than the blink of an eye.

Ancient cranial surgery: Practice of drilling holes in the cranium that dates back thousands of years

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 05:00 PM PST

Some might consider drilling a hole in someone's head a form of torture, but in the province of Ahdahuaylas in Peru, ca. AD 100-1250, it was state-of-the-art medical care.

Driving force behind mitochondrial 'sex' in ancient flowering plant

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:59 PM PST

A new study has uncovered an unprecedented example of horizontal gene transfer in a South Pacific shrub that is considered to be the sole survivor of one of the two oldest lineages of flowering plants.

Researchers generate kidney tubular cells from stem cells

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 04:59 PM PST

Investigators have discovered a cocktail of chemicals which, when added to stem cells in a precise order, turns on genes found in kidney cells in the same order that they turn on during embryonic kidney development. The kidney cells continued to behave like kidney cells when transplanted into adult or embryonic mouse kidneys.

Mating is kiss of death for certain female worms

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 12:45 PM PST

The presence of male sperm and seminal fluid causes female worms to shrivel and die after giving birth, researchers reported this week. The demise of the female appears to benefit the male worm by removing her from the mating pool for other males.

Catching the big wave: 'Universal ripple' could hold the secret to high-temperature superconductivity

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:23 AM PST

Researchers have discovered a universal electronic state that controls the behavior of high-temperature superconducting copper-oxide ceramics.

Electron 'antenna' tunes in to physics beyond Higgs

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:23 AM PST

In making the most precise measurements ever of the shape of electrons, a team of Harvard and Yale scientists have raised severe doubts about several popular theories of what lies beyond the Higgs boson.

The origin of flowers: DNA of storied plant provides insight into the evolution of flowering plants

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:22 AM PST

Biologists have sequenced the genome of the Amborella plant. The genome sequence sheds new light on a major event in the history of life on Earth: the origin of flowering plants, including all major food crop species.

New way to map important drug targets

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:21 AM PST

Researchers have used new techniques and one of the brightest X-ray sources on the planet to map the 3-D structure of an important cellular gatekeeper in a more natural state than possible before.

New salt compounds challenge the foundation of chemistry

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:21 AM PST

All good research breaks new ground, but rarely does the research unearth truths that challenge the foundation of a science. That's what chemists have now done. Scientists have compressed sodium chloride—rock salt—to form new compounds.

Brain connections may explain why girls mature faster

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 10:11 AM PST

Scientists have discovered that as the brain re-organizes connections throughout our life, the process begins earlier in girls which may explain why they mature faster during the teenage years.

A new -- and reversible -- cause of aging: A naturally produced compound rewinds aspects of age-related demise in mice

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 10:07 AM PST

Researchers have discovered a cause of aging in mammals involving a series of molecular events that disables communication between the nucleus and mitochondria. By administering a molecule naturally produced by the human body, the communication network was restored in older mice. Subsequent tissue samples showed biological hallmarks comparable to much younger animals.

Lemur babies of older moms less likely to get hurt

Posted: 19 Dec 2013 06:36 AM PST

A long-term study of aggression in lemurs finds that infants born to older mothers are less likely to get hurt than those born to younger mothers. The findings come from an analysis of detailed medical records for more than 240 ring-tailed lemurs that were monitored daily from infancy to adulthood over a 35-year period.

World's first text message using vodka: Messages sent via molecules can aid communication underground, underwater or inside the body

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 02:08 PM PST

Scientists have created a molecular communications system for the transmission of messages and data in challenging environments such as tunnels, pipelines, under water and within the body.   

Kids grasp large numbers remarkably young

Posted: 18 Dec 2013 08:29 AM PST

Children as young as 3 understand multi-digit numbers more than previously believed and may be ready for more direct math instruction when they enter school, according to new research.

No comments: