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Wednesday, February 12, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Excess weight linked to brain changes that may relate to memory, emotions, and appetite

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:18 AM PST

Being overweight appears related to reduced levels of a molecule that reflects brain cell health in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory, learning, and emotions, and likely also involved in appetite control, according to a new study.

Blinded by speed, tiger beetles use antennae to 'see' while running

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:37 AM PST

Speed is blinding. Just ask the tiger beetle: This predatory insect has excellent sight, but when it chases prey, it runs so fast it can no longer see where it's going.

Fish living near the equator will not thrive in the warmer oceans of the future

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:43 AM PST

According to an international team of researchers, the rapid pace of climate change is threatening the future presence of fish near the equator.

Males and females differ in specific brain structures

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:42 AM PST

Reviewing over 20 years of neuroscience research into sex differences in brain structure, researchers have conducted the first meta-analysis of the evidence. The team performed a quantitative review of the brain imaging literature testing overall sex differences in total and regional brain volumes. They found that males on average have larger total brain volumes than women (by 8 to 13 percent). Looking more closely, the researchers found differences in volume between the sexes were located in several regions. These included parts of the limbic system, and the language system.

Revolutionary new view on heritability in plants: Complex heritable traits not only determined by changes in DNA sequence

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:41 AM PST

Complex heritable traits are not only determined by changes in the DNA sequence. Scientists have now shown that epigenetic marks can affect traits such as flowering time and architecture in plants. Furthermore, these marks are passed on for many generations in a stable manner.

Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST

For the first time, scientists have identified a gene linking the thickness of the grey matter in the brain to intelligence. Teenagers carrying a particular gene variant had a thinner cortex in the left cerebral hemisphere, particularly in the frontal and temporal lobes, and performed less well on tests for intellectual ability.

How our brain networks: White matter 'scaffold' of human brain revealed

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST

For the first time, neuroscientists have systematically mapped the white matter "scaffold" of the human brain, the critical communications network that supports brain function.

Is an earthquake behind the Shroud of Turin image? Radiation from earthquake could have led to 'wrong' 1988 dating

Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST

Neutron radiation caused by 33 A.D. earthquake could have led to "wrong" 1988 radiocarbon dating of Shroud, suggest researchers. An earthquake in Old Jerusalem might be behind the famous image of the Shroud of Turin, says a group of researchers. They believe that neutron radiation caused by an earthquake could have induced the image of a crucified man - which many people believe to be that of Jesus - onto the length of linen cloth, and caused carbon-14 dating done on it in 1988 to be wrong.

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