ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Living organ regenerated for first time: Thymus rebuilt in mice
• Humans and Neandertals interbred, new method confirms
• Antimicrobial from soaps promotes bacteria buildup in human noses
• Saturn's hexagon: An amazing phenomenon
• From athletes to couch potatoes: Humans through 6,000 years of farming
• Trees go high-tech: Process turns cellulose into energy storage devices
• Daily serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce bad cholesterol
• Rage-quitting: Feelings of failure, not violent content, foster aggression in video gamers
• Ancient shrimp-like animals had 'modern' hearts and blood vessels
• Scientists unmask the climate uncertainty monster

Living organ regenerated for first time: Thymus rebuilt in mice Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:56 AM PDT Scientists have succeeded in regenerating a living organ for the first time. Researchers rebuilt the thymus -- an organ in the body located next to the heart that produces important immune cells. The advance could pave the way for new therapies for people with damaged immune systems and genetic conditions that affect thymus development. The team reactivated a natural mechanism that shuts down with age to rejuvenate the thymus in very old mice. After treatment, the regenerated organ had a similar structure to that found in a young mouse.

Humans and Neandertals interbred, new method confirms Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:12 AM PDT Technical objections to the idea that Neandertals interbred with the ancestors of Eurasians have been overcome, thanks to a new genome analysis method. The technique can more confidently detect the genetic signatures of interbreeding than previous approaches and will be useful for evolutionary studies of other ancient or rare DNA samples.

Antimicrobial from soaps promotes bacteria buildup in human noses Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:49 AM PDT An antimicrobial agent found in common household soaps, shampoos and toothpastes may be finding its way inside human noses where it promotes the colonization of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and could predispose some people to infection.

Saturn's hexagon: An amazing phenomenon Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:48 AM PDT An unusual structure with a hexagonal shape surrounding Saturn's north pole was spotted on the planet for the first time thirty years ago. Nothing similar with such a regular geometry had ever been seen on any planet in the solar system. Astronomers have now been able to study and measure the phenomenon and, among other achievements, establish its rotation period. What is more, this period could be the same as that of the planet itself. Saturn is the only planet in the solar system whose rotation time remains unknown.

From athletes to couch potatoes: Humans through 6,000 years of farming Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:49 PM PDT Research into the strength and shape of lower limb bones shows that, in the first 6,000 years of farming, our ancestors in Central Europe became less active as their tasks diversified and technology improved. Anthropologists show that this drop in mobility was particularly marked in men.

Trees go high-tech: Process turns cellulose into energy storage devices Posted: 07 Apr 2014 10:10 AM PDT A fundamental chemical discovery should allow tress to soon play a major role in making high-tech energy storage devices. A method has been discovered to turn cellulose -- the most abundant organic polymer on Earth and a key component of trees –- into the building blocks for supercapacitors.

Daily serving of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce bad cholesterol Posted: 07 Apr 2014 09:27 AM PDT Eating one serving a day of beans, peas, chickpeas or lentils can significantly reduce 'bad cholesterol' and therefore the risk of cardiovascular disease, a new study has found. North Americans on average currently eat less than half a serving a day.

Rage-quitting: Feelings of failure, not violent content, foster aggression in video gamers Posted: 07 Apr 2014 08:31 AM PDT The disturbing imagery or violent storylines of videos games like World of Warcraft or Grand Theft Auto are often accused of fostering feelings of aggression in players. But a new study shows hostile behavior is linked to gamers' experiences of failure and frustration during play—not to a game's violent content.

Ancient shrimp-like animals had 'modern' hearts and blood vessels Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:07 AM PDT In 520 million-year-old fossil deposits resembling an 'invertebrate version of Pompeii,' researchers have found an ancestor of modern crustaceans revealing the first-known cardiovascular system in exquisitely preserved detail. The organ system is surprisingly complex and adds to the notion that sophisticated body plans had already evolved more than half a billion years ago.

Scientists unmask the climate uncertainty monster Posted: 04 Apr 2014 11:03 AM PDT Increasing uncertainty in the climate system compels a greater urgency for climate change mitigation, according to new research. Scientists have shown that as uncertainty in the temperature increase expected with a doubling of carbon dioxide from pre-industrial levels rises, so do the economic damages of increased climate change. Greater uncertainty also increases the likelihood of exceeding 'safe' temperature limits and the probability of failing to reach mitigation targets. The authors highlight this with the case of future sea level, as larger uncertainty in sea level rise requires greater precautionary action to manage flood risk.

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