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Saturday, June 21, 2014

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


Skulls with mix of Neandertal and primitive traits illuminate human evolution

Posted: 19 Jun 2014 11:22 AM PDT

Researchers have analyzed the largest collection of ancient fossil hominin species ever recovered from a single excavation site, shedding light on the origin and evolution of Neandertals.

Evolution depends on rare chance events, 'molecular time travel' experiments show

Posted: 18 Jun 2014 07:05 PM PDT

Historians can only speculate on what might have been, but a team of evolutionary biologists studying ancient proteins has turned speculation into experiment. They resurrected an ancient ancestor of an important human protein as it existed hundreds of millions of years ago and then used biochemical methods to generate and characterize a huge number of alternative histories that could have ensued from that ancient starting point.

Achilles' heel in antibiotic-resistant bacteria discovered

Posted: 18 Jun 2014 11:00 AM PDT

A breakthrough in the race to solve antibiotic resistance has been made by scientists. New research reveals an Achilles' heel in the defensive barrier that surrounds drug-resistant bacterial cells. The findings pave the way for a new wave of drugs that kill superbugs by bringing down their defensive walls rather than attacking the bacteria itself. It means that in future, bacteria may not develop drug-resistance at all.

Scientists take first dip into water's mysterious 'no-man's land'

Posted: 18 Jun 2014 11:00 AM PDT

Scientists have made the first structural observations of liquid water at temperatures down to minus 51 degrees Fahrenheit, within an elusive 'no-man's land' where water's strange properties are super-amplified.

How brain 'reboots' itself to consciousness after anesthesia

Posted: 18 Jun 2014 10:58 AM PDT

One of the great mysteries of anesthesia is how patients can be temporarily rendered completely unresponsive during surgery and then wake up again, with their memories and skills intact. "Recovery from anesthesia is not simply the result of the anesthetic 'wearing off,' but also of the brain finding its way back through a maze of possible activity states to those that allow conscious experience," one researcher said. "Put simply, the brain reboots itself."

Blocking brain's 'internal marijuana' may trigger early Alzheimer's deficits, study shows

Posted: 18 Jun 2014 10:19 AM PDT

A new study has implicated the blocking of endocannabinoids -- signaling substances that are the brain's internal versions of the psychoactive chemicals in marijuana and hashish -- in the early pathology of Alzheimer's disease.

New horned dinosaur reveals unique wing-shaped headgear

Posted: 18 Jun 2014 08:18 AM PDT

A new species of horned dinosaur has been named Mercuriceratops gemini: Mercuriceratops (Mercuri + ceratops) means "Mercury horned-face," referring to the wing-like ornamentation on its head that resembles the wings on the helmet of the Roman god, Mercury. The name "gemini" refers to the almost identical twin specimens found in north central Montana and the Dinosaur Provincial Park, in Alberta, Canada. The dinosaur had a parrot-like beak and probably had two long brow horns above its eyes. It was a plant-eating dinosaur.

'Trophy wife' stereotype is largely a myth, new study shows

Posted: 17 Jun 2014 01:43 PM PDT

The trophy wife stereotype is largely a myth fueled by selective observation that reinforces sexist stereotypes and trivializes women's careers, researchers conclude. Research also indicates that, contrary to the trophy wife stereotype, social class barriers in the marriage market are relatively impermeable. Beautiful women are unlikely to leverage their looks to secure upward mobility by marriage.

Quantum theory reveals puzzling pattern in how people respond to some surveys

Posted: 16 Jun 2014 12:13 PM PDT

Researchers used quantum theory -- usually invoked to describe the actions of subatomic particles -- to identify an unexpected and strange pattern in how people respond to survey questions.

How food marketing creates false sense of health

Posted: 13 Jun 2014 10:07 AM PDT

Health-related buzzwords, such as 'antioxidant,' 'gluten-free' and 'whole grain,' lull consumers into thinking packaged food products labeled with those words are healthier than they actually are, according to a new research study. That "false sense of health," as well as a failure to understand the information presented in nutrition facts panels on packaged food, may be contributing to the obesity epidemic in the United States, researchers say.

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