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Friday, July 11, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Extinct giant sea scorpion gets an eye exam, with surprising results

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:36 PM PDT

Poor peepers are a problem, even if you are a big, bad sea scorpion. One minute, you're an imperious predator, scouring the shallow waters for any prey in sight. The next, thanks to a post-extinction eye exam, you're reduced to trolling for weaker, soft-bodied animals you stumble upon at night.

Hi-ho! Astronomers discover seven dwarf galaxies with new telescope

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:36 PM PDT

Meet the seven new dwarf galaxies. Astronomers, using a new type of telescope made by stitching together telephoto lenses, recently discovered seven celestial surprises while probing a nearby spiral galaxy. The previously unseen galaxies may yield important insights into dark matter and galaxy evolution, while possibly signaling the discovery of a new class of objects in space.

NASA spacecraft observes further evidence of dry ice gullies on Mars

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 03:30 PM PDT

Repeated high-resolution observations made by NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) indicate the gullies on Mars' surface are primarily formed by the seasonal freezing of carbon dioxide, not liquid water. The first reports of formative gullies on Mars in 2000 generated excitement and headlines because they suggested the presence of liquid water on the Red Planet, the eroding action of which forms gullies here on Earth. Mars has water vapor and plenty of frozen water, but the presence of liquid water on the neighboring planet, a necessity for all known life, has not been confirmed.

DARPA taps Lawrence Livermore to develop world's first neural device to restore memory

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 02:53 PM PDT

The Department of Defense's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) up to $2.5 million to develop an implantable neural device with the ability to record and stimulate neurons within the brain to help restore memory, DARPA officials announced this week.

'Mississippi Baby' now has detectable HIV, researchers find

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:19 PM PDT

The child known as the 'Mississippi baby' -- an infant seemingly cured of HIV that was reported as a case study of a prolonged remission of HIV infection in the New England Journal of Medicine last fall -- now has detectable levels of HIV after more than two years of not taking antiretroviral therapy without evidence of virus, according to the pediatric HIV specialist and researchers involved in the case.

Drinking alcohol provides no heart health benefit, new study shows

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 12:19 PM PDT

Reducing the amount of alcoholic beverages consumed, even for light-to-moderate drinkers, may improve cardiovascular health, including a reduced risk of coronary heart disease, lower body mass index and blood pressure, according to a new multi-center study. The latest findings call into question previous studies which suggest that consuming light-to-moderate amounts of alcohol may have a protective effect on cardiovascular health.

Evidence of super-fast deep earthquake: Rare high-speed rupture off Russia and similar phenomena on shallow fault zones

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered the first evidence that deep earthquakes, those breaking at more than 400 kilometers (250 miles) below Earth's surface, can rupture much faster than ordinary earthquakes. The finding gives seismologists new clues about the forces behind deep earthquakes as well as fast-breaking earthquakes that strike near the surface.

Sun-like stars reveal their ages

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:10 AM PDT

A new technique for measuring the age of a star using its spin -- gyrochronology -- is coming into its own. Today astronomers are presenting the gyrochronological ages of 22 sun-like stars. Before this, only two sun-like stars had measured spins and ages.

Chimp intelligence 'runs in families,' environment less important

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 10:05 AM PDT

A chimpanzee's intelligence is largely determined by its genes, while environmental factors may be less important than scientists previously thought, according to a Georgia State University research study.

Radio-burst discovery deepens astrophysics mystery

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 08:15 AM PDT

The discovery of a split-second burst of radio waves by scientists using the Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico provides important new evidence of mysterious pulses that appear to come from deep in outer space. Exactly what may be causing such radio bursts represents a major new enigma for astrophysicists.

Hubble spots spiral bridge of young stars linking two ancient galaxies

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 07:14 AM PDT

NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed an unusual structure 100,000 light-years long, which resembles a corkscrew-shaped string of pearls and winds around the cores of two colliding galaxies. The unique structure of the star spiral may yield new insights into the formation of stellar superclusters that result from merging galaxies and gas dynamics in this rarely seen process.

How antioxidants can accelerate cancers, and why they don't protect against them

Posted: 10 Jul 2014 06:44 AM PDT

Two cancer researchers have proposed why antioxidant supplements might not be working to reduce cancer development, and why they may actually do more harm than good. Their insights are based on recent advances in the understanding of the system in our cells that establishes a natural balance between oxidizing and anti-oxidizing compounds. These compounds are involved in so-called redox (reduction and oxidation) reactions essential to cellular chemistry.

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