ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Encyclopedia of how genomes function gets much bigger
• Junk food makes rats lose appetite for balanced diet
• Rubber meets the road with new carbon, battery technologies
• Stop and listen: Study shows how movement affects hearing
• Stone-tipped spears lethal, may indicate early cognitive and social skills
• Bronze age wine cellar found: Wine residue, herbal additives found in palace cellar jars
• Wolves susceptible to yawn contagion: Social bonds may increase yawning contagion between wolves
• emotional association of memories changed by researchers
• Marijuana compound may offer treatment for Alzheimer's disease
• Snowfall in a warmer world
• Shared biology in human, fly and worm genomes: Powerful commonalities in biological activity, regulation
• Neuroscientists reverse memories' emotional associations: Brain circuit that links feelings to memories manipulated
• Evolution used similar molecular toolkits to shape flies, worms, and humans
• Detecting neutrinos, physicists look into the heart of the sun
• Flexing the brain: Why learning tasks can be difficult
• Red Planet's Climate History uncovered in Unique Meteorite
• Early growth of giant galaxy, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, revealed
• Walking fish reveal how our ancestors evolved onto land
• New smartphone app can detect newborn jaundice in minutes
• Southwest U. S. may face 'megadrought' this century
• NOAA's Marine Debris Program reports on national issue of derelict fishing traps
• Pacific plate shrinking as it cools
• Paleontologists describe a possible dinosaur nest and young 'babysitter'
• Orion rocks! Pebble-size particles may jump-start planet formation
• Marching in unison may increase risk of use of excessive force in policing protests
• Measurement at Big Bang conditions confirms lithium problem
• What lit up the universe?
• The evolutionary roots of human altruism
• Fever's origin discovered by researchers
• Sheepdogs use simple rules to herd sheep
• Animals first flex their muscles: Earliest fossil evidence for animals with muscles
• Composition of Earth's mantle revisited
• Best view yet of merging galaxies in distant universe

Encyclopedia of how genomes function gets much bigger Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:17 PM PDT A big step in understanding the mysteries of the human genome has been unveiled in the form of three analyses that provide the most detailed comparison yet of how the genomes of the fruit fly, roundworm, and human function. The analyses will likely offer insights into how the information in the human genome regulates development, and how it is responsible for diseases.

Junk food makes rats lose appetite for balanced diet Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:17 PM PDT A diet of junk food not only makes rats fat, but also reduces their appetite for novel foods, a preference that normally drives them to seek a balanced diet, reports a study. "The interesting thing about this finding is that if the same thing happens in humans, eating junk food may change our responses to signals associated with food rewards," says an author. "It's like you've just had ice cream for lunch, yet you still go and eat more when you hear the ice cream van come by."

Rubber meets the road with new carbon, battery technologies Posted: 27 Aug 2014 12:16 PM PDT Recycled tires could see new life in lithium-ion batteries that provide power to plug-in electric vehicles and store energy produced by wind and solar, say researchers. By modifying the microstructural characteristics of carbon black, a substance recovered from discarded tires, a team is developing a better anode for lithium-ion batteries.

Stop and listen: Study shows how movement affects hearing Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:17 AM PDT When we want to listen carefully to someone, the first thing we do is stop talking. The second thing we do is stop moving altogether. The interplay between movement and hearing has a counterpart deep in the brain. A new study used optogenetics to reveal exactly how the motor cortex, which controls movement, can tweak the volume control in the auditory cortex, which interprets sound.

Stone-tipped spears lethal, may indicate early cognitive and social skills Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:16 AM PDT Attaching a stone tip on to a wooden spear shaft was a significant innovation for early modern humans living around 500,000 years ago. However, it was also a costly behavior in terms of time and effort to collect, prepare and assemble the spear. Researchers conducted controlled experiments to learn if there was a 'wounding' advantage between using a wooden spear or a stone-tipped spear.

Bronze age wine cellar found: Wine residue, herbal additives found in palace cellar jars Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:15 AM PDT A Bronze Age palace excavation reveals an ancient wine cellar. Wine production, distribution, and consumption are thought to have played a role in the lives of those living in the Mediterranean and Near East during the Middle Bronze Age (1900-1600 BC), but little archaeological evidence about Bronze Age wine is available to support art and documentation about the role wine played during this period.

Wolves susceptible to yawn contagion: Social bonds may increase yawning contagion between wolves Posted: 27 Aug 2014 11:15 AM PDT Wolves may be susceptible to yawn contagion, according to a new study. Researchers suggest that contagious yawning may be linked to human capacity for empathy, but little evidence apart from studies on primates, exists that links contagious yawning to empathy in other animals. Recently, researchers have documented domestic dogs demonstrating contagious yawning when exposed to human yawns in a scientific setting, but it is unclear whether this phenomenon is rooted in the evolutionary history of mammals, or has evolved in dogs as a result of domestication.

emotional association of memories changed by researchers Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:18 AM PDT By manipulating neural circuits in the brain of mice, scientists have altered the emotional associations of specific memories. The research reveals that the connections between the part of the brain that stores contextual information about an experience and the part of the brain that stores the emotional memory of that experience are malleable.

Marijuana compound may offer treatment for Alzheimer's disease Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:18 AM PDT Extremely low levels of the compound in marijuana known as delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, or THC, may slow or halt the progression of Alzheimer's disease, a recent study from neuroscientists shows.

Snowfall in a warmer world Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:17 AM PDT Big snowstorms will still occur in the Northern Hemisphere following global warming, a study shows. While most areas in the Northern Hemisphere will likely experience less snowfall throughout a season, the study concludes that extreme snow events will still occur, even in a future with significant warming.

Shared biology in human, fly and worm genomes: Powerful commonalities in biological activity, regulation Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:17 AM PDT Researchers analyzing human, fly, and worm genomes have found that these species have a number of key genomic processes in common, reflecting their shared ancestry. The findings offer insights into embryonic development, gene regulation and other biological processes vital to understanding human biology and disease.

Neuroscientists reverse memories' emotional associations: Brain circuit that links feelings to memories manipulated Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:16 AM PDT Most memories have some kind of emotion associated with them: Recalling the week you just spent at the beach probably makes you feel happy, while reflecting on being bullied provokes more negative feelings. A new study from neuroscientists reveals the brain circuit that controls how memories become linked with positive or negative emotions.

Evolution used similar molecular toolkits to shape flies, worms, and humans Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:16 AM PDT Although separated by hundreds of millions of years of evolution, flies, worms, and humans share ancient patterns of gene expression, according to a massive analysis of genomic data. Two related studies tell a similar story: even though humans, worms, and flies bear little obvious similarity to each other, evolution used remarkably similar molecular toolkits to shape them.

Detecting neutrinos, physicists look into the heart of the sun Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:16 AM PDT Using one of the most sensitive neutrino detectors on the planet, physicists have directly detected neutrinos created by the 'keystone' proton-proton fusion process going on at the sun's core for the first time.

Flexing the brain: Why learning tasks can be difficult Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:16 AM PDT Learning a new skill is easier when it is related to an ability we already have. For example, a trained pianist can learn a new melody easier than learning how to hit a tennis serve. Scientists have discovered a fundamental constraint in the brain that may explain why this happens.

Red Planet's Climate History uncovered in Unique Meteorite Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT Was Mars — now a cold, dry place — once a warm, wet planet that sustained life? Research underway may one day answer those questions — and perhaps even help pave the way for future colonization of the Red Planet. By analyzing the chemical clues locked inside an ancient Martian meteorite known as Black Beauty, scientists are revealing the story of Mars' ancient, and sometimes startling, climate history.

Early growth of giant galaxy, just 3 billion years after the Big Bang, revealed Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT The birth of massive galaxies, according to galaxy formation theories, begins with the buildup of a dense, compact core that is ablaze with the glow of millions of newly formed stars. Evidence of this early construction phase, however, has eluded astronomers — until now. Astronomers identified a dense galactic core, dubbed "Sparky," using a combination of data from several space telescopes. Hubble photographed the emerging galaxy as it looked 11 billion years ago, just 3 billion years after the birth of our universe in the big bang.

Walking fish reveal how our ancestors evolved onto land Posted: 27 Aug 2014 10:15 AM PDT About 400 million years ago a group of fish began exploring land and evolved into tetrapods – today's amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals. But just how these ancient fish used their fishy bodies and fins in a terrestrial environment and what evolutionary processes were at play remain scientific mysteries.

New smartphone app can detect newborn jaundice in minutes Posted: 27 Aug 2014 09:25 AM PDT Engineers and physicians have developed a smartphone application that checks for jaundice in newborns and can deliver results to parents and pediatricians within minutes. Skin that turns yellow can be a sure sign that a newborn is jaundiced and isn't adequately eliminating the chemical bilirubin. But that discoloration is sometimes hard to see, and severe jaundice left untreated can harm a baby.

Southwest U. S. may face 'megadrought' this century Posted: 27 Aug 2014 09:25 AM PDT Due to global warming, scientists say, the chances of the southwestern United States experiencing a decade long drought is at least 50 percent, and the chances of a "megadrought" – one that lasts over 30 years – ranges from 20 to 50 percent over the next century.

NOAA's Marine Debris Program reports on national issue of derelict fishing traps Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT Thousands of fishing traps are lost or abandoned each year in US waters. A new NOAA report is the first of its kind to examine the derelict fish trap problem, nationally, and recommends actions to better manage and prevent it.

Pacific plate shrinking as it cools Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT The Pacific tectonic plate is not as rigid as scientists believe, according to new calculations. Scientists have determined that cooling of the lithosphere -- the outermost layer of Earth -- makes some sections of the Pacific plate contract horizontally at faster rates than others and cause the plate to deform.

Paleontologists describe a possible dinosaur nest and young 'babysitter' Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT A new examination of a rock slab containing fossils of 24 very young dinosaurs and one older individual is suggestive of a group of hatchlings overseen by a caretaker, according to a new study.

Orion rocks! Pebble-size particles may jump-start planet formation Posted: 27 Aug 2014 08:18 AM PDT Astronomers have discovered that filaments of star-forming gas near the Orion Nebula may be brimming with pebble-size particles -- planetary building blocks 100 to 1,000 times larger than the dust grains typically found around protostars.

Marching in unison may increase risk of use of excessive force in policing protests Posted: 27 Aug 2014 07:14 AM PDT What if the simple act of marching in unison -- as riot police commonly do -- increases the likelihood that law enforcement will use excessive force in policing protests? That's the suggestion of a new study that examined the judgments of men who were asked to walk in step with other men.

Measurement at Big Bang conditions confirms lithium problem Posted: 27 Aug 2014 07:02 AM PDT The field of astrophysics has a stubborn problem and it's called lithium. The quantities of lithium predicted to have resulted from the Big Bang are not actually present in stars. But the calculations are correct -- a fact which has now been confirmed for the first time.

What lit up the universe? Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:21 AM PDT New research shows we will soon uncover the origin of the ultraviolet light that bathes the cosmos, helping scientists understand how galaxies were built. The study by cosmologists shows how forthcoming astronomical surveys will reveal what lit up the cosmos.

The evolutionary roots of human altruism Posted: 27 Aug 2014 06:20 AM PDT Scientists have long been searching for the factor that determines why humans often behave so selflessly. It was known that humans share this tendency with species of small Latin American primates of the family Callitrichidae (tamarins and marmosets), leading some to suggest that cooperative care for the young, which is ubiquitous in this family, was responsible for spontaneous helping behavior. But it was not so clear what other primate species do in this regard, because most studies were not comparable.

Fever's origin discovered by researchers Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:57 PM PDT Fever is a response to inflammation, and is triggered by an onset of the signaling substance prostaglandin. Researchers can now see precisely where these substances are produced -- a discovery that paves the way for smarter drugs.

Sheepdogs use simple rules to herd sheep Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:55 PM PDT Sheepdogs use just two simple rules to round up large herds of sheep, scientists have discovered. The findings could lead to the development of robots that can gather and herd livestock, crowd control techniques, or new methods to clean up the environment.

Animals first flex their muscles: Earliest fossil evidence for animals with muscles Posted: 26 Aug 2014 05:54 PM PDT A new fossil discovery identifies the earliest evidence for animals with muscles. An unusual new fossil discovery of one of the earliest animals on earth may also provide the oldest evidence of muscle tissue -- the bundles of cells that make movement in animals possible. The fossil, dating from 560 million years ago, was discovered in Newfoundland, Canada.

Composition of Earth's mantle revisited Posted: 26 Aug 2014 12:28 PM PDT The makeup of Earth's lower mantle, which makes up the largest part of the Earth by volume, is significantly different than previously thought, research suggests. This should shed light on unexplained seismic phenomena.

Best view yet of merging galaxies in distant universe Posted: 26 Aug 2014 11:11 AM PDT Astronomers have obtained the best view yet of a collision between two galaxies when the Universe was only half its current age. To make this observation, the team also enlisted the help of a gravitational lens, a galaxy-size magnifying glass, to reveal otherwise invisible detail.

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