ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Microplastic pollution discovered in St. Lawrence River sediments
• No sedative necessary: Scientists discover new 'sleep node' in the brain
• Sensing neuronal activity with light
• Pupil size shows reliability of decisions, before information on decision is presented
• A more efficient, lightweight and low-cost organic solar cell: Researchers broke the 'electrode barrier'
• How epigenetic memory is passed through generations: Sperm and eggs transmit memory of gene repression to embryos
• World population to keep growing this century, hit 11 billion by 2100
• Changes in coastal upwelling linked to temporary declines in marine ecosystem
• New molecule allows for up to 10-fold increase in stem cell transplants
• Scientists discover 'dimmer switch' for mood disorders
• Human sense of fairness evolved to favor long-term cooperation, primate study suggests
• Toward quantum computing, spintronic memory, better displays: Nuclear spins control current in plastic LED
• Pulse of a dead star powers intense gamma rays
• August and June-August global temperatures each reach record high, driven largely by record warm global oceans
• 'Honeybee' robots replicate swarm behavior
• Dogs can be pessimists, too
• 'Lost chapel' skeletons found holding hands after 700 years
• Getting water from fog: Shorebird's beak inspires research on water collection
• Plant-based battery: Testing and improving with help of neutrons, simulation

Microplastic pollution discovered in St. Lawrence River sediments Posted: 18 Sep 2014 01:23 PM PDT Microplastics have been discovered widely distributed across the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, the first time such pollutants have been found in freshwater sediments. The microbeads likely originate from cosmetics, household cleansers, or industrial cleansers, to which they are commonly added as abrasives. Owing to their small size and buoyancy, they may readily pass through sewage treatment plants. Microplastics are a global contaminant in the world's oceans, but have only recently been detected in the surface waters of lakes and rivers.

No sedative necessary: Scientists discover new 'sleep node' in the brain Posted: 18 Sep 2014 01:23 PM PDT A sleep-promoting circuit located deep in the primitive brainstem has revealed how we fall into deep sleep. This is only the second 'sleep node' identified in the mammalian brain whose activity appears to be both necessary and sufficient to produce deep sleep.

Sensing neuronal activity with light Posted: 18 Sep 2014 01:23 PM PDT For years, neuroscientists have been trying to develop tools that would allow them to clearly view the brain's circuitry in action -- from the first moment a neuron fires to the resulting behavior in an organism. To get this complete picture, neuroscientists are working to develop a range of new tools to study the brain. Researchers have now developed one such tool that provides a new way of mapping neural networks in a living organism.

Pupil size shows reliability of decisions, before information on decision is presented Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:15 AM PDT The precision with which people make decisions can be predicted by measuring pupil size before they are presented with any information about the decision, according to a new study.

A more efficient, lightweight and low-cost organic solar cell: Researchers broke the 'electrode barrier' Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT For decades, polymer scientists and synthetic chemists working to improve the power conversion efficiency of organic solar cells were hampered by the inherent drawbacks of commonly used metal electrodes, including their instability and susceptibility to oxidation. Now for the first time, researchers have developed a more efficient, easily processable and lightweight solar cell that can use virtually any metal for the electrode, effectively breaking the 'electrode barrier.'

How epigenetic memory is passed through generations: Sperm and eggs transmit memory of gene repression to embryos Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT A growing body of evidence suggests that environmental stresses can cause changes in gene expression that are transmitted from parents to their offspring, making 'epigenetics' a hot topic. Epigenetic modifications do not affect the DNA sequence of genes, but change how the DNA is packaged and how genes are expressed. Now, scientists have shown how epigenetic memory can be passed across generations and from cell to cell during development.

World population to keep growing this century, hit 11 billion by 2100 Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT The chance that world population in 2100 will be between 9.6 billion and 12.3 billion people is 80 percent, according to the first such United Nations forecast to incorporate modern statistical tools.

Changes in coastal upwelling linked to temporary declines in marine ecosystem Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:14 AM PDT In findings of relevance to both conservationists and the fishing industry, new research links short-term reductions in growth and reproduction of marine animals off the California Coast to increasing variability in the strength of coastal upwelling currents -- currents which historically supply nutrients to the region's diverse ecosystem.

New molecule allows for up to 10-fold increase in stem cell transplants Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:11 AM PDT A new molecule, the first of its kind, allows for the multiplication of stem cells in a unit of cord blood. Umbilical cord stem cells are used for transplants aimed at curing a number of blood-related diseases, including leukemia, myeloma and lymphoma. For many patients this therapy comprises a treatment of last resort.

Scientists discover 'dimmer switch' for mood disorders Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:11 AM PDT Researchers have identified a control mechanism for an area of the brain that processes sensory and emotive information that humans experience as "disappointment." The discovery may provide be a neurochemical antidote for feeling let-down.

Human sense of fairness evolved to favor long-term cooperation, primate study suggests Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:11 AM PDT The human response to unfairness evolved in order to support long-term cooperation, according to a new research. Fairness is a social ideal that cannot be measured, so to understand the evolution of fairness in humans scientists have studied the behavioral responses to equal versus unequal reward division in other primates.

Toward quantum computing, spintronic memory, better displays: Nuclear spins control current in plastic LED Posted: 18 Sep 2014 11:11 AM PDT Physicists read "spins" in hydrogen nuclei and used the data to control current in a cheap, plastic LED – at room temperature and without strong magnetic fields. The study brings physics a step closer to practical "spintronic" devices: superfast computers, more compact data storage and plastic or organic LEDs, more efficient than those used today in display screens for cell phones, computers and televisions.

Pulse of a dead star powers intense gamma rays Posted: 18 Sep 2014 09:08 AM PDT NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is helping to untangle the mystery of what powers high-energy gamma rays emanating from supernova. The observatory's high-energy X-ray eyes were able to peer into a particular site of powerful gamma rays and confirm the source: A spinning, dead star called a pulsar.

August and June-August global temperatures each reach record high, driven largely by record warm global oceans Posted: 18 Sep 2014 08:19 AM PDT According to NOAA scientists, the globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for August 2014 was the highest for August since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 38th consecutive August with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average global temperature for August occurred in 1976.

'Honeybee' robots replicate swarm behavior Posted: 18 Sep 2014 08:11 AM PDT Computer scientists have created a low-cost, autonomous micro-robot which in large numbers can replicate the behavior of swarming honeybees.

Dogs can be pessimists, too Posted: 18 Sep 2014 07:16 AM PDT Dogs generally seem to be cheerful, happy-go-lucky characters, so you might expect that most would have an optimistic outlook on life. In fact some dogs are distinctly more pessimistic than others, new research shows.

'Lost chapel' skeletons found holding hands after 700 years Posted: 18 Sep 2014 06:12 AM PDT Archaeologists have uncovered a trove of relics and remains at Chapel of St Morrell in Leicestershire. Some relationships last a lifetime -- and archaeologists have discovered that they can last even longer after unearthing two skeletons at a lost chapel in Leicestershire that have been holding hands for 700 years.

Getting water from fog: Shorebird's beak inspires research on water collection Posted: 17 Sep 2014 02:33 PM PDT An engineering professor and his doctoral student have designed a device based on a shorebird's beak that can accumulate water collected from fog and dew. The device could provide water in drought-stricken areas of the world or deserts around the globe.

Plant-based battery: Testing and improving with help of neutrons, simulation Posted: 17 Sep 2014 09:05 AM PDT Lignin, a low-cost byproduct of the pulp, paper and biofuels industries, could be transformed into a cheaper version of highly engineered graphite through a simple and industrially scalable manufacturing process.

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