ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Search for better biofuels microbes leads to human gut
• Future flexible electronics based on carbon nanotubes
• Termites evolved complex bioreactors 30 million years ago
• Food affected by Fukushima disaster harms animals, even at low-levels of radiation, study shows
• Artificial intelligence that imitates children’s learning
• Infant solar system shows signs of windy weather
• Firelight talk of the Kalahari Bushmen: Did tales told over fires aid our social and cultural evolution?
• Mown grass smell sends SOS for help in resisting insect attacks
• Directed evolution: Bioengineered decoy protein may stop cancer from spreading

Search for better biofuels microbes leads to human gut Posted: 23 Sep 2014 08:07 AM PDT Scientists have scoured cow rumens and termite guts for microbes that can efficiently break down plant cell walls for the production of next-generation biofuels, but some of the best microbial candidates actually may reside in the human lower intestine, researchers report.

Future flexible electronics based on carbon nanotubes Posted: 23 Sep 2014 08:06 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated a new method to improve the reliability and performance of transistors and circuits based on carbon nanotubes, a semiconductor material that has long been considered by scientists as one of the most promising successors to silicon for smaller, faster and cheaper electronic devices.

Termites evolved complex bioreactors 30 million years ago Posted: 23 Sep 2014 07:16 AM PDT Achieving complete breakdown of plant biomass for energy conversion in industrialized bioreactors remains a complex challenge, but new research shows that termite fungus farmers solved this problem more than 30 million years ago. The new insight reveals that the great success of termite farmers as plant decomposers is due to division of labor between a fungus breaking down complex plant components and gut bacteria contributing enzymes for final digestion.

Food affected by Fukushima disaster harms animals, even at low-levels of radiation, study shows Posted: 23 Sep 2014 06:02 AM PDT Butterflies eating food collected from cities around the Fukushima nuclear meltdown site showed higher rates of death and disease, according to a study. "Our study demonstrated that eating contaminated foods could cause serious negative effects on organisms. Such negative effects may be passed down the generations. On the bright side, eating non-contaminated food improves the negative effects, even in the next generation," the lead author noted.

Artificial intelligence that imitates children’s learning Posted: 23 Sep 2014 05:59 AM PDT The computer programs used in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are highly specialized. They can for example fly airplanes, play chess or assemble cars in controlled industrial environments. Scientists have now created an AI program that can learn how to solve problems in many different areas. The program is designed to imitate certain aspects of children's cognitive development.

Infant solar system shows signs of windy weather Posted: 22 Sep 2014 12:29 PM PDT Astronomers have observed what may be the first-ever signs of windy weather around a T Tauri star, an infant analog of our own Sun. This may help explain why some T Tauri stars have disks that glow weirdly in infrared light while others shine in a more expected fashion.

Firelight talk of the Kalahari Bushmen: Did tales told over fires aid our social and cultural evolution? Posted: 22 Sep 2014 12:28 PM PDT A study of Africa's Kalahari Bushmen suggests that stories told over firelight helped human culture and thought evolve by reinforcing social traditions, promoting harmony and equality, and sparking the imagination to envision a broad sense of community, both with distant people and the spirit world.

Mown grass smell sends SOS for help in resisting insect attacks Posted: 22 Sep 2014 11:58 AM PDT The smell of cut grass in recent years has been identified as the plant's way of signalling distress, but new research says the aroma also summons beneficial insects to the rescue. Such findings may help plant breeders know how to develop new varieties that are more resistant to insects and drought.

Directed evolution: Bioengineered decoy protein may stop cancer from spreading Posted: 21 Sep 2014 11:51 AM PDT A decoy protein has been designed by researcher to interrupt the signaling pathway that triggers the breakaway of cancerous cells; in other words the signal that initiates metastasis. Preliminary tests showed this strategy effective in mice models; infusion with this decoy protein greatly reduced metastasis in mice with aggressive breast and ovarian cancers when compared to a control group. Years of tests lie ahead, but it's a promising start for an alternative to chemotherapy.

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