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Wednesday, December 24, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Could playing Tchaikovsky's 'Nutcracker' and other music improve kids' brains?

Posted: 23 Dec 2014 10:25 AM PST

In a study called 'the largest investigation of the association between playing a musical instrument and brain development,' a child psychiatry team has found that musical training might also help kids focus their attention, control their emotions and diminish their anxiety.

Molecular mechanism behind health benefits of dietary restriction identified

Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST

A key molecular mechanism behind the health benefits of dietary restriction has been identified by researchers. Also known as calorie restriction, dietary restriction is best known for its ability to slow aging in laboratory animals. The findings here show that restricting two amino acids, methionine and cysteine, results in increased hydrogen sulfide (H2S) production and protection against ischemia reperfusion injury, damage to tissue that occurs following the interruption of blood flow as during organ transplantation and stroke.

That smartphone is giving your thumbs superpowers

Posted: 23 Dec 2014 09:22 AM PST

When people spend time interacting with their smartphones via touchscreen, it actually changes the way their thumbs and brains work together, according to a new report. More touchscreen use in the recent past translates directly into greater brain activity when the thumbs and other fingertips are touched, the study shows.

Oldest stone tool ever found in Turkey discovered

Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:41 AM PST

Scientists have discovered the oldest recorded stone tool ever to be found in Turkey, revealing that humans passed through the gateway from Asia to Europe much earlier than previously thought, approximately 1.2 million years ago. The chance find of a humanly-worked quartzite flake, in ancient deposits of the river Gediz, in western Turkey, provides a major new insight into when and how early humans dispersed out of Africa and Asia.

Trial confirms Ebola vaccine candidate safe, equally immunogenic in Africa

Posted: 23 Dec 2014 05:40 AM PST

Two experimental DNA vaccines to prevent Ebola virus and the closely related Marburg virus are safe, and generated a similar immune response in healthy Ugandan adults as reported in healthy US adults earlier this year. The findings are from the first trial of filovirus vaccines in Africa.

Ultrasounds dance the 'moonwalk' in new metamaterial

Posted: 22 Dec 2014 08:17 AM PST

Metamaterials have extraordinary properties when it comes to diverting and controlling waves, especially sound and light: for instance, they can make an object invisible, or increase the resolving power of a lens. Now, researchers have developed the first three-dimensional metamaterials by combining physico-chemical formulation and microfluidics technology. This is a new generation of soft metamaterials that are easier to shape.

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