ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Drop in carbon dioxide levels led to polar ice sheet, study finds
• Rise of atmospheric oxygen more complicated than previously thought
• New switch could improve electronics
• Strange new 'species' of ultra-red galaxy discovered
• Archaeologists find new evidence of animals being introduced to prehistoric Caribbean
• Some people can hallucinate colors at will

Drop in carbon dioxide levels led to polar ice sheet, study finds Posted: 01 Dec 2011 02:42 PM PST A drop in carbon dioxide appears to be the driving force that led to the Antarctic ice sheet's formation, according to a recent study of molecules from ancient algae found in deep-sea core samples.

Rise of atmospheric oxygen more complicated than previously thought Posted: 01 Dec 2011 11:27 AM PST The appearance of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere probably did not occur as a single event, but as a long series of starts and stops, according to an international team of researchers who investigated rock cores from the FAR DEEP project.

New switch could improve electronics Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:54 AM PST Researchers have invented a new type of electronic switch that performs electronic logic functions within a single molecule. The incorporation of such single-molecule elements could enable smaller, faster, and more energy-efficient electronics.

Strange new 'species' of ultra-red galaxy discovered Posted: 01 Dec 2011 09:53 AM PST In the distant reaches of the universe, almost 13 billion light-years from Earth, a strange species of galaxy lay hidden. Cloaked in dust and dimmed by the intervening distance, even the Hubble Space Telescope couldn't spy it. It took the revealing power of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope to uncover not one, but four remarkably red galaxies. And while astronomers can describe the members of this new "species," they can't explain what makes them so ruddy.

Archaeologists find new evidence of animals being introduced to prehistoric Caribbean Posted: 01 Dec 2011 07:54 AM PST An archaeological research team has found one of the most diverse collections of prehistoric non-native animal remains in the Caribbean, on the tiny island of Carriacou. The find contributes to our understanding of culture in the region before the arrival of Columbus, and suggests Carriacou may have been more important than previously thought.

Some people can hallucinate colors at will Posted: 30 Nov 2011 07:02 AM PST Scientists have found that some people have the ability to hallucinate colors at will -- even without the help of hypnosis.

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