ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• 'Double tsunami' doubled Japan destruction
• Global winds could explain record rains, tornadoes
• NASA's Kepler confirms its first planet in habitable zone outside our solar system
• Record massive black holes discovered lurking in monster galaxies
• Giant super-Earths made of diamond are possible, study suggests
• Acquired traits can be inherited via small RNAs
• Climate changes faster than species can adapt, rattlesnake study finds
• When the heat's on, some fish can cope: Certain tropical species have greater capacity to deal with rising sea temperatures than thought
• Astronomers find fastest rotating star

'Double tsunami' doubled Japan destruction Posted: 05 Dec 2011 03:19 PM PST Researchers discovered that the destructive tsunami generated by the March 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake was a long-hypothesized "merging tsunami" that doubled in intensity over rugged ocean ridges, amplifying its destructive power before reaching shore. Satellites captured not just one wave front that day, but at least two, which merged to form a single double-high wave far out at sea -- one capable of traveling long distances without losing its power.

Global winds could explain record rains, tornadoes Posted: 05 Dec 2011 02:01 PM PST Scientists have proposed a common root for an enormous deluge in western Tennessee in May 2010, and a historic outbreak of tornadoes centered on Alabama in April 2011. Both events seem to be linked to a relatively rare coupling between the polar and the subtropical jet streams.

NASA's Kepler confirms its first planet in habitable zone outside our solar system Posted: 05 Dec 2011 11:10 AM PST NASA's Kepler mission has confirmed its first planet in the "habitable zone," the region around a star where liquid water could exist on a planet's surface. Kepler also has discovered more than 1,000 new planet candidates, nearly doubling its previously known count. Ten of these candidates are near-Earth-size and orbit in the habitable zone of their host star. Candidates require follow-up observations to verify they are actual planets.

Record massive black holes discovered lurking in monster galaxies Posted: 05 Dec 2011 11:06 AM PST Astronomers using the Keck, Gemini and MacDonald observatories have discovered the largest black holes to date: Two monsters with masses equivalent to 10 billion suns that are threatening to consume anything, even light, within a region five times the size of our solar system. These monsters may be the remains of quasars that brightened the early universe.

Giant super-Earths made of diamond are possible, study suggests Posted: 05 Dec 2011 11:05 AM PST A planet made of diamonds may sound lovely, but you wouldn't want to live there. A new study suggests that some stars in the Milky Way could harbor "carbon super-Earths" – giant terrestrial planets that contain up to 50 percent diamond. But if they exist, those planets are likely devoid of life as we know it.

Acquired traits can be inherited via small RNAs Posted: 05 Dec 2011 07:27 AM PST Researchers have found the first direct evidence that an acquired trait can be inherited without any DNA involvement. The findings suggest that Lamarck, whose theory of evolution was eclipsed by Darwin's, may not have been entirely wrong.

Climate changes faster than species can adapt, rattlesnake study finds Posted: 05 Dec 2011 07:26 AM PST The ranges of species will have to change dramatically as a result of climate change between now and 2100 because the climate will change more than 100 times faster than the rate at which species can adapt, according to a newly published study that focuses on North American rattlesnakes.

When the heat's on, some fish can cope: Certain tropical species have greater capacity to deal with rising sea temperatures than thought Posted: 05 Dec 2011 07:26 AM PST Australian scientists have discovered that some tropical fish have a greater capacity to cope with rising sea temperatures than previously thought – by adjusting over several generations. The discovery sheds a ray of hope amid the rising concern over the future of coral reefs and their fish under the levels of global warming expected to occur by the end of this century.

Astronomers find fastest rotating star Posted: 05 Dec 2011 07:24 AM PST The European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope has picked up the fastest rotating star found so far. This massive bright young star lies in our neighboring galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud, about 160,000 light-years from Earth. Astronomers think that it may have had a violent past and has been ejected from a double star system by its exploding companion.

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