ScienceDaily: Top Science News

---

• Dark side of the moon revealed: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's LAMP reveals lunar surface features
• Most recent European great ape discovered
• Can we save the whales by putting a price on them?
• Boost for health? Researchers isolate protein linking exercise to health benefits
• Early primate had transitional lemur-like grooming claw
• Simpler times: Did an earlier genetic molecule predate DNA and RNA?
• Evolution of complexity recreated using 'molecular time travel'
• Harp seals on thin ice after 32 years of warming
• Prehistoric predators with supersized teeth had beefier arm bones

Dark side of the moon revealed: Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter's LAMP reveals lunar surface features Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:06 PM PST New maps produced by the Lyman Alpha Mapping Project aboard NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter reveal features at the moon's northern and southern poles in regions that lie in perpetual darkness. LAMP uses a novel method to peer into these so-called permanently shadowed regions, making visible the invisible.

Most recent European great ape discovered Posted: 13 Jan 2012 06:03 PM PST Based on a hominid molar, scientists from Germany, Bulgaria and France have documented that great apes survived in Europe in savannah-like landscapes until seven million years ago.

Can we save the whales by putting a price on them? Posted: 11 Jan 2012 10:39 AM PST Every year, a group of anti-whaling nonprofit organizations that includes Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd, and the World Wildlife Fund spend, by conservative estimates, some $25 million on a variety of activities intended to end commercial whaling.

Boost for health? Researchers isolate protein linking exercise to health benefits Posted: 11 Jan 2012 10:35 AM PST Scientists have isolated a natural hormone from muscle cells that triggers some of the key health benefits of exercise. The hormone, named irisin, switches on genes that convert white fat into "good" brown fat. The researchers call irisin a highly promising candidate for development as a novel treatment for diabetes, obesity and perhaps other disorders, including cancer.

Early primate had transitional lemur-like grooming claw Posted: 10 Jan 2012 04:29 PM PST A new study examines the first extinct North American primate with a toe bone showing features associated with the presence of both nails and a grooming claw, indicating our primate ancestors may have traded their flat nails for raised claws for functional purposes, much like pop icons Adele and Lady Gaga are doing today in the name of fashion.

Simpler times: Did an earlier genetic molecule predate DNA and RNA? Posted: 09 Jan 2012 07:30 AM PST Scientists have described the Darwinian evolution of functional TNA molecules from a large pool of random sequences. This is the first case where such methods have been applied to molecules other than DNA and RNA, or very close structural analogues thereof. One of the researchers said "the most important finding to come from this work is that TNA can fold into complex shapes that can bind to a desired target with high affinity and specificity."

Evolution of complexity recreated using 'molecular time travel' Posted: 08 Jan 2012 11:35 AM PST Scientists have now demonstrated how just a few small, high-probability mutations increased the complexity of a molecular machine more than 800 million years ago. By biochemically resurrecting ancient genes and testing their functions in modern organisms, the researchers showed that a new component was incorporated into the machine due to selective losses of function rather than the sudden appearance of new capabilities.

Harp seals on thin ice after 32 years of warming Posted: 04 Jan 2012 02:48 PM PST Warming in the North Atlantic over the last 32 years has significantly reduced winter sea ice cover in harp seal breeding grounds, resulting in sharply higher death rates among seal pups in recent years, according to a new study.

Prehistoric predators with supersized teeth had beefier arm bones Posted: 04 Jan 2012 12:37 PM PST The toothiest prehistoric predators also had beefier arm bones, according to results of a new study.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610