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Thursday, January 26, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Chemists synthesize artificial cell membrane

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:28 AM PST

Chemists have taken an important step in making artificial life forms from scratch. Using a novel chemical reaction, they have created self-assembling cell membranes, the structural envelopes that contain and support the reactions required for life. Instead of complex enzymes embedded in membranes, they used a simple metal ion as the catalyst. By assembling an essential component of earthly life with no biological precursors, they hope to illuminate life's origins.

Scientists create first atomic X-ray laser

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:28 AM PST

Scientists have created the shortest, purest X-ray laser pulses ever achieved, fulfilling a 45-year-old prediction and opening the door to a new range of scientific discovery. The researchers aimed SLAC's Linac Coherent Light Source at a capsule of neon gas, setting off an avalanche of X-ray emissions to create the world's first "atomic X-ray laser."

Dawn of social networks: Ancestors may have formed ties with both kin and non-kin based on shared attributes

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:26 AM PST

Ancient humans may not have had the luxury of updating their Facebook status, but social networks were nevertheless an essential component of their lives, a new study suggests. The study's findings describe elements of social network structures that may have been present early in human history, suggesting how our ancestors may have formed ties with both kin and non-kin based on shared attributes, including the tendency to cooperate. According to the paper, social networks likely contributed to the evolution of cooperation.

Alzheimer's neurons from pluripotent stem cells: First-ever feat provides new method to understand cause of disease, develop drugs

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 10:10 AM PST

Scientists have, for the first time, created stem cell-derived, in vitro models of sporadic and hereditary Alzheimer's disease (AD), using induced pluripotent stem cells from patients with the much-dreaded neurodegenerative disorder.

Under the electron microscope: 3-D image of an individual protein showing structure

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:13 AM PST

Scientists are reporting the first 3-D images of an individual protein ever obtained with enough clarity to determine its structure.

More than 7,500-year-old fish traps found in Russia

Posted: 25 Jan 2012 06:13 AM PST

Archeologists have documented a series of more than 7,500-year-old fish seines (nets) and traps near Moscow. The equipment found, among the oldest in Europe, displays a great technical complexity. The survey will allow us to understand the role of fishing among the European settlements by early Holocene (10,000 years ago), especially in those areas where inhabitants did not practice agriculture until nearly the Iron Age.

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