ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Replacing electricity with light: First physical 'metatronic' circuit created
• More powerful electric cars: Mechanism behind capacitor's high-speed energy storage discovered
• MRIs on a nanoscale?
• Climate change, increasing temperatures alter bird migration patterns
• Key to growth differences between species
• Earliest horses show past global warming affected body size of mammals
• Classic Maya Civilization collapse related to modest rainfall reductions, research suggests
• Girls' verbal skills make them better at arithmetic, study finds
• Chemical clues on formation of planetary systems: Earth 'siblings' can be different
• Impulsive kids play more video games, and kids who play more video games may become more impulsive
• First ultraluminous source in Andromeda galaxy unmasked as 'normal' stellar mass black hole
• Predator-prey relationships make possible the rich biodiversity of complex ecosystems
• Theory of the 'rotting' Y chromosome dealt a fatal blow
• Disappearing and reappearing superconductivity surprises scientists
• Energy harvesting: Wringing more energy out of everyday motions

Replacing electricity with light: First physical 'metatronic' circuit created Posted: 23 Feb 2012 03:38 PM PST The technological world of the 21st century owes a tremendous amount to advances in electrical engineering, specifically, the ability to finely control the flow of electrical charges using increasingly small and complicated circuits. And while those electrical advances continue to race ahead, researchers are pushing circuitry forward in a different way, by replacing electricity with light.

More powerful electric cars: Mechanism behind capacitor's high-speed energy storage discovered Posted: 23 Feb 2012 03:26 PM PST Researchers have discovered the means by which a polymer known as PVDF enables capacitors to store and release large amounts of energy quickly. Their findings could lead to much more powerful and efficient electric cars.

MRIs on a nanoscale? Posted: 23 Feb 2012 03:26 PM PST Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) on the nanoscale and the ever-elusive quantum computer are among the advancements edging closer toward the realm of possibility, and a new study may give both an extra nudge.

Climate change, increasing temperatures alter bird migration patterns Posted: 23 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST Birds in eastern North America are picking up the pace along their yearly migratory paths. The reason, according to researchers, is rising temperatures due to climate change.

Key to growth differences between species Posted: 23 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST The tiny, little-noticed jewel wasp may provide some answers as to how different species differ in size and shape. And that could lead to a better understanding of cell growth regulation, as well as the underlying causes of some diseases.

Earliest horses show past global warming affected body size of mammals Posted: 23 Feb 2012 11:26 AM PST As scientists continue developing climate change projection models, paleontologists studying an extreme short-term global warming event have discovered direct evidence about how mammals respond to rising temperatures. Researchers have now found a correlation between temperature and body size in mammals by following the evolution of the earliest horses about 56 million years ago: As temperatures increased, their body size decreased.

Classic Maya Civilization collapse related to modest rainfall reductions, research suggests Posted: 23 Feb 2012 11:24 AM PST The disintegration of the Maya Civilization may have been related to relatively modest reductions in rainfall, according to new research. Rather modest rainfall reductions between times when the Classic Maya Civilization flourished and its collapse - between AD 800-950, seems to have caused the collapse. These reductions amount to only 25 to 40 per cent in annual rainfall, but they were large enough for evaporation to become dominant over rainfall, and open water availability was rapidly reduced, researchers say.

Girls' verbal skills make them better at arithmetic, study finds Posted: 23 Feb 2012 10:30 AM PST While boys generally do better than girls in science and math, some studies have found that girls do better in arithmetic. A new study finds that the advantage comes from girls' superior verbal skills.

Chemical clues on formation of planetary systems: Earth 'siblings' can be different Posted: 23 Feb 2012 10:29 AM PST Astronomers have discovered that the chemical structure of Earth-like planets can be very different from the bulk composition of Earth. This may have a dramatic effect on the existence and formation of the biospheres and life on Earth-like planets.

Impulsive kids play more video games, and kids who play more video games may become more impulsive Posted: 23 Feb 2012 07:41 AM PST Impulsive children with attention problems tend to play more video games, while kids in general who spend lots of time video gaming may also develop impulsiveness and attention difficulties, according to new research.

First ultraluminous source in Andromeda galaxy unmasked as 'normal' stellar mass black hole Posted: 23 Feb 2012 07:36 AM PST Detailed observations show that the first ultraluminous X-ray source detected in our neighboring Andromeda galaxy is due to a stellar mass black hole swallowing material at very high rates. The emission of the ultraluminous source probably originates from a system similar to X-ray binaries in our galaxy with matter accreting onto a black hole, which is at least 13 times more massive than our Sun. Unlike X-ray binaries in our own Milky Way, however, this source is much less obscured by interstellar gas and dust, allowing detailed investigations also at low X-ray energies.

Predator-prey relationships make possible the rich biodiversity of complex ecosystems Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:46 PM PST As scientists warn that the Earth is on the brink of a period of mass extinctions, they are struggling to identify ecosystem responses to environmental change. But to truly understand these responses, more information is needed about how the Earth's staggering diversity of species originated.

Theory of the 'rotting' Y chromosome dealt a fatal blow Posted: 22 Feb 2012 12:43 PM PST If you were to discover that a fundamental component of human biology has survived virtually intact for the past 25 million years, you'd be quite confident in saying that it is here to stay. Such is the case for a team of scientists, whose latest research on the evolution of the human Y chromosome confirms that the Y -— despite arguments to the contrary —- has a long, healthy future ahead of it.

Disappearing and reappearing superconductivity surprises scientists Posted: 22 Feb 2012 10:26 AM PST Superconductivity is a rare physical state in which matter is able to conduct electricity -- maintain a flow of electrons -- without any resistance. This phenomenon can only be found in certain materials at low temperatures, or can be induced under chemical and high external pressure conditions. Research to create superconductors at higher temperatures has been ongoing for two decades with the promise of significant impact on electrical transmission. New work demonstrates unexpected superconductivity in a type of compounds called iron selenium chalcogenides.

Energy harvesting: Wringing more energy out of everyday motions Posted: 21 Feb 2012 12:14 PM PST Randomness and chaos in nature, as it turns out, can be a good thing -- especially when trying to harvest energy from the movements of everyday activities. Engineers believe they have come up with the theoretical underpinning that could lead to the development of energy harvesting devices that are not only more versatile than those in use today, but should be able to wring out more electricity from the motions of life.

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