ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Salty soil can suck water out of atmosphere: Could it happen on Mars?
• Ultra-fast outflows help monster black holes shape their galaxies
• Hyperactivity in brain may explain multiple symptoms of depression
• Amoeba may offer key clue to photosynthetic evolution
• Immortal worms defy ageing
• New fossil penguin from New Zealand may be the biggest ever
• 'Universal' vaccines could finally allow for wide-scale flu prevention
• Unusual weather: Arctic sea ice decline may be driving snowy winters seen in recent years in N. Hemisphere
• Study extends the 'ecology of fear' to fear of parasites
• Some bacteria attack using spring-loaded poison daggers
• RNA interference cancer treatment? Delivering RNA with tiny sponge-like spheres
• Quantum microphone captures extremely weak sound
• Volcanoes deliver two flavors of water
• Egg-producing stem cells isolated from adult human ovaries
• Glow and be eaten: Marine bacteria use light to lure plankton and fish

Salty soil can suck water out of atmosphere: Could it happen on Mars? Posted: 27 Feb 2012 05:49 PM PST The frigid McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are a cold, polar desert, yet the sandy soils there are frequently dotted with moist patches in the spring despite a lack of snowmelt and no possibility of rain. A new study has found that that the salty soils in the region actually suck moisture out of the atmosphere, raising the possibility that such a process could take place on Mars or on other planets.

Ultra-fast outflows help monster black holes shape their galaxies Posted: 27 Feb 2012 01:28 PM PST A curious correlation between the mass of a galaxy's central black hole and the velocity of stars in a vast, roughly spherical structure known as its bulge has puzzled astronomers for years. Astronomers have now identified a new type of black-hole-driven outflow that appears to be both powerful enough and common enough to explain this link.

Hyperactivity in brain may explain multiple symptoms of depression Posted: 27 Feb 2012 01:26 PM PST People with depression suffer a number of symptoms -- including anxiety, memory issues, and sleep disturbances. Now researchers have found that the brains of depressed people show hyperactivity; The finding sheds new light on the brain dysfunction that causes depression and its wide array of symptoms.

Amoeba may offer key clue to photosynthetic evolution Posted: 27 Feb 2012 12:28 PM PST The major difference between plant and animal cells is the photosynthetic process, which converts light energy into chemical energy. When light isn't available, energy is generated by breaking down carbohydrates and sugars, just as it is in animal and some bacterial cells. Two cellular organelles are responsible for these two processes: the chloroplasts for and the mitochondria. New research has opened a window into the early stages of chloroplast evolution.

Immortal worms defy ageing Posted: 27 Feb 2012 12:26 PM PST Researchers have demonstrated how a species of flatworm overcomes the ageing process to be potentially immortal.

New fossil penguin from New Zealand may be the biggest ever Posted: 27 Feb 2012 12:25 PM PST After 35 years, a giant fossil penguin has finally been completely reconstructed, giving researchers new insights into prehistoric penguin diversity.

'Universal' vaccines could finally allow for wide-scale flu prevention Posted: 27 Feb 2012 08:15 AM PST Scientists have found that an emerging class of long-lasting flu vaccines called "universal" vaccines could for the first time allow for the effective, wide-scale prevention of flu by limiting the virus' ability to spread and mutate. A computational model showed that the vaccines could achieve unprecedented control of the flu virus both seasonally and during outbreaks of highly contagious new strains.

Unusual weather: Arctic sea ice decline may be driving snowy winters seen in recent years in N. Hemisphere Posted: 27 Feb 2012 08:10 AM PST A new study provides further evidence of a relationship between melting ice in the Arctic regions and widespread cold outbreaks in the Northern Hemisphere. The study's findings could improve seasonal forecasting of snow and temperature anomalies across northern continents.

Study extends the 'ecology of fear' to fear of parasites Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST The ecology of fear, like other concepts from predator-prey theory, also extends to parasites, new research suggests. Raccoons and squirrels would give up food, the study demonstrated, if the area was infested with larval ticks. At some level, they are weighing the value of the abandoned food against the risk of being parasitized.

Some bacteria attack using spring-loaded poison daggers Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST Bacteria have evolved different systems for secreting proteins. One, called a type VI secretion system, is found in about a quarter of all bacteria with two membranes. Despite being common, researchers have not understood how it works. Now scientists have figured out the structure of the type VI secretion system apparatus and proposed how it might work -- by shooting spring-loaded poison molecular daggers.

RNA interference cancer treatment? Delivering RNA with tiny sponge-like spheres Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:43 AM PST For the past decade, scientists have been pursuing cancer treatments based on RNA interference -- a phenomenon that offers a way to shut off malfunctioning genes with short snippets of RNA. However, one huge challenge remains: finding a way to efficiently deliver the RNA. Scientists have now come up with a novel delivery vehicle in which RNA is packed into microspheres so dense that they withstand degradation until they reach their destinations. The new system knocks down expression of specific genes as effectively as existing delivery methods, but with a much smaller dose of particles.

Quantum microphone captures extremely weak sound Posted: 27 Feb 2012 06:39 AM PST Scientists have demonstrated a new kind of detector for sound at the level of quietness of quantum mechanics. The result offers prospects of a new class of quantum hybrid circuits that mix acoustic elements with electrical ones, and may help illuminate new phenomena of quantum physics.

Volcanoes deliver two flavors of water Posted: 26 Feb 2012 12:36 PM PST By analyzing submarine volcanic glass from the Manus Basin, scientists found unexpected changes in hydrogen and boron isotopes from the deep mantle. They expected to see the "fingerprint" of seawater. But discovered evidence of seawater distilled from a more ancient plate descent, preserved for as long as one billion years. The data indicate that these ancient "slabs" can return to the upper mantle, and that rates of hydrogen exchange may not conform to experiments.

Egg-producing stem cells isolated from adult human ovaries Posted: 26 Feb 2012 12:36 PM PST For the first time, researchers have isolated egg-producing stem cells from the ovaries of reproductive age women and shown these cells can produce what appear to be normal egg cells or oocytes.

Glow and be eaten: Marine bacteria use light to lure plankton and fish Posted: 26 Feb 2012 12:35 PM PST Not all that glitters is gold. Sometimes it is just bacteria trying to get ahead in life. Many sea creatures glow with a biologically produced light. This phenomenon, known as bioluminescence, is observed, among others, in some marine bacteria which emit a steady light once they have reached a certain level of concentration (a phenomenon called "quorum sensing") on organic particles in ocean waters. Though this was a known occurrence, the benefits of producing light remained unclear. Now, researchers have unraveled the mystery of why the marine bacteria glow. It has to do with what might be called "the survival of the brightest."

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