ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Near-miss asteroid will return next year, even closer
• Wild orangutans stressed by eco-tourists, but not for long, study out of North Borneo finds
• Process makes polymers truly plastic, changing textures on demand
• A wandering mind reveals mental processes and priorities
• Graphene supercapacitor holds promise for portable electronics
• Was human evolution caused by climate change?
• Sex-deprived fruit flies turn to alcohol, perhaps to fulfill a physiological demand for a reward
• Implanted Biofuel Cell Operating in Living Snail
• With climate change, US could face risk from Chagas disease
• Hotspots for biogenesis of small RNA molecules in plant cells discovered
• Basketball-sized eyes help squids play defense
• Protein researchers unravel the molecular dance of DNA repair
• Revolution in personalized medicine: First-ever integrative 'Omics' profile lets scientist discover, track his diabetes onset
• Rising ocean temperatures harm protected coral reefs
• Researchers create more efficient hydrogen fuel cells
• Cell phone use in pregnancy may cause behavioral disorders in offspring, mouse study suggests
• Animal health breakthrough: Research uncovers genetic marker that could help control, eliminate PRRS virus
• Inner workings of magnets may lead to faster computers
• Vineyard records link early grape ripening to climate change
• Diverse catches are better for fishery ecosystems
• Clash of the crayfish: Why the Americans are winning
• Solitary waves induce waveguide that can split light beams
• First atomic hydrogen spectral line images of a nearby galaxy
• Cold atoms simulate graphene
• Believing the impossible: No evidence for existence of psychic ability found
• Dietary cadmium may be linked with breast cancer risk
• Plants 'remember' drought, change responses to survive
• Hubble finds quasars acting as gravitational lenses

Near-miss asteroid will return next year, even closer Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:56 PM PDT An amateur team discovered the unusual asteroid, dubbed 2012 DA14, on 22 February. Its small size and orbit meant that it was spotted only after it had flown past Earth at about seven times the distance of the Moon. However, current predictions indicate that on its next flyby, due on 15 February 2013, it will pass Earth at just 24,000 km – closer than many commercial satellites.

Wild orangutans stressed by eco-tourists, but not for long, study out of North Borneo finds Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:55 PM PDT Wild orangutans that have come into contact with eco-tourists over a period of years show an immediate stress response but no signs of chronic stress, unlike other species in which permanent alterations in stress responses have been documented, new research from an Indiana University anthropologist has found.

Process makes polymers truly plastic, changing textures on demand Posted: 15 Mar 2012 01:14 PM PDT Just as a chameleon changes its color to blend in with its environment, engineers have demonstrated for the first time that they can alter the texture of plastics on demand, for example, switching back and forth between a rough surface and a smooth one.

A wandering mind reveals mental processes and priorities Posted: 15 Mar 2012 01:13 PM PDT Odds are, you're not going to make it all the way through this article without thinking about something else. In fact, studies have found that our minds are wandering half the time, drifting off to thoughts unrelated to what we're doing – did I remember to turn off the light? What should I have for dinner?

Graphene supercapacitor holds promise for portable electronics Posted: 15 Mar 2012 12:25 PM PDT Researchers have used a standard LightScribe DVD optical drive to produce electrodes composed of an expanded network of graphene that shows excellent mechanical and electrical properties as well as exceptionally high surface area. These LSG supercapacitors demonstrate high-performance graphene-based electrochemical capacitors that maintain excellent electrochemical attributes under high mechanical stress and may be ideal energy storage systems for next generation flexible, portable electronics.

Was human evolution caused by climate change? Posted: 15 Mar 2012 12:25 PM PDT Models of how animal and plant distributions are affected by climate change may also explain aspects of human evolution.

Sex-deprived fruit flies turn to alcohol, perhaps to fulfill a physiological demand for a reward Posted: 15 Mar 2012 11:54 AM PDT After being deprived of sex, male fruit flies may turn to alcohol to fulfill a physiological demand for a reward, according to a new study. Neurobiology experts say that understanding why rejected male flies find solace in ethanol could help treat human addictions.

Implanted Biofuel Cell Operating in Living Snail Posted: 15 Mar 2012 11:50 AM PDT Researchers have implanted a biofuel cell in a living snail. This is the first incidence of an implanted biofuel cell continuously operating in a snail and producing electrical power over a long period of time using the snail's physiologically produced glucose as a fuel.

With climate change, US could face risk from Chagas disease Posted: 15 Mar 2012 11:02 AM PDT People in the US may be at higher risk for Chagas disease than previously understood. A new study finds that 38 percent of kissing bugs collected in Arizona and California contained human blood and that more than 50 percent of the bugs also carried the parasite that causes this life-threatening disease. This upends the view that US kissing bug species don't regularly feed on people and suggests that Chagas could spread, driven north by climate change.

Hotspots for biogenesis of small RNA molecules in plant cells discovered Posted: 15 Mar 2012 10:59 AM PDT Throughout their life, plants form leaves and side roots. These two types of organs have something in common: their development is finely tuned by small regulatory RNA molecules, the trans-acting short interfering RNAs (ta-siRNAs). Scientists were now able to demonstrate how and where within the plant cell these ta-siRNAs are produced. They succeeded in identifying hotspots for the biogenesis of these special RNA molecules.

Basketball-sized eyes help squids play defense Posted: 15 Mar 2012 09:30 AM PDT Researchers have used complex computations to explain squids' massive peepers. Giant squids' 10-inch eyes allow them to see very large and hungry sperm whales from a distance in the pitch darkness of their deep-sea home.

Protein researchers unravel the molecular dance of DNA repair Posted: 15 Mar 2012 09:30 AM PDT Using state-of-the-art technology, scientists have successfully obtained "molecular snapshots" of tens of thousands processes involved in DNA damage repair. The results will help unravel exactly how cells repair their broken DNA, how chemotherapy affects cells' workings and will assist in the discovery of new drugs with fewer side effects.

Revolution in personalized medicine: First-ever integrative 'Omics' profile lets scientist discover, track his diabetes onset Posted: 15 Mar 2012 09:30 AM PDT Researchers have reached an unprecedented analysis in the field of personalized medicine. Their findings rely on collecting and analyzing billions of individual bits of data, an integrative Personal "Omics" Profile, or iPOP. "Omics" indicates the study of a body of information, such as the genome or the proteome. The iPOP can identify and predict myriad problems including diabetes, and researchers say that such dynamic monitoring will soon become commonplace.

Rising ocean temperatures harm protected coral reefs Posted: 15 Mar 2012 08:30 AM PDT Special conservation zones known as marine protected areas provide many direct benefits to fisheries and coral reefs. However, such zones appear to offer limited help to corals in their battle against global warming, according to a new study.

Researchers create more efficient hydrogen fuel cells Posted: 15 Mar 2012 08:04 AM PDT Hydrogen fuel cells, like those found in some "green" vehicles, have a lot of promise as an alternative fuel source, but making them practical on a large scale requires them to be more efficient and cost effective. Scientists may have now found a way around both hurdles.

Cell phone use in pregnancy may cause behavioral disorders in offspring, mouse study suggests Posted: 15 Mar 2012 08:01 AM PDT Exposure to radiation from cell phones during pregnancy affects the brain development of offspring, potentially leading to hyperactivity, researchers have determined.

Animal health breakthrough: Research uncovers genetic marker that could help control, eliminate PRRS virus Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:59 AM PDT Scientists have recently discovered a genetic marker that identifies pigs with reduced susceptibility to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome, or PRRS. The discovery may improve animal health and save the U.S. pork industry millions of dollars each year.

Inner workings of magnets may lead to faster computers Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:58 AM PDT Using the world's fastest light source -- specialized X-ray lasers -- scientists have revealed the secret inner life of magnets, a finding that could lead to faster and "smarter" computers.

Vineyard records link early grape ripening to climate change Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:58 AM PDT By using decades of vineyard records, scientists have for the first time been able to attribute early ripening of wine grapes to climate warming and declines in soil water content.

Diverse catches are better for fishery ecosystems Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:58 AM PDT Fishing for a "balanced harvest" can achieve productive fisheries as well as environmental conservation, an international scientific team reports.

Clash of the crayfish: Why the Americans are winning Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:55 AM PDT Aggressive American signal crayfish are threatening Britain's native white-clawed crayfish populations because they have better resistance to parasites and are less fussy about what they eat.

Solitary waves induce waveguide that can split light beams Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:50 AM PDT Scientists have performed simulations to help understand the occurrence of multiple solitary optical waves that are used to reconfigure optical beams. Researchers have designed the first theoretical model that describes the occurrence of multiple solitary optical waves, referred to as dark photovoltaic spatial solitons.

First atomic hydrogen spectral line images of a nearby galaxy Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:49 AM PDT Astronomers have now observed the radio emission from the neutral hydrogen gas (HI) in a nearby galaxy. Hydrogen gas emits radio emission in a spectral line at a very specific frequency of 1420 MHz.

Cold atoms simulate graphene Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:49 AM PDT Physicists Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov from Manchester University were the first to isolate and identify graphene in 2004. Graphene is a single layer of carbon atoms, which form a two-dimensional honeycomb structure. This makes graphene an exceptionally good conductor, of great interest for future electronic devices. Physicists have now simulated graphene in order to better understand its amazing properties. The newly created tool now offers new options in the search for useful materials.

Believing the impossible: No evidence for existence of psychic ability found Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:47 AM PDT Research failing to find evidence for the existence of psychic ability has been published, following a year of industry debate.

Dietary cadmium may be linked with breast cancer risk Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:45 AM PDT Dietary cadmium, a toxic metal widely dispersed in the environment and found in many farm fertilizers, may lead to an increased risk of breast cancer, according to a new study. Cadmium occurs at low concentrations naturally, but scientists are concerned because contamination of farmland mainly due to atmospheric deposition and use of fertilizers leads to higher uptake in plants. Consuming whole grains and vegetables may counteract the effects.

Plants 'remember' drought, change responses to survive Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:44 AM PDT Plants subjected to a previous period of drought learn to deal with the stress thanks to their memories of the previous experience, new research has found. The findings could lead to development of crops better able to withstand drought.

Hubble finds quasars acting as gravitational lenses Posted: 15 Mar 2012 06:44 AM PDT Astronomers have found several examples of galaxies containing quasars, which act as gravitational lenses, amplifying and distorting images of galaxies aligned behind them.

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