ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Icarus experiment measures neutrino speed: Even neutrinos are not faster than light
• Ultracold experiments heat up quantum research
• Past in monsoon changes linked to major shifts in Indian civilizations
• Highly exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives
• Early spring drives butterfly population declines: 'Ahead-of-time' snowmelt triggers chains of events in the Mormon Fritillary butterfly
• Brain imaging study finds evidence of basis for caregiving impulse
• Lyme disease surge predicted for Northeastern US: Due to acorns and mice, not mild winter
• Glittering Jewels of Messier 9
• Australian saltwater crocodiles are world’s most powerful biters
• White rice increases risk of Type 2 diabetes
• Deprived of sex, jilted flies drink more alcohol

Icarus experiment measures neutrino speed: Even neutrinos are not faster than light Posted: 16 Mar 2012 05:47 PM PDT The ICARUS experiment at the Italian Gran Sasso laboratory has reported a new measurement of the time of flight of neutrinos from CERN to Gran Sasso. The ICARUS measurement, using last year's short pulsed beam from CERN, indicates that the neutrinos do not exceed the speed of light on their journey between the two laboratories. This is at odds with the initial measurement reported by OPERA last September.

Ultracold experiments heat up quantum research Posted: 16 Mar 2012 02:51 PM PDT Physicists have experimentally demonstrated for the first time that atoms chilled to temperatures near absolute zero may behave like seemingly unrelated natural systems of vastly different scales, offering potential insights into links between the atomic realm and deep questions of cosmology.

Past in monsoon changes linked to major shifts in Indian civilizations Posted: 16 Mar 2012 11:58 AM PDT A fundamental shift in the Indian monsoon has occurred over the last few millennia, from a steady humid monsoon that favored lush vegetation to extended periods of drought, researchers report. Their study has implications for our understanding of the monsoon's response to climate change.

Highly exposed to phthalates as fetuses, female mice have altered reproductive lives Posted: 16 Mar 2012 08:26 AM PDT Many environmental and public health officials are concerned about the potential health effects of phthalates, which are common chemicals used to make plastics softer and more pliable. In the first study to examine what effect in utero doses of phthalates have on the reproductive system of mice, toxicologists found that extremely high doses were associated with significant changes, such as a shortened reproductive lifespan and abnormal cell growth in mammary glands.

Early spring drives butterfly population declines: 'Ahead-of-time' snowmelt triggers chains of events in the Mormon Fritillary butterfly Posted: 16 Mar 2012 07:16 AM PDT Early snowmelt caused by climate change in the Colorado Rocky Mountains snowballs into two chains of events: a decrease in the number of flowers, which, in turn, decreases available nectar. The result is decline in a population of the Mormon Fritillary butterfly, Speyeria mormonia.

Brain imaging study finds evidence of basis for caregiving impulse Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:45 AM PDT Distinct patterns of activity -- which may indicate a predisposition to care for infants -- appear in the brains of adults who view an image of an infant face -- even when the child is not theirs, according to a study by an international team of researchers.

Lyme disease surge predicted for Northeastern US: Due to acorns and mice, not mild winter Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:44 AM PDT The northeastern US should prepare for a surge in Lyme disease this spring. And we can blame fluctuations in acorns and mouse populations, not the mild winter.

Glittering Jewels of Messier 9 Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:40 AM PDT The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced the so far most detailed image so far of Messier 9, a globular star cluster located close to the centre of the galaxy. This ball of stars is too faint to see with the naked eye, yet Hubble can see over 250 000 individual stars shining in it.

Australian saltwater crocodiles are world’s most powerful biters Posted: 16 Mar 2012 06:34 AM PDT Marine biologists have been pondering a particularly painful-sounding question: How hard do alligators and crocodiles bite? The answer is a bite force value of 3,700 pounds for a 17-foot saltwater crocodile (as well as tooth pressures of 350,000 pounds per square inch). That's the highest bite force ever recorded.

White rice increases risk of Type 2 diabetes Posted: 15 Mar 2012 07:57 PM PDT The risk of Type 2 diabetes is significantly increased if white rice is eaten regularly, claims a new study.

Deprived of sex, jilted flies drink more alcohol Posted: 15 Mar 2012 11:50 AM PDT Scientists have discovered that a tiny molecule in the fly's brain called neuropeptide F governs this behavior—as the levels of the molecule change in their brains, the flies' behavior changes as well.

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