ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Morphing robots and shape-shifting sculptures: Origami-inspired design merges engineering, art
• Today's environment influences behavior generations later: Chemical exposure raises descendants' sensitivity to stress
• What baboons can teach us about social status
• Squid ink from Jurassic period identical to modern cuttlefish ink
• Totally RAD: Bioengineers create rewritable digital data storage in DNA
• Rare neurons linked to empathy and self-awareness discovered in monkey brains
• Cloak of invisibility: Engineers use plasmonics to create an invisible photodetector
• Dry lands getting drier, wet getting wetter: Earth's water cycle intensifying with atmospheric warming
• Toxic mercury, accumulating in the Arctic, springs from a hidden source
• Zooming in on bacterial weapons in 3-D: Structure of bacterial injection needles deciphered at atomic resolution

Morphing robots and shape-shifting sculptures: Origami-inspired design merges engineering, art Posted: 21 May 2012 01:41 PM PDT Researchers have shown how to create morphing robotic mechanisms and shape-shifting sculptures from a single sheet of paper in a method reminiscent of origami, the Japanese art of paper folding.

Today's environment influences behavior generations later: Chemical exposure raises descendants' sensitivity to stress Posted: 21 May 2012 01:38 PM PDT Researchers have seen an increased reaction to stress in animals whose ancestors were exposed to an environmental compound generations earlier. The findings put a new twist on the notions of nature and nurture, with broad implications for how certain behavioral tendencies might be inherited.

What baboons can teach us about social status Posted: 21 May 2012 01:38 PM PDT High-ranking male baboons recover more quickly from injuries and are less likely to become ill than other males, biologists have found.

Squid ink from Jurassic period identical to modern cuttlefish ink Posted: 21 May 2012 01:37 PM PDT Scientists have found that two ink sacs from 160-million-year-old giant squid fossils discovered 2 years ago in England contain the pigment melanin, and that it is essentially identical to the melanin found in the ink sacs of modern-day squid.

Totally RAD: Bioengineers create rewritable digital data storage in DNA Posted: 21 May 2012 01:37 PM PDT Scientists have devised a method for repeatedly encoding, storing and erasing digital data within the DNA of living cells. In practical terms, they have devised the genetic equivalent of a binary digit -- a "bit" in data parlance.

Rare neurons linked to empathy and self-awareness discovered in monkey brains Posted: 21 May 2012 08:53 AM PDT Scientists have discovered brain cells in monkeys that may be linked to self-awareness and empathy in humans.

Cloak of invisibility: Engineers use plasmonics to create an invisible photodetector Posted: 21 May 2012 07:46 AM PDT Engineers have for the first time used "plasmonic cloaking" to create a device that can see without being seen -- an invisible machine that detects light. It is the first example of what the researchers describe as a new class of devices that controls the flow of light at the nanoscale to produce both optical and electronic functions.

Dry lands getting drier, wet getting wetter: Earth's water cycle intensifying with atmospheric warming Posted: 21 May 2012 07:46 AM PDT A clear change in salinity has been detected in the world's oceans, signaling shifts and an acceleration in the global rainfall and evaporation cycle. The patterns are not uniform, with regional variations agreeing with the 'rich get richer' mechanism, where wet regions get wetter and dry regions drier.

Toxic mercury, accumulating in the Arctic, springs from a hidden source Posted: 21 May 2012 07:41 AM PDT Environmental scientists have discovered that the Arctic accumulation of mercury, a toxic element, is caused by both atmospheric forces and the flow of circumpolar rivers that carry the element north into the Arctic Ocean. While the atmospheric source was previously recognized, it now appears that twice as much mercury actually comes from the rivers. The revelation implies that concentrations of the toxin may further increase as climate change continues to modify the region's hydrological cycle and release mercury from warming Arctic soils.

Zooming in on bacterial weapons in 3-D: Structure of bacterial injection needles deciphered at atomic resolution Posted: 21 May 2012 07:38 AM PDT The plague, bacterial dysentery, and cholera have one thing in common: These dangerous diseases are caused by bacteria which infect their host using a sophisticated injection apparatus. Through needle-like structures, they release molecular agents into their host cell, thereby evading the immune response. Researchers have now elucidated the structure of such a needle at atomic resolution. Their findings might contribute to drug tailoring and the development of strategies which specifically prevent the infection process.

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