ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Robots get a feel for the world: Touch more sensitve than a human's
• Landsat sets the standard for maps of world's forests
• Chicago woman cured of sickle cell disease
• Crucial immune fighter role of STING protein revealed
• Living alone associated with higher risk of mortality, cardiovascular death
• Loneliness in older individuals linked to functional decline, death
• Clues to nervous system evolution found in nerve-less sponge
• Brothers in arms: Commensal bacteria help fight viruses
• Discovery helps mice beat urinary tract infections
• Highways of the brain: High-cost and high-capacity
• Chemists use nanopores to detect DNA damage
• NOAA predicts a near-normal 2012 Atlantic hurricane season
• May 2012 global temperatures second warmest on record
• Dating evidence: Relics could be of John the Baptist
• 'Facebook for animals' tested on wild great tits
• Natural exposure to gamma rays in background radiation linked to childhood leukemia
• Million-year-old groundwater in Maryland water supply
• Key part of plants' rapid response system revealed
• Peaches, plums, nectarines give obesity, diabetes slim chance
• Carbon is key for getting algae to pump out more oil
• Reflected infrared light unveils never-before-seen details of Renaissance paintings
• Particle physics: BaBar data hint at cracks in the Standard Model
• Children, brain development and the criminal law
• Study improves understanding of surface molecules in controlling size of gold nanoparticles
• Black holes as particle detectors
• Yankee Fans keep enemy Red Sox closer
• The weight of nations: An estimation of adult human biomass
• Seeping Arctic methane has serious implications for Florida coastline
• Wild almond tree oil may combat obesity, diabetes
• Automated pavement crack detection and sealing prototype system developed
• Antitoxin strategy may help target other pathogens
• Expansion of forests in the European Arctic could result in the release of carbon dioxide
• Controlling hand movements : Manipulation of specific neural circuit buried in complicated brain networks in primates

Robots get a feel for the world: Touch more sensitve than a human's Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:49 PM PDT What does a robot feel when it touches something? Little or nothing until now. Specially designed robots can now be equipped with a sense of touch even more sensitive than that of humans.

Landsat sets the standard for maps of world's forests Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:49 PM PDT Countries like Brazil are using data from NASA satellites to track and measure their forests in advance of a United Nations effort to reduce climate change by providing "carbon credits" for protected land. The concept is known as REDD+, which stands for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation. It includes monitoring forest degradation and efforts in conservation and sustainable management.

Chicago woman cured of sickle cell disease Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:47 PM PDT A Chicago woman is the first Midwest patient to receive a successful stem cell transplant to cure her sickle cell disease without chemotherapy in preparation for the transplant.

Crucial immune fighter role of STING protein revealed Posted: 18 Jun 2012 04:47 PM PDT Researchers have unlocked the structure of a key protein that, when sensing certain viruses and bacteria, triggers the body's immediate immune response.

Living alone associated with higher risk of mortality, cardiovascular death Posted: 18 Jun 2012 01:17 PM PDT Living alone was associated with an increased risk of death and cardiovascular death in an international study of stable outpatients at risk of or with arterial vascular disease (such as coronary disease or peripheral vascular disease).

Loneliness in older individuals linked to functional decline, death Posted: 18 Jun 2012 01:17 PM PDT Loneliness in individuals over 60 years of age appears associated with increased risk of functional decline and death, according to a new report.

Clues to nervous system evolution found in nerve-less sponge Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:37 PM PDT Scientists have turned to the simple sponge to find clues about the evolution of the complex nervous system and found that, but for a mechanism that coordinates the expression of genes that lead to the formation of neural synapses, sponges and the rest of the animal world may not be so distant after all.

Brothers in arms: Commensal bacteria help fight viruses Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:34 PM PDT Healthy humans harbor an enormous and diverse group of bacteria and other bugs that live within their intestines. These microbial partners provide beneficial aid in multiple ways -- from helping digest food to the development of a healthy immune system. New research shows that commensal bacteria are essential to fight off viral infections.

Discovery helps mice beat urinary tract infections Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:34 PM PDT The bacteria that cause urinary tract infections may take advantage of a cellular waste disposal system that normally helps fight invaders, according to researchers.

Highways of the brain: High-cost and high-capacity Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:34 PM PDT A new study characterizes an influential network within the brain as the "backbone" for global brain communication. A costly network in terms of energy and space consumed, but one with a big pay-off.

Chemists use nanopores to detect DNA damage Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:34 PM PDT Scientists are racing to sequence DNA faster and cheaper than ever by passing strands of the genetic material through molecule-sized pores. Now, scientists have adapted this "nanopore" method to find DNA damage that can lead to mutations and disease.

NOAA predicts a near-normal 2012 Atlantic hurricane season Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:32 PM PDT Conditions in the atmosphere and the ocean favor a near-normal hurricane season in the Atlantic Basin this season.

May 2012 global temperatures second warmest on record Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:27 PM PDT The globally-averaged temperature for May 2012 marked the second warmest May since record keeping began in 1880. May 2012 also marks the 36th consecutive May and 327th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average.

Dating evidence: Relics could be of John the Baptist Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:12 PM PDT New dating evidence supports claims that bones found under a church floor in Bulgaria may be of John the Baptist, who is described in the Bible as a leading prophet and relative of Jesus Christ. Scientists dated a knucklebone from the right hand to the 1st century AD, a date which fits with the widely held view of when he would have lived. The researchers say they were surprised when they discovered the very early age of the remains adding, however, that dating evidence alone cannot prove the bones to be of John the Baptist.

'Facebook for animals' tested on wild great tits Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:05 PM PDT A new way of analyzing the social networks that link individual animals to each other has been tested on wild great tits.

Natural exposure to gamma rays in background radiation linked to childhood leukemia Posted: 18 Jun 2012 12:00 PM PDT New findings demonstrate that there are small effects of radiation even at very low doses.

Million-year-old groundwater in Maryland water supply Posted: 18 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT A portion of the groundwater in the upper Patapsco aquifer underlying Maryland is over a million years old. A new study suggests that this ancient groundwater, a vital source of freshwater supplies for the region east of Washington, DC and Baltimore, was recharged over periods of time much greater than human timescales.

Key part of plants' rapid response system revealed Posted: 18 Jun 2012 10:29 AM PDT Scientists have revealed the workings of a switch that activates plant hormones, tags them for storage or marks them for destruction.

Peaches, plums, nectarines give obesity, diabetes slim chance Posted: 18 Jun 2012 10:29 AM PDT Peaches, plums and nectarines have bioactive compounds that can potentially fight-off obesity-related diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to new studies.

Carbon is key for getting algae to pump out more oil Posted: 18 Jun 2012 08:18 AM PDT Overturning two long-held misconceptions about oil production in algae, scientists show that ramping up the microbes' overall metabolism by feeding them more carbon increases oil production as the organisms continue to grow. The findings may point to new ways to turn photosynthetic green algae into tiny "green factories" for producing raw materials for alternative fuels.

Reflected infrared light unveils never-before-seen details of Renaissance paintings Posted: 18 Jun 2012 08:18 AM PDT When restoring damaged and faded works of art, artists often employ lasers and other sophisticated imaging techniques to study intricate details, analyze pigments, and search for subtle defects not visible to the naked eye. To refine what can be seen during the restoration process even further, a team of Italian researchers has developed a new imaging tool that can capture features not otherwise detectable with the naked eye or current imaging techniques.

Particle physics: BaBar data hint at cracks in the Standard Model Posted: 18 Jun 2012 08:18 AM PDT Recently analyzed data from the BaBar experiment may suggest possible flaws in the Standard Model of particle physics, the reigning description of how the universe works on subatomic scales. The data from BaBar, a high-energy physics experiment, show that a particular type of particle decay called "B to D-star-tau-nu" happens more often than the Standard Model says it should.

Children, brain development and the criminal law Posted: 18 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT The legal system needs to take greater account of new discoveries in neuroscience that show how a difficult childhood can affect the development of a young person's brain which can increase the risk adolescent crimes, according to researchers.

Study improves understanding of surface molecules in controlling size of gold nanoparticles Posted: 18 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT Researchers have shown that the "bulkiness" of molecules commonly used in the creation of gold nanoparticles actually dictates the size of the nanoparticles – with larger so-called ligands resulting in smaller nanoparticles. The research team also found that each type of ligand produces nanoparticles in a particular array of discrete sizes.

Black holes as particle detectors Posted: 18 Jun 2012 07:28 AM PDT Black holes could serve as particle detectors, say scientists. Axions, a hypothetical but not improbable kind of particles, could accumulate around a black hole, creating a "boson cloud". After some time, this boson cloud would collapse, sending out characteristic gravity waves.

Yankee Fans keep enemy Red Sox closer Posted: 18 Jun 2012 07:26 AM PDT Fans of the New York Yankees incorrectly perceive Fenway Park, home of the archrival Boston Red Sox, to be closer to New York City than is Camden Yards, home of the Baltimore Orioles, psychologists have found. Their research shows how social categorization, collective identification, and identity threat work in concert to shape our representations of the physical world.

The weight of nations: An estimation of adult human biomass Posted: 18 Jun 2012 06:50 AM PDT The world population is over seven billion and all of these people need feeding. However, the energy requirement of a species depends not only on numbers but on its average mass. New research has estimated the total mass of the human population, defined its distribution by region, and the proportion of this biomass due to the overweight and obesity.

Seeping Arctic methane has serious implications for Florida coastline Posted: 18 Jun 2012 06:50 AM PDT All of the methane escaping into the atmosphere causes more melting ice, oceanographers say, which causes sea levels to rise and could affect coastal real estate values -- sooner rather than later.

Wild almond tree oil may combat obesity, diabetes Posted: 18 Jun 2012 06:50 AM PDT A future weapon in the battle against obesity and diabetes could come in the form of an oil derived from the seeds of wild almond trees, according to researchers.

Automated pavement crack detection and sealing prototype system developed Posted: 18 Jun 2012 06:50 AM PDT Researchers have developed a prototype automated pavement crack detection and sealing system. In road tests, the system was able to detect cracks smaller than one-eighth-inch wide and efficiently fill cracks from a vehicle moving at a speed of three miles per hour.

Antitoxin strategy may help target other pathogens Posted: 18 Jun 2012 06:50 AM PDT "Beads on a string" approach may reduce cost and development time for agents that neutralize and clear pathogenic molecules.

Expansion of forests in the European Arctic could result in the release of carbon dioxide Posted: 17 Jun 2012 11:25 AM PDT Carbon stored in Arctic tundra could be released into the atmosphere by new trees growing in the warmer region, exacerbating climate change, scientists have revealed.

Controlling hand movements : Manipulation of specific neural circuit buried in complicated brain networks in primates Posted: 17 Jun 2012 11:25 AM PDT Scientists have developed "the double viral vector transfection technique," which can deliver genes to a specific neural circuit by combining two new kinds of gene transfer vectors. With this method, they found that "indirect pathways," which were suspected to have been left behind in the course of evolution, actually plays an important role in the highly developed dexterous hand movements.

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