ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• 'Magical state' of embryonic stem cells may help overcome hurdles to therapeutics
• Got mass? Scientists observe electrons become both heavy and speedy
• Self-assembling nanocubes for next generation antennas and lenses
• 'Extremely little' telescope discovers pair of odd planets
• Small planets don't need 'heavy metal' stars to form
• Scientists see new hope for restoring vision with stem cell help
• Scientists synthesize first genetically evolved semiconductor material
• Alien Earths could form earlier than expected
• NASA's NuSTAR mission lifts off
• Northeast Passage soon free from ice again?
• New energy source for future medical implants: Sugar
• Bonobo genome completed: The final great ape to be sequenced
• Mapping the healthy human microbiome
• Where humans split from sharks: Common ancestor comes into focus
• Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behavior
• Robotic assistants may adapt to humans in the factory
• Inner ear may hold key to ancient primate behavior
• No evidence for 'knots' in space: Theories of primordial universe predict existence of knots in space
• Little mighty creature of the ocean inspires strong new material for medical implants and armour
• Toddler spatial knowledge boosts understanding of numbers
• Dissonant music brings out the animal in listeners
• Earlier birth, at 37 weeks, is best for twins, study suggests
• Radiation-resistant circuits from mechanical parts
• Brain area identified that determines distance from which sound originates

'Magical state' of embryonic stem cells may help overcome hurdles to therapeutics Posted: 13 Jun 2012 12:32 PM PDT With their potential to treat a wide range of diseases and uncover fundamental processes that lead to those diseases, embryonic stem (ES) cells hold great promise for biomedical science. A number of hurdles, both scientific and non-scientific, however, have precluded scientists from reaching the holy grail of using these special cells to treat heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer's and other diseases. New research shows that ES cells cycle in and out of a "magical state" in the early stages of embryo development.

Got mass? Scientists observe electrons become both heavy and speedy Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:54 AM PDT Scientists have shown how electrons moving in certain solids can behave as though they are a thousand times more massive than free electrons, yet at the same time act as speedy superconductors.

Self-assembling nanocubes for next generation antennas and lenses Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:54 AM PDT Researchers have developed a technique that enables metallic nanocrystals to self-assemble into larger, complex materials for next-generation antennas and lenses. The metal nanocrystals are cube-shaped and, like bricks or Tetris blocks, spontaneously organize themselves into larger-scale structures with precise orientations relative to one another.

'Extremely little' telescope discovers pair of odd planets Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:53 AM PDT Though the KELT North telescope in southern Arizona carries a lens no more powerful than a high-end digital camera, it's just revealed the existence of two very unusual faraway planets.

Small planets don't need 'heavy metal' stars to form Posted: 13 Jun 2012 11:16 AM PDT The formation of small worlds like Earth previously was thought to occur mostly around stars rich in heavy elements such as iron and silicon. However, new ground-based observations, combined with data collected by NASA's Kepler space telescope, show small planets form around stars with a wide range of heavy element content and suggest they may be widespread in our galaxy.

Scientists see new hope for restoring vision with stem cell help Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:33 AM PDT Human-derived stem cells can spontaneously form the tissue that develops into the part of the eye that allows us to see, according to a new study. Transplantation of this 3-D tissue in the future could help patients with visual impairments see clearly.

Scientists synthesize first genetically evolved semiconductor material Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:33 AM PDT In the not-too-distant future, scientists may be able to use DNA to grow their own specialized materials, thanks to the concept of directed evolution. Scientists have, for the first time, used genetic engineering and molecular evolution to develop the enzymatic synthesis of a semiconductor.

Alien Earths could form earlier than expected Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:32 AM PDT Previous studies have shown that Jupiter-sized gas giants tend to form around stars containing more heavy elements than the sun. However, new research found that planets smaller than Neptune are located around a wide variety of stars, including those with fewer heavy elements than the sun. As a result, rocky worlds like Earth could have formed earlier than expected in the universe's history.

NASA's NuSTAR mission lifts off Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:32 AM PDT NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) launched into the morning skies over the central Pacific Ocean at 9 a.m. PDT (noon EDT) Wednesday, beginning its mission to unveil secrets of buried black holes and other exotic objects.

Northeast Passage soon free from ice again? Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT The Northeast Passage, the sea route along the North coast of Russia, is expected to be free of ice early again this summer. The forecast was made by sea ice physicists based on a series of measurement flights over the Laptev Sea, a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean.

New energy source for future medical implants: Sugar Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT An implantable fuel cell could power neural prosthetics that help patients regain control of limbs. Engineers have developed a fuel cell that runs on the same sugar that powers human cells: glucose. This glucose fuel cell could be used to drive highly efficient brain implants of the future, which could help paralyzed patients move their arms and legs again.

Bonobo genome completed: The final great ape to be sequenced Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT Scientists have completed the genome of the bonobo -- the final great ape to be sequenced. Bonobos, which together with chimpanzees are the closest living relatives of humans, are known for their peaceful, playful and sexual behavior that contrasts with the more aggressive behavior of chimpanzees.

Mapping the healthy human microbiome Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT Human beings are ecosystems on two legs, each of us carrying enough microbes to outnumber our human cells by 10 to 1 and our genes by even more. The Human Microbiome Project Consortium has for the first time answered two fundamental questions about the microbiota that healthy humans carry: Who's there and what are they doing?

Where humans split from sharks: Common ancestor comes into focus Posted: 13 Jun 2012 10:30 AM PDT The common ancestor of all jawed vertebrates on Earth resembled a shark, according to a new analysis of the braincase of a 290-million-year-old fossil fish that has long puzzled paleontologists. Research on Acanthodes bronni, a Paleozoic fish, sheds light on the evolution of the earliest jawed vertebrates and offers a glimpse of the last common ancestor before the split between the earliest sharks and the first bony fishes -- the lineage that would eventually include human beings.

Nanoparticles found in moon glass bubbles explain weird lunar soil behavior Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:24 AM PDT Using synchrotron-based nano tomography, scientists have found a highly porous network of alien-looking glassy particles inside unbroken bubbles of glass in a sample of lunar soil.

Robotic assistants may adapt to humans in the factory Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:24 AM PDT In today's manufacturing plants, the division of labor between humans and robots is quite clear, but according experts, the factory floor of the future may host humans and robots working side by side, each helping the other in common tasks.

Inner ear may hold key to ancient primate behavior Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:24 AM PDT CT scans of fossilized primate skulls or skull fragments from both the Old and New Worlds may shed light on how these extinct animals moved, especially for those species without any known remains.

No evidence for 'knots' in space: Theories of primordial universe predict existence of knots in space Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:22 AM PDT Theories of the primordial universe predict the existence of knots in the fabric of space -- known as cosmic textures -- which could be identified by looking at light from the cosmic microwave background, the relic radiation left over from the Big Bang. Astronomers have performed the first search for textures on the full sky, finding no evidence for such knots in space.

Little mighty creature of the ocean inspires strong new material for medical implants and armour Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:21 AM PDT A scientist may be onto an ocean of discovery because of his research into a little sea creature called the mantis shrimp. The research is likely to lead to making ceramics -- today's preferred material for medical implants and military body armour -- many times stronger. The mantis shrimp's can shatter aquarium glass and crab shells alike.

Toddler spatial knowledge boosts understanding of numbers Posted: 13 Jun 2012 07:20 AM PDT Children who are skilled in understanding how shapes fit together to make recognizable objects also have an advantage when it comes to learning the number line and solving math problems. The work is further evidence of the value of providing young children with early opportunities in spatial learning, which helps them mentally manipulate objects.

Dissonant music brings out the animal in listeners Posted: 13 Jun 2012 06:10 AM PDT Researchers have isolated some of the ways in which distorted and jarring music is so evocative, and they believe that the mechanisms are closely related to distress calls in animals.

Earlier birth, at 37 weeks, is best for twins, study suggests Posted: 13 Jun 2012 04:30 AM PDT Researchers say women pregnant with twins should elect to give birth at 37 weeks to avoid serious complications.

Radiation-resistant circuits from mechanical parts Posted: 12 Jun 2012 07:12 AM PDT Engineers have designed microscopic mechanical devices that withstand intense radiation and heat, so they can be used in circuits for robots and computers exposed to radiation in space, damaged nuclear power plants or nuclear attack.

Brain area identified that determines distance from which sound originates Posted: 11 Jun 2012 12:31 PM PDT Researchers have identified a portion of the brain responsible for determining how far away a sound originates, a process that does not rely solely on how loud the sound is.

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