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Friday, June 15, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Breast milk kills HIV and blocks its oral transmission in humanized mouse

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 03:27 PM PDT

Although breastfeeding is attributed to a significant number of HIV infections in infants, most breastfed babies are not infected with HIV, despite prolonged and repeated exposure. HIV researchers have been left with a conundrum: does breast milk transmit the virus or protect against it? New research explores this paradox in a humanized mouse model, demonstrating that breast milk has a strong virus killing effect and protects against oral transmission of HIV.

Uranium-series dating reveals Iberian paintings are Europe's oldest cave art

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 11:28 AM PDT

Paleolithic paintings in El Castillo cave in Northern Spain date back at least 40,800 years -- making them Europe's oldest known cave art, according to new research. Scientists found that the practice of cave art in Europe began up to 10,000 years earlier than previously thought, indicating the paintings were created either by the first anatomically modern humans in Europe or, perhaps, by Neanderthals.

Grasshoppers frightened by spiders affect whole ecosystem

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 11:27 AM PDT

Grasshoppers 'stressed' by spiders affect the productivity of our soil. A grasshopper who is in fear of an attacker, such as a spider, will enter a situation of stress and will consume a greater quantity of carbohydrate-rich plants -- similar to humans under stress who might eat more sweets.

Environmental factors spread obesity, study shows

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:12 AM PDT

A new study of the spatial patterns of the spread of obesity suggests America's bulging waistlines may have more to do with collective behavior than genetics or individual choices. The team found correlations between the epidemic's geography and food marketing and distribution patterns.

Tense film scenes trigger brain activity

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:12 AM PDT

Visual and auditory stimuli that elicit high levels of engagement and emotional response can be linked to reliable patterns of brain activity, a team of researchers reports. Their findings could lead to new ways for producers of films, television programs and commercials to predict what kinds of scenes their audiences will respond to.

Engineers perfecting carbon nanotubes for highly energy-efficient computing

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:12 AM PDT

Carbon nanotubes represent a significant departure from traditional silicon technologies and offer a promising path to solving the challenge of energy efficiency in computer circuits, but they aren't without challenges. Now, engineers have found ways around the challenges to produce the first full-wafer digital logic structures based on carbon nanotubes.

Switchable nano magnets may revolutionize data storage: Magnetism of individual molecules switched

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 10:10 AM PDT

Using individual molecules instead of electronic or magnetic memory cells would revolutionize data storage technology, as molecular memories could be thousand-fold smaller. Scientists have now taken a big step toward developing such molecular data storage.

Still capable of adapting: Genetic diversity of 'living fossil' coelacanths

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 06:41 AM PDT

The morphology of coelacanths has not fundamentally changed since the Devonian age, that is, for about 400 million years. Nevertheless, these animals known as living fossils are able to genetically adapt to their environment.

A trick of perspective: Chance alignment mimics a cosmic collision

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 06:39 AM PDT

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced a highly detailed image of a pair of overlapping galaxies called NGC 3314. While the two galaxies look as if they are in the midst of a collision, this is in fact a trick of perspective: the two just happen to appear in the same direction from our vantage point.

Cassini sees tropical lakes on Saturn's moon Titan

Posted: 14 Jun 2012 05:35 AM PDT

NASA's Cassini spacecraft has spied long-standing methane lakes, or puddles, in the "tropics" of Saturn's moon Titan. One of the tropical lakes appears to be about half the size of Utah's Great Salt Lake, with a depth of at least 3 feet (1 meter). The result, which is a new analysis of Cassini data, is unexpected because models had assumed the long-standing bodies of liquid would only exist at the poles.

Pitcher plant uses rain drops to capture prey

Posted: 13 Jun 2012 03:40 PM PDT

During heavy rain, the lid of Nepenthes gracilis pitchers acts like a springboard, catapulting insects that seek shelter on its underside directly into the fluid-filled pitcher, new research has found.

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