ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Proximity of new planets stuns even astronomers
• Avian flu viruses which are transmissible between humans could evolve in nature
• Top predators key to extinctions as planet warms
• Study of phase change materials could lead to better computer memory
• Immune system molecule weaves cobweb-like nanonets to snag Salmonella, other intestinal microbes
• Arctic climate more vulnerable than thought, maybe linked to Antarctic ice-sheet behavior
• Could Mars have sustained life? Extensive water in Mars' interior
• Elephant seals help uncover slower-than-expected Antarctic melting
• Genomics and African queens: Diversity within Ethiopian genomes reveals imprints of historical events
• Our microbes, ourselves: Billions of bacteria within, essential for immune function, are ours alone
• Stagnating life expectancies in United States: Poorer U.S. citizens live five years less than the affluent
• How cheetahs outpace greyhounds
• I want to know where love is: First brain map of love and desire

Proximity of new planets stuns even astronomers Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:23 PM PDT One is a rocky planet 1.5 times the size of Earth. The other is a gaseous world nearly four times Earth's size. Together they form a spectacular system in which two planets orbit closer to each other than any yet discovered.

Avian flu viruses which are transmissible between humans could evolve in nature Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT It might be possible for human-to-human airborne transmissible avian H5N1 influenza viruses to evolve in nature, new research has found.

Top predators key to extinctions as planet warms Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT Global warming may cause more extinctions than predicted if scientists fail to account for interactions among species in their models, researchers argue in a new article.

Study of phase change materials could lead to better computer memory Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT Memory devices for computers require a large collection of components that can switch between two states, which represent the ones and zeros of binary language. Engineers hope to make next-generation chips with materials that distinguish between these states by physically rearranging their atoms into different phases. Researchers have now provided new insight into how this phase change happens, which could help engineers make memory storage devices faster and more efficient.

Immune system molecule weaves cobweb-like nanonets to snag Salmonella, other intestinal microbes Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT Scientists have found that human alpha-defensin 6 (HD6) -- a key component of the body's innate defense system -- binds to microbial surfaces and forms "nanonets" that surround, entangle and disable microbes, preventing bacteria from attaching to or invading intestinal cells.

Arctic climate more vulnerable than thought, maybe linked to Antarctic ice-sheet behavior Posted: 21 Jun 2012 12:15 PM PDT First analyses of the longest sediment core ever collected on land in the Arctic provide dramatic, "astonishing" documentation that intense warm intervals, warmer than scientists thought possible, occurred there over the past 2.8 million years. Further, these extreme inter-glacial warm periods correspond closely with times when parts of Antarctica were ice-free and also warm, suggesting strong inter-hemispheric climate connectivity. The Polar Regions are much more vulnerable to change than once believed, they add.

Could Mars have sustained life? Extensive water in Mars' interior Posted: 21 Jun 2012 11:14 AM PDT Until now, Earth was the only planet known to have vast reservoirs of water in its interior. Scientists analyzed the water content of two Martian meteorites and found that the amount of water in places of the Martian mantle is vastly larger than previous estimates and is similar to that of Earth's. The results affect our understanding about Martian geologic history, how water got to the Martian surface, and whether Mars could have sustained life.

Elephant seals help uncover slower-than-expected Antarctic melting Posted: 21 Jun 2012 11:13 AM PDT A team of scientists have drilled holes through an Antarctic ice shelf, the Fimbul Ice Shelf, to gather the first direct measurements regarding melting of the shelf's underside. A group of elephant seals, outfitted with sensors that measure salinity, temperature, and depth sensors added fundamental information to the scientists' data set, which led the researchers to conclude that parts of eastern Antarctica are melting at significantly lower rates than current models predict.

Genomics and African queens: Diversity within Ethiopian genomes reveals imprints of historical events Posted: 21 Jun 2012 10:06 AM PDT Researchers have started to unveil the genetic heritage of Ethiopian populations, who are among the most diverse in the world, and lie at the gateway from Africa. They found that the genomes of some Ethiopian populations bear striking similarities to those of populations in Israel and Syria, a potential genetic legacy of the Queen of Sheba and her companions.

Our microbes, ourselves: Billions of bacteria within, essential for immune function, are ours alone Posted: 21 Jun 2012 10:06 AM PDT Gut bacteria's key role in immunity is tuned to the host species, suggesting that the superabundant microbes lining our digestive tract are ultimately our evolutionary partners. This study, the first to demonstrate that microbes are specific to their host species, also sheds light on what's called the hygiene hypothesis.

Stagnating life expectancies in United States: Poorer U.S. citizens live five years less than the affluent Posted: 21 Jun 2012 08:34 AM PDT Despite modest gains in lifespan over the past century, the United States still trails many of the world's countries when it comes to life expectancy, and its poorest citizens live approximately five years less than more affluent persons, according to a new study.

How cheetahs outpace greyhounds Posted: 21 Jun 2012 04:09 AM PDT Cheetahs are the high-performance sports cars of the animal kingdom, but how do they outstrip other elite athletes when using the same sprint technique? Biologists compared the performance of captive cheetahs and greyhounds and found that in addition to increasing their stride frequency, the cheetahs spend longer in contact with the ground, probably to protect their limbs from stress fractures at high speed.

I want to know where love is: First brain map of love and desire Posted: 20 Jun 2012 07:10 AM PDT Thanks to modern science, we know that love lives in the brain, not in the heart. But where in the brain is it – and is it in the same place as sexual desire? A recent international study is the first to draw an exact map of these intimately linked feelings.

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