ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Oldest occurrence of arthropods preserved in amber: Fly, mite specimens are 100 million years older than previous amber inclusions
• Neandertal's right-handedness verified, hints at language capacity
• Oceanic mystery solved: Connection between 'monster larva' and unique species of shrimp
• Adolescent pot use leaves lasting mental deficits; Developing brain susceptible to lasting damage from exposure to marijuana
• Long-held theory on human gestation refuted: Mother’s metabolism, not birth canal size, limits gestation
• One third less life on planet Earth? Scientists offer better estimate of living biomass
• Arctic sea ice reaches lowest extent ever recorded
• Fossil skeleton of strange, ancient digging mammal clears up 30-year-old evolutionary debate
• Scientists discover nerves control iridescence in squid's remarkable 'electric skin'
• How ocean currents affect global climate becoming better understood
• Laser beam as a '3-D painter' to grow biological tissue or to create micro sensors
• Weighing molecules one at a time: Physicists create first-ever mechanical device that measures mass of single molecule

Oldest occurrence of arthropods preserved in amber: Fly, mite specimens are 100 million years older than previous amber inclusions Posted: 27 Aug 2012 03:00 PM PDT Scientists have discovered the oldest record of arthropods -- invertebrate animals that include insects, arachnids, and crustaceans -- preserved in amber. The specimens, one fly and two mites found in millimeter-scale droplets of amber from northeastern Italy, are about 100 million years older than any other amber arthropod ever collected.

Neandertal's right-handedness verified, hints at language capacity Posted: 27 Aug 2012 01:08 PM PDT There are precious few Neandertal skeletons available to science. One of the more complete was discovered in 1957 in France, roughly 900 yards away from the famous Lascaux Cave. That skeleton was dubbed "Regourdou." Then, about two decades ago, researchers examined Regourdou's arm bones and theorized that he had been right-handed.

Oceanic mystery solved: Connection between 'monster larva' and unique species of shrimp Posted: 27 Aug 2012 12:20 PM PDT The origin of Cerataspis monstrosa has been a mystery as deep as the ocean waters it hails from. For nearly two centuries, researchers have tried to track down the larva that has shown up in the guts of other fish over time but found no adult counterpart. Until now.

Adolescent pot use leaves lasting mental deficits; Developing brain susceptible to lasting damage from exposure to marijuana Posted: 27 Aug 2012 12:20 PM PDT The persistent, dependent use of marijuana before age 18 has been shown to cause lasting harm to a person's intelligence, attention and memory, according to an international research team.

Long-held theory on human gestation refuted: Mother’s metabolism, not birth canal size, limits gestation Posted: 27 Aug 2012 12:20 PM PDT An anthropologist suggests that the length of human pregnancy is limited primarily by a mother's metabolism, not the size of the birth canal. The research challenges the long-held notion of an evolutionary trade-off between childbirth and a pelvis adapted for walking upright.

One third less life on planet Earth? Scientists offer better estimate of living biomass Posted: 27 Aug 2012 12:18 PM PDT Previous estimates about the total mass of all life on our planet have to be reduced by about one third, according to the results of a study by a German-U.S. science team.

Arctic sea ice reaches lowest extent ever recorded Posted: 27 Aug 2012 10:07 AM PDT The blanket of sea ice floating on the Arctic Ocean melted to its lowest extent ever recorded since satellites began measuring it in 1979, according to new research.

Fossil skeleton of strange, ancient digging mammal clears up 30-year-old evolutionary debate Posted: 27 Aug 2012 10:07 AM PDT Shortly after dinosaurs like Tyrannosaurus and Triceratops went extinct, the Earth became filled with mammals only distantly related to those alive today. Until recently, one of these creatures, Ernanodon antelios, was only known from a single, highly distorted specimen that raised many questions about its habits and evolutionary relationships. Scientists have now described a second specimen of Ernanodon that sheds new light on this curious beast.

Scientists discover nerves control iridescence in squid's remarkable 'electric skin' Posted: 27 Aug 2012 08:33 AM PDT Nerves in squid skin control the animal's spectrum of shimmering hues -- from red to blue -- as well as their speed of change, biologists have found. The work marks the first time neural control of iridescence in an invertebrate species has been demonstrated.

How ocean currents affect global climate becoming better understood Posted: 27 Aug 2012 06:42 AM PDT Oceanographers have developed a "new paradigm" for describing how the world's oceans circulate -- and with it they may help reshape science's understanding of the processes by which wind, water, sunlight and other factors interact and influence the planet's climate.

Laser beam as a '3-D painter' to grow biological tissue or to create micro sensors Posted: 27 Aug 2012 04:41 AM PDT With laser beams, molecules can be fixed at exactly the right position in a three dimensional material. The new method can be used to grow biological tissue or to create micro sensors.

Weighing molecules one at a time: Physicists create first-ever mechanical device that measures mass of single molecule Posted: 26 Aug 2012 11:35 AM PDT Scientists have made the first-ever mechanical device that can measure the mass of individual molecules one at a time.

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