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Friday, August 3, 2012

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

'Cry' of a shredded star heralds a new era for testing relativity

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 03:39 PM PDT

Last year, astronomers discovered a quiescent black hole in a distant galaxy that erupted after shredding and consuming a passing star. Now researchers have identified a distinctive X-ray signal observed in the days following the outburst that comes from matter on the verge of falling into the black hole.

Extinction risk factors for New Zealand birds today differ from those of the past

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 03:39 PM PDT

What makes some species more prone to extinction? A new study of nearly 300 species of New Zealand birds -- from pre-human times to the present -- reveals that the keys to survival today differ from those of the past. The results are important for the growing number of studies that try to predict which species could be lost in the future based on what kinds of species are considered most threatened today, the researchers say.

Mountains, seaway triggered North American dinosaur surge

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 03:39 PM PDT

The rise of the Rocky Mountains and the appearance of a major seaway that divided North America may have boosted the evolution of new dinosaur species, according to a new study.

Vaporizing Earth in computer simulations to aid search for super-Earths

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 12:32 PM PDT

Scientists have vaporized the Earth -- if only by simulation, that is mathematically and inside a computer. They weren't just practicing their evil overlord skills. By baking model Earths, they are trying to figure out what astronomers should see when they look at the atmospheres of super-Earths in a bid to learn the planets' compositions.

Deep-sea squid can 'jettison arms' as defensive tactic

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 12:04 PM PDT

A researcher has observed a never-before-seen defensive strategy used by a small species of deep-sea squid in which the animal counter-attacks a predator and then leaves the tips of its arms attached to the predator as a distraction.

How elephants produce their deep 'voices': Same physical mechanism produces vocalizations in elephants and humans

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:15 AM PDT

Elephants rely on the same mechanism that produces speech in humans (and the vocalizations of many other mammals) to hit the extremely low notes they use to communicate.

Cuckoo tricks to beat the neighborhood watch

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:15 AM PDT

To minimize the chance of being recognized and thus attacked by the birds they are trying to parasitize, female cuckoos have evolved different guises.

Aerial photos reveal dynamic Greenland ice sheet: Ice sheet has recently retreated then restabilized

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 11:15 AM PDT

Despite the current and rapid melting of the Greenland Ice Sheet, it remains uncertain just when we will have reached a point when scientists will be able to predict its disappearance. Scientists report that this is not the first time in recent history that the ice sheet has been in retreat and then stabilized again.

Fingering the culprit that polluted the Solar System

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 10:36 AM PDT

For decades it has been thought that a shock wave from a supernova explosion triggered the formation of our Solar System. The shock wave also injected material from the exploding star into a cloud of dust and gas, and the newly polluted cloud collapsed to form the Sun and its surrounding planets. New work provides the first fully three-dimensional models for how this process could have happened.

Embryonic blood vessels that make blood stem cells can also make beating heart muscles

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 09:26 AM PDT

Stem cell researchers have found for the first time a surprising and unexpected plasticity in the embryonic endothelium, the place where blood stem cells are made in early development.

It's in our genes: Why women outlive men

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 09:25 AM PDT

Scientists are beginning to understand one of life's enduring mysteries - why women live, on average, longer than men.

Mending a broken heart -- with a molecule that turns stem cells into heart cells

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 09:24 AM PDT

Scientists have long been looking for a source of heart cells to study cardiac function or perhaps even to replace damaged tissue in heart disease patients. To do this, many are looking to stem cells. Scientists now describe how they uncovered ITD-1, a molecule that generates unlimited numbers of new heart cells from stem cells.

Infants exposed to specific molds have higher asthma risk

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 08:15 AM PDT

In the United States, one in ten children suffers from asthma but the potential environmental factors contributing to the disease are not well known. Researchers now report new evidence that exposure to three types of mold during infancy may have a direct link to asthma development during childhood.

Skin cancer identified for the first time in wild fish populations, beneath ozone layer hole

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 03:51 PM PDT

Scientists identify melanoma in the coral trout, a species found on the Great Barrier Reef and directly beneath the world's largest hole in the ozone layer.
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