ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Antenna-on-a-chip rips the light fantastic
• Nano insights could lead to improved nuclear reactors
• Bad air means bad news for seniors' brainpower
• Himalayan glaciers will shrink by almost 10 percent, even if temperatures hold steady
• Pursuing problematic polymers
• Clocks are ticking and climate is changing: Increasing plant productivity in a changing climate
• Clues to cause of kids' brain tumors
• Fetus suffers when mother lacks vitamin C
• Melt water on Mars could sustain life, new research suggests
• Beating the dark side of quantum computing
• Location, location, location: Membrane 'residence' gives proteases novel abilities
• Arthritis study reveals why gender bias is all in the genes
• Medical vital-sign monitoring reduced to the size of a postage stamp
• Study reveals insights that could aid in therapeutic use of mesenchymal stem cells

Antenna-on-a-chip rips the light fantastic Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:11 PM PST A lab produces a micron-scale spatial light modulator like those used in sensing and imaging devices, but with the potential to run orders of magnitude faster.

Nano insights could lead to improved nuclear reactors Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:10 PM PST In order to build the next generation of nuclear reactors, materials scientists are trying to unlock the secrets of certain materials that are radiation-damage tolerant. Now researchers have brought new understanding to one of those secrets -- how the interfaces between two carefully selected metals can absorb, or heal, radiation damage.

Bad air means bad news for seniors' brainpower Posted: 16 Nov 2012 01:10 PM PST Living in areas of high air pollution can lead to decreased cognitive function in older adults, according to new research.

Himalayan glaciers will shrink by almost 10 percent, even if temperatures hold steady Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:46 AM PST If Bhutan's climate did not warm, glaciers in the monsoonal Himalayas would still shrink by almost 10 percent within the next few decades. What's more, the amount of melt water coming off these glaciers could drop by 30 percent.

Pursuing problematic polymers Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:46 AM PST Polymers, in everything from shopping bags to ski boots, make our material world what it is today. Researchers are working to understand their structure and predict their behavior.

Clocks are ticking and climate is changing: Increasing plant productivity in a changing climate Posted: 16 Nov 2012 09:46 AM PST Scientists are looking to cellular biological clocks as a target for genetic modification for increasing plant productivity.

Clues to cause of kids' brain tumors Posted: 16 Nov 2012 06:12 AM PST Insights from a genetic condition that causes brain cancer are helping scientists better understand the most common type of brain tumor in children.

Fetus suffers when mother lacks vitamin C Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:56 AM PST Maternal vitamin C deficiency during pregnancy can have serious consequences for the fetal brain. And once brain damage has occurred, it cannot be reversed by vitamin C supplements after birth.

Melt water on Mars could sustain life, new research suggests Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:56 AM PST Near surface water has shaped the landscape of Mars. Areas of the planet's northern and southern hemispheres have alternately thawed and frozen in recent geologic history and comprise striking similarities to the landscape of Svalbard. This suggests that water has played a more extensive role than previously envisioned, and that environments capable of sustaining life could exist, according to new research.

Beating the dark side of quantum computing Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:56 AM PST A future quantum computer will be able to carry out calculations billions of times faster than even today's most powerful machines by exploit the fact that the tiniest particles, molecules, atoms and subatomic particles can exist in more than one state simultaneously. Scientists and engineers are looking forward to working with such high-power machines but so too are cyber-criminals who will be able to exploit this power in cracking passwords and decrypting secret messages much faster than they can now.

Location, location, location: Membrane 'residence' gives proteases novel abilities Posted: 16 Nov 2012 05:53 AM PST Scientists have discovered a new mode of action for enzymes immersed in cellular membranes. Their experiments suggest that instead of recognizing and clipping proteins based on sequences of amino acids, these proteases' location within membranes gives them the unique ability to recognize and cut proteins with unstable structures.

Arthritis study reveals why gender bias is all in the genes Posted: 15 Nov 2012 06:05 PM PST Researchers have pieced together new genetic clues to the arthritis puzzle in a study that brings potential treatments closer to reality and could also provide insights into why more women than men succumb to the disabling condition.

Medical vital-sign monitoring reduced to the size of a postage stamp Posted: 15 Nov 2012 11:14 AM PST Electrical engineers have developed new technology to monitor medical vital signs, with sophisticated sensors so small and cheap they could fit onto a bandage, be manufactured in high volumes and cost less than a quarter.

Study reveals insights that could aid in therapeutic use of mesenchymal stem cells Posted: 15 Nov 2012 10:37 AM PST Research reveals new insights into how mesenchymal stem cells "traffic" from the circulation into the tissue, providing important clues that could be used to improve the delivery of this promising therapy.

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