ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Bioinspired fibers change color when stretched
• Why are there redheads? Birds might hold the clues
• Artificial pancreas: The way of the future for treating type 1 diabetes
• Tooth development and weaning in chimpanzees not as closely related as once thought
• Bugs in the atmosphere: Significant microorganism populations found in middle and upper troposphere
• Climate change impacts to U.S. coasts threaten public health, safety and economy, report finds
• More severe flu seasons predicted due to climate change
• Irrigation in California's Central Valley intensifies rainfall, storms across the Southwest
• Safer way to vaccinate? Polymer film that gradually releases DNA coding for viral proteins may beat traditional vaccines
• Berries may be healthful, but some health benefits of berries may not make it past your mouth
• Groundwater depletion linked to climate change
• Mysteries of spider silk strength unraveled
• Neuroscientists pinpoint location of fear memory in amygdala
• Researchers break million-core supercomputer barrier
• Altering eye cells may one day restore vision
• Primates, too, can move in unison

Bioinspired fibers change color when stretched Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST Materials scientists have invented a new fiber that changes color when stretched. Based on the "bastard hogberry" plant, the new fiber could lend itself to the creation of smart fabrics that visibly react to heat or pressure.

Why are there redheads? Birds might hold the clues Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST Biologists examined the survival rates and chestnut feather coloration of barn swallows and other species of birds, to unearth factors favoring the evolution of pheomelanin in spite of its costs. They found that under conditions of low stress, birds with larger amounts of pheomelanin survived better, suggesting the pigment may serve a beneficial role.

Artificial pancreas: The way of the future for treating type 1 diabetes Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST Researchers have conducted a trial comparing a dual-hormone artificial pancreas with conventional diabetes treatment using an insulin pump and showed improved glucose levels and lower risks of hypoglycemia. Their results can have a great impact on the treatment of type 1 diabetes by accelerating the development of the external artificial pancreas.

Tooth development and weaning in chimpanzees not as closely related as once thought Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST Using a first-of-its-kind method, scientists have used digital photographs to show that, after the eruption of their first molar tooth, many juvenile chimps continue to nurse as much, if not more, than they had in the past. The research challenges earlier studies that linked juvenile chimps' tooth development with their weaning as a rough proxy for understanding similar developmental landmarks in the evolution of early humans.

Bugs in the atmosphere: Significant microorganism populations found in middle and upper troposphere Posted: 28 Jan 2013 12:19 PM PST In what is believed to be the first study of its kind, researchers used genomic techniques to document the presence of significant numbers of living microorganisms -- principally bacteria -- in the middle and upper troposphere, that section of the atmosphere approximately four to six miles above Earth's surface.

Climate change impacts to U.S. coasts threaten public health, safety and economy, report finds Posted: 28 Jan 2013 11:30 AM PST According to a new technical report, the effects of climate change will continue to threaten the health and vitality of US coastal communities' social, economic and natural systems.

More severe flu seasons predicted due to climate change Posted: 28 Jan 2013 11:28 AM PST The American public can expect to add earlier and more severe flu seasons to the fallout from climate change, according to a new research.

Irrigation in California's Central Valley intensifies rainfall, storms across the Southwest Posted: 28 Jan 2013 10:39 AM PST Agricultural irrigation in California's Central Valley doubles the amount of water vapor pumped into the atmosphere, ratcheting up rainfall and powerful monsoons across the interior Southwest, according to a new study.

Safer way to vaccinate? Polymer film that gradually releases DNA coding for viral proteins may beat traditional vaccines Posted: 28 Jan 2013 08:39 AM PST Researchers have described a new type of vaccine-delivery film that holds promise for improving the effectiveness of DNA vaccines.

Berries may be healthful, but some health benefits of berries may not make it past your mouth Posted: 28 Jan 2013 08:38 AM PST For the first time, scientists have exposed extracts from numerous berries high in healthy pigments to human saliva to see just what kinds of health-promoting substances are likely to survive and be produced in the mouth.

Groundwater depletion linked to climate change Posted: 28 Jan 2013 07:47 AM PST Climate change may be exacerbating many countries' experience of water stress, according to new research. Experts explain how several human-driven factors, if not rectified, will combine with climate change to significantly reduce useable groundwater availability for agriculture globally.

Mysteries of spider silk strength unraveled Posted: 28 Jan 2013 07:47 AM PST Scientists are celebrating their recent success on the path to understanding what makes the fiber that spiders spin -- weight for weight -- at least five times as strong as piano wire. They have found a way to obtain a wide variety of elastic properties of the silk of several intact spiders' webs using a sophisticated but non–invasive laser light scattering technique.

Neuroscientists pinpoint location of fear memory in amygdala Posted: 28 Jan 2013 07:47 AM PST Neuroscientists have shed new light on the brain circuit that is involved in fear learning, memory, responses. They show that fear memory is encoded in a subdivision of the central amygdala. In addition, a particular class of neurons, somatostatin-positive neurons, is required to translate that memory into fear responses.

Researchers break million-core supercomputer barrier Posted: 28 Jan 2013 07:46 AM PST A new record in computational science has been set by using a supercomputer with more than one million computing cores to solve a complex fluid dynamics problem -- the prediction of noise generated by a supersonic jet engine.

Altering eye cells may one day restore vision Posted: 28 Jan 2013 07:44 AM PST Doctors may one day treat some forms of blindness by altering the genetic program of the light-sensing cells of the eye, new research suggests.

Primates, too, can move in unison Posted: 28 Jan 2013 05:19 AM PST Primates modify their body movements to be in tune with others, just like humans do. Humans unconsciously modify their movements to be in synchrony with their peers. For example, we adapt our pace to walk in step or clap in unison at the end of a concert. This phenomenon is thought to reflect bonding and facilitate human interaction. Researchers report that pairs of macaque monkeys also spontaneously coordinate their movements to reach synchrony.

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