ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Cracking the semantic code: Half a word's meaning is 3-D summary of associated rewards
• Red brain, blue brain: Republicans and Democrats process risk differently, research finds
• Team creates MRI for the nanoscale: Level comparable to an atomic force microscope
• Light-emitting bioprobe fits in a single cell
• Marsh plants actively engineer their landscape
• Robots with lift: Researchers use combustible gases to power leaping machines
• Genetic study pursues elusive goal: How many humpbacks existed before whaling?
• Engineers show feasibility of superfast materials: 'Organic topological insulators' for quantum computing
• A war without end, with Earth's carbon cycle held in the balance
• Amphibian study shows how biodiversity can protect against disease
• Simulation helps scientists better understand the origin of our solar system
• Epigenetics shapes fate of brain vs. brawn castes in carpenter ants
• Scientists discover how animals taste, and avoid, high salt concentrations
• Deep space missions? Magnetic shielding of ion beam thruster walls may provide power
• Vortex pinning could lead to superconducting breakthroughs
• Blackbirds in the spotlight: City birds that experience light at night are ready to breed earlier than their rural cousins
• Rare explosion created our galaxy's youngest black hole, study suggests
• Finding 'Mr. Right,' how insects sniff out the perfect mate
• Ice age extinction shaped Australian plant diversity
• Arctic Ocean is on thin ice: European satellite confirms numbers
• Wetland trees a significant overlooked source of methane
• Neural basis for benefits of meditation
• How unconscious processing improves decision-making
• Emerging cancer drugs may drive bone tumors
• Why some people don't learn well: EEG shows insufficient processing of information to be learned

Cracking the semantic code: Half a word's meaning is 3-D summary of associated rewards Posted: 13 Feb 2013 02:31 PM PST Half of a word's meaning is simply a three dimensional summary of the rewards associated with it, according to an analysis of millions of blog entries undertaken by researchers.

Red brain, blue brain: Republicans and Democrats process risk differently, research finds Posted: 13 Feb 2013 02:31 PM PST A team of political scientists and neuroscientists has shown that liberals and conservatives use different parts of the brain when they make risky decisions, and these regions can be used to predict which political party a person prefers. The new study suggests that while genetics or parental influence may play a significant role, being a Republican or Democrat changes how the brain functions.

Team creates MRI for the nanoscale: Level comparable to an atomic force microscope Posted: 13 Feb 2013 01:57 PM PST An international team of researchers has opened the door for MRI technology at the nanoscale. Using tiny defects in diamonds they sensed the magnetic resonance of molecules to peer down to the level of atoms.

Light-emitting bioprobe fits in a single cell Posted: 13 Feb 2013 01:57 PM PST A new study is the first to demonstrate that sophisticated, engineered light resonators can be inserted inside cells without damaging the host. The researchers say it marks a new age in which tiny lasers and light-emitting diodes yield new avenues in the study and influence of living cells.

Marsh plants actively engineer their landscape Posted: 13 Feb 2013 12:25 PM PST Marsh plants, far from being passive wallflowers, are "secret gardeners" that actively engineer their landscape to increase their species' odds of survival, say scientists.

Robots with lift: Researchers use combustible gases to power leaping machines Posted: 13 Feb 2013 12:24 PM PST Using small explosions produced by a mix of methane and oxygen, researchers have designed a soft robot that can leap as much as a foot in the air. That ability to jump could one day prove critical in allowing the robots to avoid obstacles during search and rescue operations following a disaster.

Genetic study pursues elusive goal: How many humpbacks existed before whaling? Posted: 13 Feb 2013 12:24 PM PST Scientists are closing in on the answer to an important conservation question: how many humpback whales once existed in the North Atlantic?

Engineers show feasibility of superfast materials: 'Organic topological insulators' for quantum computing Posted: 13 Feb 2013 10:24 AM PST Engineers demonstrated it is feasible to build the first organic materials that conduct electricity on their edges, but act as an insulator inside. These materials, called organic topological insulators, could shuttle information at the speed of light in quantum computers and other high-speed electronic devices.

A war without end, with Earth's carbon cycle held in the balance Posted: 13 Feb 2013 10:23 AM PST The greatest battle in Earth's history has been going on for hundreds of millions of years, isn't over yet, and until now no one knew it existed, scientists say. It's between a bacterium that's the most abundant organism in the oceans and a previously unknown virus that infects it. The contest has significant implications for Earth's carbon balance.

Amphibian study shows how biodiversity can protect against disease Posted: 13 Feb 2013 10:23 AM PST The richer the assortment of amphibian species living in a pond, the more protection that community of frogs, toads and salamanders has against a parasitic infection that can cause severe deformities, including the growth of extra legs, according to a new study.

Simulation helps scientists better understand the origin of our solar system Posted: 13 Feb 2013 10:20 AM PST Simulations boost the significance of image and measurement data from space missions: based on the example of an asteroid. Astrophysicists show collisions with other celestial bodies can be reconstructed and that even the internal structure of so-called protoplanets can be described. These models help to understand the development of our solar system.

Epigenetics shapes fate of brain vs. brawn castes in carpenter ants Posted: 13 Feb 2013 10:18 AM PST Researchers found that epigenetic regulation is key to distinguishing one caste of carpenter ants, the "majors", as brawny Amazons of the colony, compared to the "minors", their smaller, brainier sisters. The two castes have the same genes, but strikingly distinct behaviors and shape.

Scientists discover how animals taste, and avoid, high salt concentrations Posted: 13 Feb 2013 10:18 AM PST Researchers have discovered how the tongue detects high concentrations of salt, the first step in a salt-avoiding behavior common to most mammals. The findings could serve as a springboard for the development of taste modulators to help control the appetite for a high-salt diet and reduce the ill effects of too much sodium.

Deep space missions? Magnetic shielding of ion beam thruster walls may provide power Posted: 13 Feb 2013 08:47 AM PST Electric rocket engines known as Hall thrusters, which use a super high-velocity stream of ions to propel a spacecraft in space, have been used successfully onboard many missions for half a century. Erosion of the discharge channels walls, however, has limited their application to the inner solar system. A research team has found a way to effectively control this erosion by shaping the engine's magnetic field in a way that shields the walls from ion bombardment.

Vortex pinning could lead to superconducting breakthroughs Posted: 13 Feb 2013 08:47 AM PST New findings may represent a breakthrough in applications of superconductivity. Scientists discovered a way to efficiently stabilize tiny magnetic vortices that interfere with superconductivity -- a problem that has plagued scientists trying to engineer real-world applications for decades.

Blackbirds in the spotlight: City birds that experience light at night are ready to breed earlier than their rural cousins Posted: 13 Feb 2013 08:47 AM PST City birds that experience light at night are ready to breed earlier than their rural cousins.

Rare explosion created our galaxy's youngest black hole, study suggests Posted: 13 Feb 2013 08:45 AM PST New data suggest a highly distorted supernova remnant may contain the most recent black hole formed in the Milky Way galaxy. The remnant appears to be the product of a rare explosion in which matter is ejected at high speeds along the poles of a rotating star.

Finding 'Mr. Right,' how insects sniff out the perfect mate Posted: 13 Feb 2013 08:45 AM PST You may want to ramp up your romance this year by sharing a candlelight dinner, a walk on the beach, or even the scent of a perfume, but will that help you find your perfect mate? For one wasp species, it only takes a whiff of his special love potion to know whether he's "Mr. Right."

Ice age extinction shaped Australian plant diversity Posted: 13 Feb 2013 07:50 AM PST Researchers have shown that part of Australia's rich plant diversity was wiped out by the ice ages, demonstrating that extinction, probably more than evolution, influences biodiversity.

Arctic Ocean is on thin ice: European satellite confirms numbers Posted: 13 Feb 2013 07:50 AM PST The September 2012 record low in Arctic sea-ice extent was big news, but a missing piece of the puzzle was lurking below the ocean's surface. What volume of ice floats on Arctic waters? And how does that compare to previous summers? These are difficult but important questions, because how much ice actually remains suggests how vulnerable the ice pack will be to more warming. New satellite observations confirm an analysis that for the past three years has produced widely quoted estimates of Arctic sea-ice volume. Findings based on observations from a European Space Agency satellite show that the Arctic has lost more than a third of summer sea-ice volume since a decade ago, when a U.S. satellite collected similar data.

Wetland trees a significant overlooked source of methane Posted: 13 Feb 2013 07:07 AM PST Wetland trees are a significant overlooked source of the potent greenhouse gas methane, according to a new study. The study may help to resolve an ongoing controversy about the origins of methane in the tropics.

Neural basis for benefits of meditation Posted: 13 Feb 2013 06:23 AM PST Mindfulness meditation training in awareness of present moment experience, such as body and breath sensations, prevents depression and reduces distress in chronic pain. Scientists have now proposed a neurophysiological framework to explain these clinical benefits.

How unconscious processing improves decision-making Posted: 13 Feb 2013 06:23 AM PST When faced with a difficult decision, it is often suggested to "sleep on it" or take a break from thinking about the decision to gain clarity. But new brain imaging research finds that the brain regions responsible for making decisions continue to be active even when the conscious brain is distracted with a different task. The research shows the brain unconsciously processes decision information in ways that lead to improved decision-making.

Emerging cancer drugs may drive bone tumors Posted: 13 Feb 2013 06:22 AM PST Cancer drugs should kill tumors, not encourage their spread. But new evidence suggests that an otherwise promising class of drugs may actually increase the risk of tumors spreading to bone, according to researchers.

Why some people don't learn well: EEG shows insufficient processing of information to be learned Posted: 13 Feb 2013 05:23 AM PST The reason why some people are worse at learning than others has been revealed. Researchers have discovered that the main problem is not that learning processes are inefficient per se, but that the brain insufficiently processes the information to be learned.

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