ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Meerkat predator-scanning behaviour is altruistic, experts say
• Playtime: Affectionate, less controlling mothers have strongest relationships with their children
• Quantum microscope for living biology
• Some cancer mutations slow tumor growth
• Gene variants found to affect human lifespan
• Monogamous birds read partner's food desires
• Scientists turn toxic by-product into biofuel booster
• Last Neanderthals of southern Iberia may not have coexisted with modern humans, new data suggest
• Experimental therapy crosses blood-brain barrier to treat neurological disease
• Grooming helps insects keep their senses sharpened
• Gases work with particles to promote cloud formation
• Human brain is divided on fear and panic: Different areas of brain responsible for external, internal threats
• Impressive aerial maneuvers of the pea aphid
• New kind of extinct flying reptile discovered
• Scientists notch a win in war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria
• Are super-Earths actually mini-Neptunes?
• Discovery of remains of England's King Richard III confirmed
• Light shone on star mystery: Why sun's corona is much hotter than its surface
• Into the quantum Internet at the speed of light
• Climate change clues from tiny marine algae -- ancient and modern
• Elusive taste stem cells identified
• Milestone of cancer research: Arresting cancers rather than killing them

Meerkat predator-scanning behaviour is altruistic, experts say Posted: 04 Feb 2013 07:08 PM PST In order to spot potential predators, adult meerkats often climb to a higher vantage point or stand on their hind legs. If a predator is detected, they use several different alarm calls to warn the rest of the group. New Cambridge research shows that they are more likely to exhibit this behavior when there are young pups present, suggesting that the predator-scanning behavior is for the benefit of the group rather than the individual.

Playtime: Affectionate, less controlling mothers have strongest relationships with their children Posted: 04 Feb 2013 03:47 PM PST Researchers long have evaluated the roles parents play in children's development. Now, researchers have found that mothers' directiveness, the extent to which they try to control the content and pace of young children's play, varies based on the children's ages and the mothers' ethnicities. In addition, the study found that the more directive the mothers were during play, the less engaged children were with them and the more negative emotion the children displayed toward their mothers.

Quantum microscope for living biology Posted: 04 Feb 2013 01:34 PM PST A team of Australian scientists has developed a powerful microscope using the laws of quantum mechanics to probe the inner workings of living cells. The researchers believe their microscope could lead to a better understanding of the basic components of life and eventually allow quantum mechanics to be probed at a macroscopic level.

Some cancer mutations slow tumor growth Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:40 PM PST A typical cancer cell has thousands of mutations scattered throughout its genome and hundreds of mutated genes. However, only a handful of those genes, known as drivers, are responsible for cancerous traits such as uncontrolled growth. Cancer biologists have largely ignored the other mutations, believing they had little or no impact on cancer progression. But a new study reveals, for the first time, that these so-called passenger mutations are not just along for the ride. When enough of them accumulate, they can slow or even halt tumor growth.

Gene variants found to affect human lifespan Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:39 PM PST By broadly comparing the DNA of children to that of elderly people, gene researchers have identified copy number variations that influence lifespan. Some of the variants raise disease risk, while others provide protection from disease.

Monogamous birds read partner's food desires Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:39 PM PST New research shows that male Eurasian Jays in committed relationships are able to share food with their female partner according to her current desire.

Scientists turn toxic by-product into biofuel booster Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:38 PM PST Scientists studying an enzyme that naturally produces alkanes, long carbon-chain molecules that could be a direct replacement for the hydrocarbons in gasoline, have figured out why the natural reaction typically stops after three to five cycles -- and devised a strategy to keep the reaction going. The work could renew interest in using the enzyme in bacteria, algae, or plants to produce biofuels that need no further processing.

Last Neanderthals of southern Iberia may not have coexisted with modern humans, new data suggest Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:37 PM PST The last Neanderthals had passed by southern Iberia quite earlier than previously thought, approximately 45,000 years ago and not 30,000 years ago as it has been estimated until recently. Researchers dated samples from two archaeological sites of central and southern Iberia. The new data casts doubt on the theory that sapiens and Neanderthals coexisted in Iberia during the Upper Pleistocene.

Experimental therapy crosses blood-brain barrier to treat neurological disease Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:37 PM PST Researchers have overcome a major challenge to treating brain diseases by engineering an experimental molecular therapy that crosses the blood-brain barrier to reverse neurological lysosomal storage disease in mice. Scientists say the study provides a non-invasive procedure that targets the blood-brain barrier and can be tested for delivering large-molecule therapeutic agents to treat neurological disorders.

Grooming helps insects keep their senses sharpened Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:36 PM PST Insect grooming -- specifically, antennal cleaning -- removes both environmental pollutants and chemicals produced by the insects themselves while keeping olfactory senses sharp.

Gases work with particles to promote cloud formation Posted: 04 Feb 2013 12:36 PM PST Researchers have shown that certain volatile organic gases can promote cloud formation in a way never considered before by atmospheric scientists. They say this is the first time gases have been shown to affect cloud formation in this way and will "improve our ability to model cloud formation, an important component of climate."

Human brain is divided on fear and panic: Different areas of brain responsible for external, internal threats Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:01 AM PST Researchers say the human brain has a new, second gatekeeper that registers fear. That region, likely the brainstem, signals fear from internal dangers. The finding could lead to more precise treatment for people suffering from panic attacks and other anxiety disorders.

Impressive aerial maneuvers of the pea aphid Posted: 04 Feb 2013 10:00 AM PST Pea aphids can free fall from the plants they feed on and -- within a fraction of a second -- land on their feet every time. Oftentimes, the falling aphids manage to cling to a lower part of the plant by their sticky feet on the way down, avoiding the dangerous ground altogether.

New kind of extinct flying reptile discovered Posted: 04 Feb 2013 08:15 AM PST A new kind of pterosaur, a flying reptile from the time of the dinosaurs, has been identified by scientists from Romania, the UK and Brazil. The fossilized bones come from the Late Cretaceous rocks of Sebes-Glod in the Transylvanian Basin, Romania, which are approximately 68 million years old.

Scientists notch a win in war against antibiotic-resistant bacteria Posted: 04 Feb 2013 06:59 AM PST A team just won a battle in the war against antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" -- and only time will tell if their feat will turn the tide toward victory. They won this particular battle, or at least gained critical intelligence, not by designing a new antibiotic, but by interfering with the metabolism of the bacterial "bugs" -- E. coli in this case -- and rendering them weaker in the face of existing antibiotics.

Are super-Earths actually mini-Neptunes? Posted: 04 Feb 2013 06:46 AM PST In the last two decades astronomers have found hundreds of planets in orbit around other stars. One type of these so-called 'exoplanets' is the super-Earths that are thought to have a high proportion of rock but at the same time are significantly bigger than our own world. Now a new study suggests that these planets are actually surrounded by extended hydrogen-rich envelopes and that they are unlikely to ever become Earth-like. Rather than being super-Earths, these worlds are more like mini-Neptunes.

Discovery of remains of England's King Richard III confirmed Posted: 04 Feb 2013 06:46 AM PST The University of Leicester has confirmed that it has discovered the remains of England's King Richard III. At a specially convened media conference, experts unanimously identified the remains discovered in Leicester city center as being those of the last Plantagenet king who died in 1485. Rigorous scientific investigations confirmed the strong circumstantial evidence that the skeleton found at the site of the Grey Friars church in Leicester was indeed that of King Richard III.

Light shone on star mystery: Why sun's corona is much hotter than its surface Posted: 04 Feb 2013 06:46 AM PST Scientists have begun to unlock the mystery of why the outer edge of the Sun is much hotter than its surface for the first time.

Into the quantum Internet at the speed of light Posted: 04 Feb 2013 06:46 AM PST Not only do optical fibers transmit information every day around the world at the speed of light, but they can also be harnessed for the transport of quantum information. Physicists now report how they have directly transferred the quantum information stored in an atom onto a particle of light. Such information could then be sent over optical fiber to a distant atom.

Climate change clues from tiny marine algae -- ancient and modern Posted: 04 Feb 2013 06:45 AM PST Microscopic ocean algae called coccolithophores are providing clues about the impact of climate change both now and many millions of years ago. The study found that their response to environmental change varies between species, in terms of how quickly they grow.

Elusive taste stem cells identified Posted: 04 Feb 2013 06:45 AM PST Scientists have identified the location and certain genetic characteristics of taste stem cells on the tongue. The findings will facilitate techniques to grow and manipulate new functional taste cells for both clinical and research purposes.

Milestone of cancer research: Arresting cancers rather than killing them Posted: 03 Feb 2013 06:24 PM PST Medical researchers have shown that the immune system is able to drive tumors and tumor cells into a form of permanent dormancy. The resulting growth arrest allows tumor control in the absence of cancer cell destruction. This permanent dormancy – scientifically known as senescence – may persist for the whole life of the organism. Thus, immunotherapy can prevent tumor development without destroying the cells.

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