ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• The Deep Roots of Catastrophe: Partly molten, Florida-sized blob forms atop Earth's core
• Scientists identify genetic mechanism that contributed to Irish Famine
• Sensing the light, but not to see: Primitive organism's photosensitive cells may be ancestral to 'circadian receptors' in mammalian retina
• Tiny marine creature spreading through ocean, stabilizing reefs and islands with calcareous shells
• Features of southeast European human ancestors influenced by lack of episodic glaciations
• India joined with Asia 10 million years later than previously thought, new timeline suggests
• New light shed on the mysteries of spider silk
• Improved X-ray microscopic imaging
• Number of people with Alzheimer's disease in U.S. may triple by 2050
• Turning repulsive feelings into desires
• Tiny capsule effectively kills cancer cells
• Happiness increases with age, across generations: But your overall level of well-being depends on when you were born
• The last big bump before a supernova explodes
• Enzyme behind breast cancer mutations identified
• Biodiversity helps protect nature against human impacts
• Lungs of the planet reveal their true sensitivity to global warming
• Brain research provides clues to what makes people think and behave differently
• Smoking marijuana associated with higher stroke risk in young adults
• Possible cause of, and treatment for, non-familial Parkinson's
• Earth-size planets may be next door, Kepler data suggest
• Shimmering water reveals cold volcanic vent in Antarctic waters
• New coal technology harnesses energy without burning, nears pilot-scale development
• Eat to dream: Study shows dietary nutrients associated with certain sleep patterns

The Deep Roots of Catastrophe: Partly molten, Florida-sized blob forms atop Earth's core Posted: 06 Feb 2013 09:20 PM PST A seismologist analyzed seismic waves that bombarded Earth's core, and believes he got a look at the earliest roots of Earth's most cataclysmic kind of volcanic eruption. But don't worry. He says it won't happen for perhaps 200 million years.

Scientists identify genetic mechanism that contributed to Irish Famine Posted: 06 Feb 2013 04:06 PM PST Plant pathologists studied the pathogen that triggered the Irish Famine of the 19th century by infecting potato plants, and deciphered how it succeeded in crippling the potato plant's immune system.

Sensing the light, but not to see: Primitive organism's photosensitive cells may be ancestral to 'circadian receptors' in mammalian retina Posted: 06 Feb 2013 04:06 PM PST In a primitive marine organism, scientists find photosensitive cells that may be ancestral to the "circadian receptors" in the mammalian retina.

Tiny marine creature spreading through ocean, stabilizing reefs and islands with calcareous shells Posted: 06 Feb 2013 04:06 PM PST The climate is getting warmer, and sea levels are rising -- a threat to island nations. As a group of researchers found out, at the same time, tiny single-cell organisms are spreading rapidly through the world's oceans, where they might be able to mitigate the consequences of climate change. Amphistegina are stabilizing coastlines and reefs with their calcareous shells.

Features of southeast European human ancestors influenced by lack of episodic glaciations Posted: 06 Feb 2013 03:58 PM PST A fragment of human lower jaw recovered from a Serbian cave is the oldest human ancestor found in this part of Europe, who probably evolved under different conditions than populations that inhabited more western parts of the continent at the same time, according to new research.

India joined with Asia 10 million years later than previously thought, new timeline suggests Posted: 06 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST Researchers have found that the collision between India and Asia occurred only 40 million years ago -- 10 million years later than previously thought. The scientists analyzed the composition of rocks from two regions in the Himalayas, and discovered evidence of two separate collisional events: As India crept steadily northward, it first collided with a string of islands 50 million years ago, before plowing into the Eurasian continental plate 10 million years later.

New light shed on the mysteries of spider silk Posted: 06 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST Researchers have now measured all of the elastic properties of an intact spider's web, drawing a remarkable picture of the behavior of one of nature's most intriguing structures. The work could lead to new "bio-inspired" materials that improve upon nature.

Improved X-ray microscopic imaging Posted: 06 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST X-ray microscopy requires radiation of extremely high quality. In order to obtain sharp images instrument and sample must stay absolutely immobile even at the nanometer scale during the recording. Researchers have now developed a method that relaxes these hard restrictions. Even fluctuations in the material can be visualized.

Number of people with Alzheimer's disease in U.S. may triple by 2050 Posted: 06 Feb 2013 01:22 PM PST The number of people with Alzheimer's disease in the U.S. is expected to triple in the next 40 years, according to a new study.

Turning repulsive feelings into desires Posted: 06 Feb 2013 01:21 PM PST Hunger, thirst, stress and drugs can create a change in the brain that transforms a repulsive feeling into a strong positive "wanting," a new study indicates.

Tiny capsule effectively kills cancer cells Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:16 AM PST Devising a method for more precise and less invasive treatment of cancer tumors, scientists have developed a degradable nanoscale shell to carry proteins to cancer cells and stunt the growth of tumors without damaging healthy cells.

Happiness increases with age, across generations: But your overall level of well-being depends on when you were born Posted: 06 Feb 2013 11:16 AM PST Psychological well-being has been linked to many important life outcomes, including career success, relationship satisfaction, and even health. But it's not clear how feelings of well-being change as we age, as different studies have provided evidence for various trends over time. A new report reveals that self-reported feelings of well-being tend to increase with age, but that a person's overall level of well-being depends on when he or she was born.

The last big bump before a supernova explodes Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:11 AM PST Astronomers have found the first causal evidence that massive stars shed huge amounts of material in a "penultimate outburst" before they finally detonate as Type IIn supernovae. After characterizing supernova 2010mc, the scientists found evidence of previous outbursts in the same location and were able to conclusively relate them to the supernova explosion.

Enzyme behind breast cancer mutations identified Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:11 AM PST Researchers have uncovered a human enzyme responsible for causing DNA mutations found in the majority of breast cancers. The discovery of this enzyme -- called APOBEC3B -- may change the way breast cancer is diagnosed and treated.

Biodiversity helps protect nature against human impacts Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:10 AM PST New research suggests farmers and resource managers should not rely on seemingly stable but vulnerable single-crop monocultures. Instead they should encourage more kinds of plants in fields and woods as a buffer against sudden ecosystem disturbance.

Lungs of the planet reveal their true sensitivity to global warming Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:10 AM PST The amount of carbon dioxide that rainforests absorb, or produce, varies hugely with year-to-year variations in the climate. Climate scientists have shown that these variations reveal how vulnerable the rainforest is to climate change.

Brain research provides clues to what makes people think and behave differently Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:10 AM PST Differences in the physical connections of the brain are at the root of what make people think and behave differently from one another. Researchers shed new light on the details of this phenomenon, mapping the exact brain regions where individual differences occur. Their findings reveal that individuals' brain connectivity varies more in areas that relate to integrating information than in areas for initial perception of the world.

Smoking marijuana associated with higher stroke risk in young adults Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:10 AM PST Marijuana use may double the risk of stroke in young adults. The New Zealand findings are the first from a case-controlled study to indicate a potential link between marijuana and stroke.

Possible cause of, and treatment for, non-familial Parkinson's Posted: 06 Feb 2013 10:09 AM PST Researchers have identified a protein trafficking defect within brain cells that may underlie the common form of Parkinson's disease. The defect is at a point of convergence for the action of at least three different genes that had been implicated in prior studies of Parkinson's disease. Whereas most molecular studies focus on mutations associated with rare familial forms of the disease, these findings relate directly to the common non-familial form of Parkinson's.

Earth-size planets may be next door, Kepler data suggest Posted: 06 Feb 2013 08:09 AM PST Using publicly available data from NASA's Kepler space telescope, astronomers have found that six percent of red dwarf stars have habitable, Earth-sized planets. Since red dwarfs are the most common stars in our galaxy, the closest Earth-like planet could be just 13 light-years away.

Shimmering water reveals cold volcanic vent in Antarctic waters Posted: 06 Feb 2013 06:39 AM PST The location of an underwater volcanic vent, marked by a low-lying plume of shimmering water, has been revealed.

New coal technology harnesses energy without burning, nears pilot-scale development Posted: 06 Feb 2013 06:35 AM PST A new form of clean coal technology reached an important milestone recently, with the successful operation of a research-scale combustion system at Ohio State University.

Eat to dream: Study shows dietary nutrients associated with certain sleep patterns Posted: 06 Feb 2013 06:35 AM PST A new study shows for the first time that certain nutrients may play an underlying role in short and long sleep duration and that people who report eating a large variety of foods -- an indicator of an overall healthy diet -- had the healthiest sleep patterns.

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