ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• An inside look at carnivorous plants
• Can synthetic biology save wildlife? From re-creating extinct species to the risk of genetically modified super-species
• Feeling hungry may protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease
• New genetic evidence suggests a continuum among neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders
• Rising temperature difference between hemispheres could dramatically shift rainfall patterns in tropics
• Total buzz kill: Metals in flowers may play role in bumblebee decline
• Craters on the moon: Pre-existing mineralogy may survive lunar impacts
• Tiny grazers play key role in marine ecosystem health
• BRAIN initiative launched to unlock mysteries of human mind
• New insights on how spiral galaxies get their arms
• Switching to a power stroke enables a tiny but important marine crustacean to survive
• Mental illness linked to heavy cannabis use
• 3-D scaffolds a new tool to fight cancer
• Second source of potentially disruptive Icelandic volcanoes found
• Fighting listeria and other food-borne illnesses with nanobiotechnology
• Diversification in ancient tadpole shrimps challenges the term 'living fossil'
• Monkey study reveals why middle managers suffer the most stress
• Cells culled from adults may grow human bone
• Plastic film is the future of 3-D on-the-go
• Geckos keep firm grip in wet natural habitat
• Eating fish associated with lower risk of dying among older adults: Risk of dying from heart disease significantly lowered

An inside look at carnivorous plants Posted: 02 Apr 2013 03:26 PM PDT A pitcher plant's work seems simple: Their tube-shaped leaves catch and hold rainwater, which drowns the ants, beetles, and flies that stumble in. But the rainwater inside a pitcher plant is not just a malevolent dunking pool. It also hosts a complex system of aquatic life, including wriggling mosquito, flesh fly, and midge larvae; mites; rotifers; copepods; nematodes; and multicellular algae.

Can synthetic biology save wildlife? From re-creating extinct species to the risk of genetically modified super-species Posted: 02 Apr 2013 03:25 PM PDT What effects will the rapidly growing field of synthetic biology have on the conservation of nature? The ecological and ethical challenges stemming from this question will require a new and continuing dialogue between members of the synthetic biology and biodiversity conservation communities, according to authors of a new paper.

Feeling hungry may protect the brain against Alzheimer's disease Posted: 02 Apr 2013 03:24 PM PDT A study in mice with genetic mutations seen in human Alzheimer's disease found that the feeling of hunger itself may protect against the disease.

New genetic evidence suggests a continuum among neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders Posted: 02 Apr 2013 03:24 PM PDT A broad spectrum of developmental and psychiatric disorders, ranging from autism and intellectual disability to schizophrenia, should be conceptualized as different manifestations of a common underlying denominator, "developmental brain dysfunction," rather than completely independent conditions with distinct causes, new research suggests.

Rising temperature difference between hemispheres could dramatically shift rainfall patterns in tropics Posted: 02 Apr 2013 01:25 PM PDT One often ignored consequence of global climate change is that the Northern Hemisphere is becoming warmer than the Southern Hemisphere, which could significantly alter tropical precipitation patterns, according to a new study by climatologists.

Total buzz kill: Metals in flowers may play role in bumblebee decline Posted: 02 Apr 2013 12:24 PM PDT Beekeepers and researchers nationally are reporting growing evidence that a powerful new class of pesticides may be killing off bumblebees. Now, research points toward another potential cause: metal pollution from aluminum and nickel. A new study finds that bumblebees are at risk of ingesting toxic amounts of metals like aluminum and nickel found in flowers growing in soil that has been contaminated by exhaust from vehicles, industrial machinery, and farming equipment.

Craters on the moon: Pre-existing mineralogy may survive lunar impacts Posted: 02 Apr 2013 12:01 PM PDT Large impacts on the Moon can form wide craters and turn surface rock liquid. Geophysicists once assumed that liquid rock would be homogenous when it cooled. Now researchers have found evidence that pre-existing mineralogy can survive impact melt.

Tiny grazers play key role in marine ecosystem health Posted: 02 Apr 2013 12:01 PM PDT Tiny sea creatures no bigger than a thumbtack are being credited for playing a key role in helping provide healthy habitats for many kinds of seafood, according to a new study. The little crustacean "grazers," some resembling tiny shrimp, are critical in protecting seagrasses from overgrowth by algae, helping keep these aquatic havens healthy for native and economically important species. Crustaceans are tiny to very large shelled animals that include crab, shrimp, and lobster.

BRAIN initiative launched to unlock mysteries of human mind Posted: 02 Apr 2013 11:58 AM PDT Today at the White House, President Barak Obama unveiled the "BRAIN" Initiative -- a bold new research effort to revolutionize our understanding of the human mind and uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders like Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.

New insights on how spiral galaxies get their arms Posted: 02 Apr 2013 09:48 AM PDT Spiral galaxies are some of the most beautiful and photogenic residents of the universe. Our own Milky Way is a spiral. Our solar system and Earth reside somewhere near one of its filamentous arms. And nearly 70 percent of the galaxies closest to the Milky Way are spirals. But despite their common shape, how galaxies like ours get and maintain their characteristic arms has proved to be an enduring puzzle in astrophysics.

Switching to a power stroke enables a tiny but important marine crustacean to survive Posted: 02 Apr 2013 09:48 AM PDT To escape from the jaws and claws of predators in cold, viscous water, marine copepods switch from a wave-like swimming stroke to big power strokes, a behavior that has now been revealed thanks to 3-D high-speed digital holography.

Mental illness linked to heavy cannabis use Posted: 02 Apr 2013 09:48 AM PDT People with mental illnesses are more than seven times more likely to use cannabis weekly compared to people without a mental illness, according to new research.

3-D scaffolds a new tool to fight cancer Posted: 02 Apr 2013 09:48 AM PDT Porous polymer scaffolds fabricated to support the growth of biological tissue for implantation may hold the potential to greatly accelerate the development of cancer therapeutics. Researchers report that three-dimensional scaffolds used to culture Ewing's sarcoma cells were effective at mimicking the environment in which such tumors develop.

Second source of potentially disruptive Icelandic volcanoes found Posted: 02 Apr 2013 09:45 AM PDT New research has discovered another type of Icelandic volcanic eruption that could cause disruption. The team found magma that is twice as 'fizzy' as previously believed, which increases the likelihood of disruptive ash clouds from future eruptions.

Fighting listeria and other food-borne illnesses with nanobiotechnology Posted: 02 Apr 2013 09:43 AM PDT Engineering researchers have developed a new method to kill deadly pathogenic bacteria, including listeria, in food handling and packaging. This innovation represents an alternative to the use of antibiotics or chemical decontamination in food supply systems.

Diversification in ancient tadpole shrimps challenges the term 'living fossil' Posted: 02 Apr 2013 06:16 AM PDT The term 'living fossil' has a controversial history. For decades, scientists have argued about its usefulness as it appears to suggest that some organisms have stopped evolving. New research has now investigated the origin of tadpole shrimps, a group commonly regarded as 'living fossils' which includes the familiar Triops. The research reveals that living species of tadpole shrimp are much younger than the fossils they so much resemble, calling into question the term 'living fossil'.

Monkey study reveals why middle managers suffer the most stress Posted: 02 Apr 2013 06:11 AM PDT A study observing monkeys has found that those in the middle hierarchy suffer the most social stress. Their work suggests that the source of this stress is social conflict and may help explain studies in humans that have found that middle managers suffer the most stress at work.

Cells culled from adults may grow human bone Posted: 02 Apr 2013 06:08 AM PDT Preparations are underway for the first known human trial to use embryonic-like stem cells collected from adult cells to grow bone.

Plastic film is the future of 3-D on-the-go Posted: 02 Apr 2013 06:07 AM PDT Ditch the 3-D glasses. Thanks to a simple plastic filter, mobile device users can now view unprecedented, distortion-free, brilliant 3-D content with the naked eye. This latest innovation from TP and IMRE is the first ever glasses-free 3-D accessory that can display content in both portrait and landscape mode, and measures less than 0.1 mm in thickness.Mobile device users will soon be able to view brilliant 3-D content with the naked eye with a nano-engineered screen protector that turns ordinary mobile screens into 3-D displays. The unique plastic film can also potentially be used as next generation security tokens employed by banks and corporations.

Geckos keep firm grip in wet natural habitat Posted: 01 Apr 2013 03:15 PM PDT Geckos' ability to stick to trees and leaves during rainforest downpours has fascinated scientists for decades, leading a group of researchers to solve the mystery.

Eating fish associated with lower risk of dying among older adults: Risk of dying from heart disease significantly lowered Posted: 01 Apr 2013 03:15 PM PDT Older adults with higher levels of blood omega-3 levels -- fatty acids found in fish and seafood -- may be able to lower their mortality risk by as much as 27 percent and their mortality risk from heart disease by about 35 percent, report researchers. Older adults with the highest blood levels of the fatty acids lived, on average, 2.2 years longer than those with lower levels.

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