ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Studying meteorites may reveal Mars' secrets of life
• Printable functional 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology
• Startling survival story at historic Jamestown: Physical evidence of survival cannibalism
• PTSD research: Distinct gene activity patterns from childhood abuse
• Potential novel treatment for influenza discovered: Scientists pursue new therapies as deadly H7N9 flu spreads in China
• Health defects found in fish exposed to Deepwater Horizon oil spill, three years later
• Use of laser light yields versatile manipulation of a quantum bit
• How brain's auditory center transmits information for decisions, actions
• New molecule heralds hope for muscular dystrophy treatment
• Genetic mutation linked with typical form of migraine headache
• Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs
• Fossil of great ape sheds light on evolution
• Amphibians living close to farm fields are more resistant to common insecticides
• Scientists weaken HIV infection in immune cells using synthetic agents
• Substances in honey increase honey bee detox gene expression
• Bug's view inspires new digital camera's unique imaging capabilities
• Global networks must be redesigned, experts urge
• New plant protein discoveries could ease global food and fuel demands
• Hypothalamus: Brain region may hold key to aging
• Scientists find dissimilar proteins evolved similar seven-part shape
• Wide-eyed fear expressions may help us -- and others -- to locate threats
• Bizarre bone worms emit acid to feast on whale skeletons: Bone-melting substance drills opening for worms to access nutrients
• Bird fossil sheds light on how swift and hummingbird flight came to be
• Revolutionary shape-changing phone curls when called
• Better wheat varieties in the future? Wheat genome shows resistance genes easy to access

Studying meteorites may reveal Mars' secrets of life Posted: 01 May 2013 04:32 PM PDT In an effort to determine if conditions were ever right on Mars to sustain life, a team of scientists has examined a meteorite that formed on the Red Planet more than a billion years ago.

Printable functional 'bionic' ear melds electronics and biology Posted: 01 May 2013 04:32 PM PDT Scientists used off-the-shelf printing tools to create a functional ear that can "hear" radio frequencies far beyond the range of normal human capability. The researchers' primary purpose was to explore an efficient and versatile means to merge electronics with tissue. The scientists used 3-D printing of cells and nanoparticles followed by cell culture to combine a small coil antenna with cartilage, creating what they term a bionic ear.

Startling survival story at historic Jamestown: Physical evidence of survival cannibalism Posted: 01 May 2013 04:18 PM PDT A forensic analysis of 17th-century human remains proves that survival cannibalism took place in historic Jamestown, Virginia. The findings answer a long-standing question among historians about the occurrence of cannibalism at Jamestown during the deadly winter of 1609-1610 known as the "starving time" -- a period during which about 80 percent of the colonists died.

PTSD research: Distinct gene activity patterns from childhood abuse Posted: 01 May 2013 12:44 PM PDT A study of adult civilians with PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) has shown that individuals with a history of childhood abuse have distinct, profound changes in gene activity patterns, compared to adults with PTSD but without a history of child abuse.

Potential novel treatment for influenza discovered: Scientists pursue new therapies as deadly H7N9 flu spreads in China Posted: 01 May 2013 12:44 PM PDT An experimental drug has shown promise in treating influenza, preventing lung injury and death from the virus in preclinical studies, according to new research. The scientists found that a drug called Eritoran can protect mice from death after they have been infected with a lethal dose of influenza virus.

Health defects found in fish exposed to Deepwater Horizon oil spill, three years later Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT Three years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, crude oil toxicity continues to sicken a sentinel Gulf Coast fish species, according to new findings.

Use of laser light yields versatile manipulation of a quantum bit Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT By using light, researchers have manipulated the quantum state of a single atomic-sized defect in diamond -- the nitrogen-vacancy center -- in a method that not only allows for more unified control than conventional processes, but is more versatile, and opens up the possibility of exploring new solid-state quantum systems.

How brain's auditory center transmits information for decisions, actions Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT When a pedestrian hears the screech of a car's brakes, she has to decide whether, and if so, how, to move in response. Is the action taking place blocks away, or 20 feet to the left? One of the primal mechanisms we depend on -- acting on the basis of information gathered by our sense of hearing -- is yielding its secrets. Surprising results fill in a key piece of the puzzle about how mammals act on the basis of sound cues.

New molecule heralds hope for muscular dystrophy treatment Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT There's hope for patients with myotonic dystrophy, the most common form of muscular dystrophy in adults. A new small molecule has been shown to break up the protein-RNA clusters that cause the disease in living human cells, an important first step toward developing a pharmaceutical treatment for the as-yet untreatable disease.

Genetic mutation linked with typical form of migraine headache Posted: 01 May 2013 11:51 AM PDT Scientists have identified a genetic mutation that is strongly associated with a typical form of migraine.

Seahorse's armor gives engineers insight into robotics designs Posted: 01 May 2013 10:21 AM PDT The tail of a seahorse can be compressed to about half its size before permanent damage occurs, engineers have found. The tail's flexibility is due to its structure, made up of bony, armored plates, which slide past each other. Researchers are hoping to use a similar structure to create a flexible robotic arm, which could be used in medical devices, underwater exploration and unmanned bomb detection and detonation.

Fossil of great ape sheds light on evolution Posted: 01 May 2013 10:21 AM PDT An integrative anatomy expert says the shape of an 11.8-million-year-old specimen's pelvis indicates that it lived near the beginning of the great ape evolution, after the lesser apes had started to develop separately but before the great ape species began to diversify.

Amphibians living close to farm fields are more resistant to common insecticides Posted: 01 May 2013 10:20 AM PDT Amphibian populations living close to agricultural fields have become more resistant to a common insecticide and are actually resistant to multiple common insecticides, according to two recent studies.

Scientists weaken HIV infection in immune cells using synthetic agents Posted: 01 May 2013 10:20 AM PDT HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, is notorious for hiding within certain types of cells, where it reproduces at a slowed rate and eventually gives rise to chronic inflammation, despite drug therapy. But researchers recently discovered that synthetic anti-inflammatory substances distantly related to the active ingredient of marijuana may be able to take the punch out of HIV while inside one of its major hideouts -- immune cells called macrophages.

Substances in honey increase honey bee detox gene expression Posted: 01 May 2013 10:20 AM PDT A new study shows that some components of the nectar and pollen grains bees collect to manufacture food increase expression of detoxification genes that help keep honey bees healthy.

Bug's view inspires new digital camera's unique imaging capabilities Posted: 01 May 2013 10:19 AM PDT An insect-inspired device uses hemispherical, compound optics to capture wide, undistorted fields of view.

Global networks must be redesigned, experts urge Posted: 01 May 2013 10:19 AM PDT The increasing interdependencies between the world's technological, socio-economic, and environmental systems have the potential to create global catastrophic risks. We may have to redesign global networks,or else they could turn into "global time bombs," experts say.

New plant protein discoveries could ease global food and fuel demands Posted: 01 May 2013 10:19 AM PDT New discoveries of the way plants transport important substances across their biological membranes to resist toxic metals and pests, increase salt and drought tolerance, control water loss and store sugar can have profound implications for increasing the supply of food and energy for our rapidly growing global population.

Hypothalamus: Brain region may hold key to aging Posted: 01 May 2013 10:18 AM PDT While the search continues for the Fountain of Youth, researchers may have found the body's "fountain of aging": the brain region known as the hypothalamus. For the first time, scientists report that the hypothalamus of mice controls aging throughout the body. Their discovery of a specific age-related signaling pathway opens up new strategies for combating diseases of old age and extending lifespan.

Scientists find dissimilar proteins evolved similar seven-part shape Posted: 01 May 2013 10:17 AM PDT Solving the structure of a critical human molecule involved in cancer, scientists have found what they call a good example of structural conservation —- dissimilar genes that keep very similar shapes.

Wide-eyed fear expressions may help us -- and others -- to locate threats Posted: 01 May 2013 10:16 AM PDT Wide-eyed expressions that typically signal fear seem to enlarge our visual field making it easier to spot threats at the same time they enhance the ability of others to locate the source of danger, according to new research.

Bizarre bone worms emit acid to feast on whale skeletons: Bone-melting substance drills opening for worms to access nutrients Posted: 01 May 2013 06:19 AM PDT Only within the past 12 years have marine biologists come to learn about the eye-opening characteristics of mystifying sea worms that live and thrive on the skeletons of whale carcasses. Now, scientists at describe how Osedax, mouthless and gutless "bone worms," excrete a bone-melting acid to gain entry to the nutrients within whale bones.

Bird fossil sheds light on how swift and hummingbird flight came to be Posted: 01 May 2013 06:18 AM PDT A tiny bird fossil discovered in Wyoming offers clues to the precursors of swift and hummingbird wings. The fossil is unusual in having exceptionally well-preserved feathers, which allowed the researchers to reconstruct the size and shape of the bird's wings in ways not possible with bones alone.

Revolutionary shape-changing phone curls when called Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:36 AM PDT Researchers at Queen's University's Human Media Lab have developed a new smartphone -- called MorePhone -- which can morph its shape to give users a silent yet visual cue of an incoming phone call, text message or email.

Better wheat varieties in the future? Wheat genome shows resistance genes easy to access Posted: 29 Apr 2013 10:35 AM PDT Scientists have developed a physical map of wheat's wild ancestor, Aegilops tauschii, commonly called goatgrass. It's the first huge step toward sequencing the wheat genome -- a complete look at wheat's genetic matter. The work showed among other things, that most resistance genes seem to lie at the ends of chromosomes and can be easily accessed. The findings can lead to breeding of more productive and sustainable wheat varieties.

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