ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Biologists take snapshot of fleeting protein process
• Climate change threatens extinction for 82 percent of California native fish
• Study coaxes clays to make human bone
• Pebbly rocks testify to old streambed on Mars
• Radiation measured by NASA's Curiosity on voyage to Mars has implications for future human missions
• Asteroids provide sustainable resource, study finds
• One of the moon's mysteries solved: Origin of mascon basins
• Scientists capture first images of molecules before and after reaction
• Why animals compare the present with the past
• Genetic variants linked to educational attainment
• Water-rock reaction may provide enough hydrogen 'food' to sustain life in ocean's crust or on Mars
• How turtles got their shells: Fossil of extinct South African reptile provides clues
• Comet ISON is hurtling toward uncertain destiny with Sun
• Why female loggerhead sea turtles always return to their place of birth
• Rabbit wears contact lenses with light-emitting diode: New class of transparent, stretchable electrodes
• Land-based carbon offsets: False hope? Forest and soil carbon is important, but does not offset fossil fuel emissions
• Ancient Egyptians accessorized with meteorites
• New mathematical model links space-time theories
• Scientists find chemical that causes 'kidney' failure in mosquitoes

Biologists take snapshot of fleeting protein process Posted: 30 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT Structural biologists have captured the first three-dimensional crystalline snapshot of a critical but fleeting process that takes place thousands of times per second in every human cell. The research sheds new light on a protein that was discovered more than 120 years ago and could prove useful in the study of cancer and other diseases.

Climate change threatens extinction for 82 percent of California native fish Posted: 30 May 2013 02:00 PM PDT Of 121 native fish species in California, researchers predict 82 percent are likely to be driven to extinction or very low numbers as climate change speeds the decline of already depleted populations.

Study coaxes clays to make human bone Posted: 30 May 2013 12:28 PM PDT Whether damaged by injury, disease or age, your body as an adult can't create new bone, but maybe science can. Researchers are making strides in tissue engineering, designing scaffolds that may lead to ways to regenerate bone. Scientists have developed a novel method that uses nanosized clays to make scaffolds to mineralize bone minerals such as hydroxyapatite.

Pebbly rocks testify to old streambed on Mars Posted: 30 May 2013 12:05 PM PDT Detailed analysis and review have borne out researchers' initial interpretation of pebble-containing slabs that NASA's Mars rover Curiosity investigated last year: They are part of an ancient streambed. The rocks are the first ever found on Mars that contain streambed gravels. The sizes and shapes of the gravels embedded in these conglomerate rocks -- from the size of sand particles to the size of golf balls -- enabled researchers to calculate the depth and speed of the water that once flowed at this location.

Radiation measured by NASA's Curiosity on voyage to Mars has implications for future human missions Posted: 30 May 2013 11:59 AM PDT Measurements taken by NASA's Mars Science Laboratory mission as it delivered the Curiosity rover to Mars in 2012 are providing NASA the information it needs to design systems to protect human explorers from radiation exposure on deep-space expeditions in the future.

Asteroids provide sustainable resource, study finds Posted: 30 May 2013 11:48 AM PDT The prospects of a robotic manufacturing base operating off Earth is not as far-fetched as it used to be according to a study published by a team of NASA researchers. Because asteroids are loaded with minerals that are rare on Earth, near-Earth asteroids and the asteroid belt could become the mining centers for remotely operated excavators and processing machinery. In 20 years, an industry barely imagined now could be sending refined materials, rare metals and even free, clean energy to Earth from asteroids and other bodies.

One of the moon's mysteries solved: Origin of mascon basins Posted: 30 May 2013 11:20 AM PDT A mystery of the moon that imperiled astronauts and spacecraft on lunar missions has been solved. Large concentrations of mass lurk on the lunar surface that can change the gravity field and either pull a spacecraft in or push it off course. Scientists have determined the origin of these mass concentrations.

Scientists capture first images of molecules before and after reaction Posted: 30 May 2013 11:20 AM PDT Using atomic force microscopy, chemists for the first time can capture images of molecules before and after they react, which will allow them to better tune reactions to get the products they want. Chemists and physicists joined forces to develop the technique, which could help scientists study and improve catalytic reactions like those used widely in industry to make chemicals or crack oil.

Why animals compare the present with the past Posted: 30 May 2013 11:20 AM PDT Humans, like other animals, compare things. We care not only how well off we are, but whether we are better or worse off than others around us, or than we were last year. New research shows that such comparisons can give individuals an evolutionary advantage.

Genetic variants linked to educational attainment Posted: 30 May 2013 11:19 AM PDT A multi-national team of researchers has identified genetic markers that predict educational attainment by pooling data from more than 125,000 individuals in the United States, Australia, and 13 western European countries.

Water-rock reaction may provide enough hydrogen 'food' to sustain life in ocean's crust or on Mars Posted: 30 May 2013 10:25 AM PDT A chemical reaction between iron-containing minerals and water may produce enough hydrogen "food" to sustain microbial communities living in pores and cracks within the enormous volume of rock below the ocean floor and parts of the continents, according to a new study.

How turtles got their shells: Fossil of extinct South African reptile provides clues Posted: 30 May 2013 10:24 AM PDT Through careful study of an ancient ancestor of modern turtles, researchers now have a clearer picture of how the turtles' most unusual shell came to be. The findings help to fill a 30- to 55-million-year gap in the turtle fossil record through study of an extinct South African reptile known as Eunotosaurus.

Comet ISON is hurtling toward uncertain destiny with Sun Posted: 30 May 2013 08:13 AM PDT A new series of images from Gemini Observatory shows Comet C/2012 S1 racing toward an uncomfortably close rendezvous with the Sun. In late November the comet could present a stunning sight in the twilight sky and remain easily visible, or even brilliant, into early December of this year.

Why female loggerhead sea turtles always return to their place of birth Posted: 30 May 2013 08:11 AM PDT For a better protection of marine turtles, scientists are trying to understand why they return to their birthplace in order to reproduce after rather long distance migrations. Using molecular tools applied to turtles from the Cape Verde islands, scientists found females from different islands have different immune genes, suggesting that returning home to reproduce is linked to advantages in parasite resistance.

Rabbit wears contact lenses with light-emitting diode: New class of transparent, stretchable electrodes Posted: 30 May 2013 08:09 AM PDT Scientists have demonstrated that a live rabbit could wear contact lenses fitted with inorganic light-emitting diode with no side effects. This new class of hybrid transparent and stretchable electrode paves the way for flexible displays, solar cells, and electronics.

Land-based carbon offsets: False hope? Forest and soil carbon is important, but does not offset fossil fuel emissions Posted: 30 May 2013 06:50 AM PDT Leading world climate change experts have thrown cold water on the idea that planting trees can offset carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels. Land carbon sinks cannot solve the problem of atmospheric carbon emissions but they legitimize the ongoing use of fossil fuels.

Ancient Egyptians accessorized with meteorites Posted: 30 May 2013 06:46 AM PDT Researchers have found conclusive proof that Ancient Egyptians used meteorites to make symbolic accessories for their dead.

New mathematical model links space-time theories Posted: 30 May 2013 06:46 AM PDT Researchers have taken a significant step in a project to unravel the secrets of the structure of our Universe.

Scientists find chemical that causes 'kidney' failure in mosquitoes Posted: 29 May 2013 04:09 PM PDT Scientists have discovered a chemical that causes "kidney" failure in mosquitoes, which may pave the way to the development of new insecticides to fight deadly mosquito-transmitted diseases such as malaria and dengue fever.

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