ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• A battery made of wood?
• Drug shows surprising efficacy as treatment for chronic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma
• Scientists identify emotions based on brain activity
• Current global food production trajectory won't meet 2050 needs
• Carbon nanotube harpoon catches individual brain-cell signals
• New details about H7N9 influenza infections that suddenly appeared in China
• Scientists date prehistoric bacterial invasion still present in today's plant and animal cells
• Metamorphosis of moon's water ice explained
• A shot in the arm for old antibiotics
• New technology reduces, controls CT radiation exposure in children: CT scan radiation reduced by 37 percent
• How neural stem cells create new and varied neurons
• Biological fitness trumps other traits in mating game
• Brain can plan actions toward things the eye doesn't see
• Fate of the heart: Researchers track cellular events leading to cardiac regeneration
• Dietary fructose causes liver damage in animal model
• Simple and inexpensive process to make a material for CO2 adsorption
• Practical new approach to holographic video could also enable 2-D displays with higher resolution and lower power consumption
• Milestone for quantum networks: First entanglement between light and an optical atomic coherence
• Mars had oxygen-rich atmosphere 4,000 million years ago
• Chemical that makes naked mole rats cancer-proof discovered
• Was prehistoric rock art strategically placed to reveal a cosmological puzzle?
• The rhythm of the Arctic summer: Diverse activity patterns of birds during the Arctic breeding season
• Unusual supernova is doubly unusual for being perfectly normal
• What do memories look like?
• Validating Maps of the Brain's Resting State
• Sound waves precisely position nanowires
• Outlook is grim for mammals and birds as human population grows
• Researchers discover immunity mechanism: Platelets patrolling the bloodstream
• Origins of 'The Hoff' crab revealed
• City slicker or country bumpkin: City-life changes blackbird personalities
• Contribution of particulate matter from air pollution to forest decline
• Distracted walking: Injuries soar for pedestrians on phones
• New research backs genetic 'switches' in human evolution
• Possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico predicted
• Three centaurs follow Uranus through the solar system
• Moderate drinking during pregnancy does not seem to harm baby's neurodevelopment, study suggests

A battery made of wood? Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:52 PM PDT A sliver of wood coated with tin could make a tiny, long-lasting, efficient and environmentally friendly battery, say scientists.

Drug shows surprising efficacy as treatment for chronic leukemia, mantle cell lymphoma Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:52 PM PDT Clinical studies suggest that the novel, targeted agent ibrutinib shows real potential is a safe, effective, treatment for adults with chronic lymphocytic leukemia and for patients with mantle cell lymphoma.

Scientists identify emotions based on brain activity Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:51 PM PDT For the first time, scientists have identified which emotion a person is experiencing based on brain activity. The study combines functional magnetic resonance imaging and machine learning to measure brain signals to accurately read emotions in individuals. The findings illustrate how the brain categorizes feelings, giving researchers the first reliable process to analyze emotions. Until now, research on emotions has been long stymied by the lack of reliable methods to evaluate them.

Current global food production trajectory won't meet 2050 needs Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:51 PM PDT Crop yields worldwide are not increasing quickly enough to support estimated global needs in 2050, according to a new study.

Carbon nanotube harpoon catches individual brain-cell signals Posted: 19 Jun 2013 04:51 PM PDT Neuroscientists may soon be modern-day harpooners, snaring individual brain-cell signals instead of whales with tiny spears made of carbon nanotubes.

New details about H7N9 influenza infections that suddenly appeared in China Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:48 PM PDT Researchers have revealed new information about the latest strain of type A influenza, known as H7N9.

Scientists date prehistoric bacterial invasion still present in today's plant and animal cells Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:48 PM PDT How long ago did bacteria invade the one-celled ancestors of plants and animals to become energy-producing mitochondria and photosynthesizing chloroplasts? Researchers developed a statistical way to analyze the variation in genes common to mitochondria, chloroplasts and the eukaryotic nucleus to more precisely date these events. They found that the cyanobacterial invasion of plants took place millions of years more recently than thought.

Metamorphosis of moon's water ice explained Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:47 PM PDT Using data gathered by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, scientists believe they have solved a mystery from one of the solar system's coldest regions -- a permanently shadowed crater on the moon. They have explained how energetic particles penetrating lunar soil can create molecular hydrogen from water ice. The finding provides insight into how radiation can change the chemistry of water ice throughout the solar system.

A shot in the arm for old antibiotics Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:47 PM PDT Slipping bacteria some silver could give old antibiotics new life, scientists report. This could pave the way for new therapies for drug-resistant and recurrent infections.

New technology reduces, controls CT radiation exposure in children: CT scan radiation reduced by 37 percent Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:47 PM PDT Patients at certain hospitals are being exposed to significantly less radiation during CT scans because of new technology that allows doctors to more tightly control radiation doses. The first-of-its-kind imaging software reduced overall radiation exposure from CT scans by 37 percent.

How neural stem cells create new and varied neurons Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:47 PM PDT A new study examining the brains of fruit flies reveals a novel stem cell mechanism that may help explain how neurons form in humans.

Biological fitness trumps other traits in mating game Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:47 PM PDT When a new species emerges following adaptive changes to its local environment, the process of choosing a mate can help protect the new species' genetic identity and increase the likelihood of its survival. But of the many observable traits in a potential mate, which particular traits does a female tend to prefer?

Brain can plan actions toward things the eye doesn't see Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:47 PM PDT People can plan strategic movements to several different targets at the same time, even when they see far fewer targets than are actually present, according to a new study.

Fate of the heart: Researchers track cellular events leading to cardiac regeneration Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:44 PM PDT Scientists have visually monitored the dynamic cellular events that take place when cardiac regeneration occurs in zebrafish after cardiac ventricular injury. Their findings provide evidence that various cell lines in the heart are more plastic, or capable of transformation into new cell types, than previously thought.

Dietary fructose causes liver damage in animal model Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:44 PM PDT The role of dietary fructose in the development of obesity and fatty liver diseases remains controversial, with previous studies indicating that the problems resulted from fructose and a diet too high in calories. However, a new study conducted in an animal model showed that fructose rapidly caused liver damage even without weight gain. The researchers found that over the six-week study period liver damage more than doubled in the animals fed a high-fructose diet as compared to those in the control group.

Simple and inexpensive process to make a material for CO2 adsorption Posted: 19 Jun 2013 01:15 PM PDT Researchers have developed a novel, simple method to synthesize hierarchically nanoporous frameworks of nanocrystalline metal oxides such as magnesia and ceria by the thermal conversion of well-designed metal-organic frameworks (MOFs).

Practical new approach to holographic video could also enable 2-D displays with higher resolution and lower power consumption Posted: 19 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT A practical new approach to holographic video could also enable 2-D displays with higher resolution and lower power consumption.

Milestone for quantum networks: First entanglement between light and an optical atomic coherence Posted: 19 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT Using clouds of ultra-cold atoms and a pair of lasers operating at optical wavelengths, researchers have reached a quantum network milestone: entangling light with an optical atomic coherence composed of interacting atoms in two different states.

Mars had oxygen-rich atmosphere 4,000 million years ago Posted: 19 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT Differences between Martian meteorites and rocks examined by a NASA rover can be explained if Mars had an oxygen-rich atmosphere 4,000 million years ago -- well before the rise of atmospheric oxygen on Earth 2,500 million years ago.

Chemical that makes naked mole rats cancer-proof discovered Posted: 19 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT Scientists have discovered the chemical that makes naked mole rats cancer-proof. Naked mole rats are small, hairless, subterranean rodents that have never been known to get cancer, despite having a 30-year lifespan. Scientists discovered that these rodents are protected from cancer because their tissues are very rich with high molecular weight hyaluronan (HMW-HA).

Was prehistoric rock art strategically placed to reveal a cosmological puzzle? Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:21 AM PDT Recently, the discoveries of prehistoric rock art have become more common. With these discoveries, according to one researcher, comes a single giant one -- all these drawing and engravings map the prehistoric peoples' cosmological world.

The rhythm of the Arctic summer: Diverse activity patterns of birds during the Arctic breeding season Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:21 AM PDT Our internal circadian clock regulates daily life processes and is synchronized by external cues, the so-called Zeitgebers. The main cue is the light-dark cycle, whose strength is largely reduced in extreme habitats such as in the Arctic during the polar summer. Using a radiotelemetry system biologists have now found, in four bird species in Alaska, different daily activity patterns ranging from strictly rhythmic to completely arrhythmic.

Unusual supernova is doubly unusual for being perfectly normal Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:21 AM PDT Type Ia supernovae are indispensable milestones for measuring the expansion of the universe. With definitive measures of Supernova 2011fe, the "Backyard Supernova" that thrilled amateur and professional astronomers alike in the summer of 2011, the Nearby Supernova Factory demonstrates that this unusually close-by Type Ia is such a perfect example of its kind that future Type Ia's -- and models meant to explain their physics -- must be measured against it.

What do memories look like? Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:21 AM PDT Scientists develop a way to see the structures that store memories in a living brain.

Validating Maps of the Brain's Resting State Posted: 19 Jun 2013 09:19 AM PDT Researchers have provided important validation of maps of the brain at rest that may offer insights into changes in the brain that occur in neurological and psychiatric disorders.

Sound waves precisely position nanowires Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:28 AM PDT The smaller components become, the more difficult it is to create patterns in an economical and reproducible way, according to an interdisciplinary team of researchers who, using sound waves, can place nanowires in repeatable patterns for potential use in a variety of sensors, optoelectronics and nanoscale circuits.

Outlook is grim for mammals and birds as human population grows Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:26 AM PDT The ongoing global growth in the human population will inevitably crowd out mammals and birds and has the potential to threaten hundreds of species with extinction within 40 years, new research shows.

Researchers discover immunity mechanism: Platelets patrolling the bloodstream Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:16 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a mechanism that is used to protect the body from harmful bacteria. Platelets, a component of blood typically associated with clotting, were discovered to actively search for specific bacteria, and upon detection, seal it off from the rest of the body. The findings provide the science community with a greater understanding of immunity.

Origins of 'The Hoff' crab revealed Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:16 AM PDT The history of a new type of crab, nicknamed 'The Hoff' because of its hairy chest, which lives around hydrothermal vents deep beneath the Southern Ocean and Indian Ocean, has been revealed for the first time.

City slicker or country bumpkin: City-life changes blackbird personalities Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:15 AM PDT The origins of a young animal might have a significant impact on its behavior later on in life. Researchers have been able to demonstrate in hand-reared blackbirds that urban-born individuals are less curious and more cautious about new objects than their country counterparts. This study sheds light on an interesting debate on whether personality differences between rural and urban birds are behavioral adjustments to urban environments, or if there is an underlying evolutionary basis to the existence of different personalities in urban habitats.

Contribution of particulate matter from air pollution to forest decline Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:14 AM PDT Air pollution is related to forest decline and also appears to attack the protecting wax on tree leaves and needles. Scientists have now discovered a responsible mechanism: particulate matter salt compounds that become deliquescent because of humidity and form a wick-like structure that removes water from leaves and promotes dehydration.

Distracted walking: Injuries soar for pedestrians on phones Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:10 AM PDT More than 1,500 pedestrians were estimated to be treated in emergency rooms in 2010 for injuries related to using a cell phone while walking, according to a new nationwide study.

New research backs genetic 'switches' in human evolution Posted: 19 Jun 2013 06:13 AM PDT A new study offers further proof that the divergence of humans from chimpanzees some 4 million to 6 million years ago was profoundly influenced by mutations to DNA sequences that play roles in turning genes on and off.

Possible record-setting deadzone for Gulf of Mexico predicted Posted: 18 Jun 2013 01:15 PM PDT Scientists are forecasting that this year's Gulf of Mexico hypoxic "dead" zone will be between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles which could place it among the ten largest recorded. A second forecast, for the Chesapeake Bay, calls for a smaller than average dead zone in the nation's largest estuary.

Three centaurs follow Uranus through the solar system Posted: 18 Jun 2013 07:16 AM PDT Astrophysicists have confirmed that Crantor, a large asteroid with a diameter of 70 km has an orbit similar to that of Uranus and takes the same amount of time to orbit the Sun. Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that this and a further two objects of the group of the Centaurs are co-orbital with Uranus.

Moderate drinking during pregnancy does not seem to harm baby's neurodevelopment, study suggests Posted: 17 Jun 2013 05:27 PM PDT Moderate drinking during pregnancy -- 3 to 7 glasses of alcohol a week -- does not seem to harm fetal neurodevelopment, as indicated by the child's ability to balance, suggests a large study. In the study, moderate alcohol intake was a marker for social advantage, which may itself be the key factor in better balance, possibly overriding subtle harmful effects of moderate alcohol use, say the authors.

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