ScienceDaily: Top Science News

---

• Caribbean's native predators unable to stop aggressive lionfish population growth
• Insect discovery sheds light on climate change
• Scientists cast doubt on theory of what triggered Antarctic glaciation
• Geothermal power facility induces earthquakes, study finds
• Writing computer programs using ordinary language: Systems convert ordinary language to code
• As ice cover disappears, life in frigid Antarctic moves fast
• Solar tsunami used to measure Sun's magnetic field
• Cells in the early embryo battle each other to death for becoming part of the organism
• Earth's core affects length of day
• Hubble finds a true blue planet: Giant Jupiter-sized planet located 63 light-years away
• Race for new temperature definition: Most accurate measurement yet of Boltzmann constant
• Bioenergy with carbon capture: Scientists set out path for global warming reversal

Caribbean's native predators unable to stop aggressive lionfish population growth Posted: 11 Jul 2013 02:25 PM PDT "Ocean predator" conjures up images of sharks and barracudas, but the voracious red lionfish is out-eating them all in the Caribbean -- and Mother Nature appears unable to control its impact on local reef fish. That leaves human intervention as the most promising solution to the problem of this highly invasive species, said researchers.

Insect discovery sheds light on climate change Posted: 11 Jul 2013 12:41 PM PDT Biologists have discovered a new, extinct family of insects that will help scientists better understand how some animals responded to global climate change and the evolution of communities.

Scientists cast doubt on theory of what triggered Antarctic glaciation Posted: 11 Jul 2013 11:24 AM PDT Scientists have found geologic evidence that casts doubt on one of the conventional explanations for how Antarctica's ice sheet began forming. They report finding an ancient volcanic arc in the Scotia Sea that might have prevented the Antarctic Circumpolar Current from forming until millions of years after Antarctic glaciation began.

Geothermal power facility induces earthquakes, study finds Posted: 11 Jul 2013 11:23 AM PDT An analysis of earthquakes in the area around the Salton Sea Geothermal Field in southern California has found a strong correlation between seismic activity and operations for production of geothermal power, which involve pumping water into and out of an underground reservoir.

Writing computer programs using ordinary language: Systems convert ordinary language to code Posted: 11 Jul 2013 10:56 AM PDT Researchers have demonstrated that, for a few specific tasks, it's possible to write computer programs using ordinary language rather than special-purpose programming languages. The work may be of some help to programmers, and it could let nonprogrammers manipulate common types of files -- like word-processing documents and spreadsheets -- in ways that previously required familiarity with programming languages.

As ice cover disappears, life in frigid Antarctic moves fast Posted: 11 Jul 2013 10:53 AM PDT It might be cold in the Antarctic, but that doesn't mean that life there necessarily moves slowly. A new article reveals the discovery of a surprisingly fast-growing community of glass sponges in an area formerly covered by permanent ice. With the ice at the surface disappearing, those little-known sponges are launching a seafloor takeover.

Solar tsunami used to measure Sun's magnetic field Posted: 11 Jul 2013 08:34 AM PDT A solar tsunami observed by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory and the Japanese Hinode spacecraft has been used to provide the first accurate estimates of the Sun's magnetic field.

Cells in the early embryo battle each other to death for becoming part of the organism Posted: 11 Jul 2013 07:32 AM PDT Researchers have found that during the early stages of mammalian development, embryonic cells embark on a battle for survival. Through this battle, the less active of these cells are eliminated by their stronger sisters.

Earth's core affects length of day Posted: 11 Jul 2013 07:31 AM PDT Researchers have found that variations in the length of day over periods of between one and 10 years are caused by processes in the Earth's core.

Hubble finds a true blue planet: Giant Jupiter-sized planet located 63 light-years away Posted: 11 Jul 2013 07:28 AM PDT Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope have deduced the actual visible-light color of a planet orbiting another star 63 light-years away. If seen directly the planet, known as HD 189733b, would look like a "deep blue dot," reminiscent of Earth's color as seen from space.

Race for new temperature definition: Most accurate measurement yet of Boltzmann constant Posted: 11 Jul 2013 05:48 AM PDT Scientists have performed the most accurate measurement yet of the Boltzmann constant. While the impact of such an achievement is not immediately obvious, the measurement could revolutionize the way we define temperature, replacing the standard method that has been used for over 50 years.

Bioenergy with carbon capture: Scientists set out path for global warming reversal Posted: 11 Jul 2013 05:48 AM PDT Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage can reverse the global warming trend and push temperatures back below the global target of 2°C above pre-industrial levels, even if current policies fail and we initially overshoot this target.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610