ScienceDaily: Top Science News |
- Toxic nanoparticles might be entering human food supply
- Computer simulations indicate calcium carbonate has a dense liquid phase
- Morphing manganese: New discovery alters understanding of chemistry that moves elements through natural world
- Ytterbium atomic clocks set record for stability
- New risk model sheds light on arsenic risk in China's groundwater
- Wolves howl because they care: Social relationship can explain variation in vocal production
- Mending a broken heart? Scientists transform non-beating human cells into heart-muscle cells
- Space slinky: Jet of superheated gas -- 5,000 light-years long -- ejected from supermassive black hole
- Why people with red hair have a higher risk of developing melanoma
- Food source for whales, seals and penguins at risk: Warming Antarctic seas likely to impact on krill habitats
- Hunter-gatherers' taste for spice revealed
- Human brains are hardwired for empathy, friendship
| Toxic nanoparticles might be entering human food supply Posted: 22 Aug 2013 04:45 PM PDT Farmers have used silver nanoparticles as a pesticide because of their capability to suppress the growth of harmful organisms. However, a growing concern is that these particles could pose a potential health risk to humans and the environment. In a new study, researchers have developed a reliable method for detecting silver nanoparticles in fresh produce and other food products.  |
| Computer simulations indicate calcium carbonate has a dense liquid phase Posted: 22 Aug 2013 12:22 PM PDT Computer simulations could help scientists make sense of a recently observed and puzzling wrinkle in one of nature's most important chemical processes. It turns out that calcium carbonate -- the ubiquitous compound that is a major component of seashells, limestone, concrete, antacids and myriad other substances -- may momentarily exist in liquid form as it crystallizes from solution. Calcium carbonate is a huge player in the planet's carbon cycle, so any new insight into how it behaves is potentially big news.  |
| Posted: 22 Aug 2013 11:22 AM PDT An often-overlooked form of manganese, an element critical to many life processes, is far more prevalent in ocean environments than previously known, according to a new study. The discovery alters understanding of the chemistry that moves manganese and other elements, like oxygen and carbon, through the natural world. Manganese is an essential nutrient for most organisms and helps plants produce oxygen during photosynthesis.  |
| Ytterbium atomic clocks set record for stability Posted: 22 Aug 2013 11:22 AM PDT A pair of experimental atomic clocks based on ytterbium atoms at the National Institute of Standards and Technology has set a new record for stability. The clocks act like 21st-century pendulums or metronomes that could swing back and forth with perfect timing for a period comparable to the age of the universe.  |
| New risk model sheds light on arsenic risk in China's groundwater Posted: 22 Aug 2013 11:20 AM PDT Arsenic-laden groundwater used for cooking and drinking could pose a risk to the health of almost 20 million people across China. The estimates are based on a risk model incorporating geological and hydrological data, as well as measurements of arsenic in wells.  |
| Wolves howl because they care: Social relationship can explain variation in vocal production Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:28 AM PDT When a member of the wolf pack leaves the group, the howling by those left behind isn't a reflection of stress but of the quality of their relationships. So say researchers based on a study of nine wolves from two packs living at Austria's Wolf Science Center.  |
| Mending a broken heart? Scientists transform non-beating human cells into heart-muscle cells Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:27 AM PDT In the aftermath of a heart attack, cells within the region most affected shut down. They stop beating. And they become entombed in scar tissue. But now, scientists have demonstrated that this damage need not be permanent -- by finding a way to transform the class of cells that form human scar tissue into those that closely resemble beating heart cells.  |
| Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:25 AM PDT Astronomers have assembled, from more than 13 years of observations from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, a series of time-lapse movies showing a jet of superheated gas — 5,000 light-years long — as it is ejected from a supermassive black hole in the giant elliptical galaxy M87.  |
| Why people with red hair have a higher risk of developing melanoma Posted: 22 Aug 2013 09:25 AM PDT Researchers have found that the same genetic mutation responsible for red hair also promotes a well-known cancer-causing pathway.  |
| Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:10 AM PDT Antarctic krill are usually less than 6 cm in length but their size belies the major role they play in sustaining much of the life in the Southern Ocean. They are the primary food source for many species of whales, seals, penguins and fish.  |
| Hunter-gatherers' taste for spice revealed Posted: 22 Aug 2013 06:03 AM PDT Our early ancestors had a taste for spicy food, new research has revealed. Archeologists have found evidence of the use of spices in cuisine at the transition to agriculture. The researchers discovered traces of garlic mustard on the charred remains of pottery dating back nearly 7,000 years.  |
| Human brains are hardwired for empathy, friendship Posted: 22 Aug 2013 05:58 AM PDT Perhaps one of the most defining features of humanity is our capacity for empathy -- the ability to put ourselves in others' shoes. A new study strongly suggests that we are hardwired to empathize because we closely associate people who are close to us -- friends, spouses, lovers -- with our very selves.  |
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