ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Abuse, lack of parental warmth in childhood linked to multiple health risks in adulthood
• Biologists confirm role of sperm competition in formation of new species
• How viral infection disrupts neural development in offspring, increasing risk of autism
• Martian chemical complicates hunt for life's clues
• Hidden genetic code for better designer genes
• Lunar orbiters discover source of space weather near Earth
• How to make ceramics that bend without breaking: Self-deploying medical devices?
• Unusual Mars rock: Pyramid-shaped volcanic rock unlike any other Martian igneous rock ever found
• NASA Mars rover Curiosity finds water in first sample of planet surface
• Scientists identify brain circuitry that triggers overeating
• New energy storage capabilities between the layers of two-dimensional materials
• Steroids may persist longer in the environment than expected
• Tick tock: Marine animals with at least two internal clocks
• Genetic map developed linking complex diseases
• Anthropologists confirm link between cranial anatomy and two-legged walking
• Do beetles have maternal instincts?
• Singing mice protect their turf with high-pitched tunes
• Drivers who test positive for drugs have triple the risk of fatal car crash
• Torrent frogs use toes, belly, thighs to hold tight under waterfall-like conditions

Abuse, lack of parental warmth in childhood linked to multiple health risks in adulthood Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:50 PM PDT A new study for the first time examines the effects of abuse and lack of parental affection across the body's entire regulatory system, and finds a strong biological link for how negative early life experiences affect physical health.

Biologists confirm role of sperm competition in formation of new species Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:50 PM PDT Female promiscuity -- something that occurs in a majority of species, including humans -- results in the ejaculates from two or more males overlapping within her reproductive tract. When this happens, sperm compete for fertilization of the female's eggs. In addition, the female has the opportunity to bias fertilization of her eggs in favor of one male's sperm over others.

How viral infection disrupts neural development in offspring, increasing risk of autism Posted: 26 Sep 2013 05:47 PM PDT Activating a mother's immune system during her pregnancy disrupts the development of neural cells in the brain of her offspring and damages the cells' ability to transmit signals and communicate with one another, an animal study suggests. They said the finding suggests how maternal viral infection might increase the risk of having a child with autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia.

Martian chemical complicates hunt for life's clues Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT The quest for evidence of life on Mars could be more difficult than scientists previously thought. A scientific paper published today details the investigation of a chemical in the Martian soil that interferes with the techniques used by the Curiosity rover to test for traces of life. The chemical causes the evidence to burn away during the tests.

Hidden genetic code for better designer genes Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:32 AM PDT The relative abundance of rare "words," or codons, in bacterial genes helps control how much of the corresponding protein the bacteria produce. The results could help scientists engineer bacteria more precisely than ever before, and greatly increase the efficiency of microbial manufacturing.

Lunar orbiters discover source of space weather near Earth Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT Solar storms, powerful eruptions of solar material and magnetic fields into interplanetary space, can cause hazards on Earth known as space weather, ranging from interference with radio communications to extensive power blackouts, complete failure of critical satellites and even the shutdown of GPS-guided transportation and global communication systems. New research increases our understanding of our space environment, and explains the source of Earth's space weather.

How to make ceramics that bend without breaking: Self-deploying medical devices? Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT New materials could lead to actuators on a chip and self-deploying medical devices. Ceramics are not known for their flexibility: they tend to crack under stress. But researchers have just found a way around that problem -- for very tiny objects, at least. The team has developed a way of making minuscule ceramic objects that are not only flexible, but also have a "memory" for shape: When bent and then heated, they return to their original shapes.

Unusual Mars rock: Pyramid-shaped volcanic rock unlike any other Martian igneous rock ever found Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT The first rock that scientists analyzed on Mars with a pair of chemical instruments aboard the Curiosity rover turned out to be a doozy -- a pyramid-shaped volcanic rock called a "mugearite" that is unlike any other Martian igneous rock ever found.

NASA Mars rover Curiosity finds water in first sample of planet surface Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:31 AM PDT The first scoop of soil analyzed by the analytical suite in the belly of NASA's Curiosity rover reveals that fine materials on the surface of the planet contain several percent water by weight.

Scientists identify brain circuitry that triggers overeating Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:28 AM PDT Researchers have pinpointed the precise cellular connections responsible for triggering binge eating. The finding lends insight into a cause for obesity and could lead to treatments for anorexia, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder -- the most prevalent eating disorder in the U.S.

New energy storage capabilities between the layers of two-dimensional materials Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:28 AM PDT Researchers are continuing to expand the capabilities and functionalities of a family of two-dimensional materials they discovered that are as thin as a single atom, but have the potential to store massive amounts of energy. Their latest achievement has pushed the materials storage capacities to new levels while also allowing for their use in flexible devices.

Steroids may persist longer in the environment than expected Posted: 26 Sep 2013 11:28 AM PDT Certain anabolic steroids and pharmaceutical products last longer in the environment than previously known, according to a new study. The researchers found that the steroid trenbolone acetate, along with some other pharmaceutical products, never fully degrade in the environment, and in fact can partially regenerate themselves.

Tick tock: Marine animals with at least two internal clocks Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:33 AM PDT Animals living in marine environments keep to their schedules with the aid of multiple independent -- and, in at least some cases, interacting -- internal clocks. The findings, suggest that multiple clocks -- not just the familiar, 24-hour circadian clock -- might even be standard operating equipment in animals.

Genetic map developed linking complex diseases Posted: 26 Sep 2013 09:23 AM PDT Scientists have created one of the most expansive analyses to date of the genetic factors at play in complex diseases such as autism and heart disease by using diseases with known genetic causes to guide them. Identifying trends of co-occurrence among hundreds of diseases in 120 million patients, they created a unique genetic map that has the potential to help diagnose, identify risk factors for and someday develop therapies against complex diseases.

Anthropologists confirm link between cranial anatomy and two-legged walking Posted: 26 Sep 2013 08:19 AM PDT Anthropologists confirm a direct link between upright two-legged (bipedal) walking and the position of the foramen magnum, a hole in the base of the skull that transmits the spinal cord.

Do beetles have maternal instincts? Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT A new study of the natural history of Neotropical leaf beetles in the subfamily Chrysomelinae reveals that females in two genera and multiple species show indisputable signs of maternal instincts. Mothers were caught actively defending eggs and larvae, with tactics ranging from quite aggressive to more passive between the species.

Singing mice protect their turf with high-pitched tunes Posted: 26 Sep 2013 07:30 AM PDT Two species of tawny brown singing mice that live deep in the mountain cloud forests of Costa Rica and Panama set their boundaries by emitting high-pitched trills, researchers have discovered.

Drivers who test positive for drugs have triple the risk of fatal car crash Posted: 25 Sep 2013 03:56 PM PDT In a new study researchers assessed the association of driver drug use, as well as the combination of drugs and alcohol, with the risk of fatal crash. They found that drug use is associated with a significantly increased risk of fatal crash involvement, particularly when used in combination with alcohol. The study provides critical data for understanding the joint effect of alcohol and drugs on driving safety.

Torrent frogs use toes, belly, thighs to hold tight under waterfall-like conditions Posted: 25 Sep 2013 03:54 PM PDT Torrent frogs use their toes, belly, and thighs to attach to rough, wet, and steep surfaces. In a multipart study, researchers compared the attachment abilities of two species: torrent frogs (Staurois guttatus) and tree frogs (Rhacophorus pardalis). They found that the torrent frog is better able to attach to extremely wet, steep, and rough surfaces due to its superior attachment abilities.

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