ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

---

• Human and dog brains both have dedicated 'voice areas'
• Closing the 'free will' loophole: Using distant quasars to test Bell's theorem
• Food packaging chemicals may be harmful to human health over long term
• Brain signals move paralyzed limbs in new experiment
• Cell therapy shows remarkable ability to eradicate cancer in clinical study
• Astronomers get first peek into core of supernova, using NuSTAR telescope
• Dangers of ... sitting? Regardless of exercise, too much sedentary time is linked to major disability after 60
• Clouds seen circling supermassive black hole
• NASA satellites see Arctic surface darkening faster
• Most of us have made best memories by age 25
• Family problems experienced in childhood and adolescence affect brain development
• Evolution stuck in slime for a billion years
• Hubble watches stars' clockwork motion in nearby galaxy
• Artificial leaf jumps developmental hurdle
• Habitat of early apes: Evidence of the environment inhabited by Proconsul
• World's most powerful terahertz laser chip
• Hormone released after exercise can 'predict' biological age
• Chemist gets U.S. patent for solution to antibiotic resistance problem
• Scientists chip away at mystery of what lives in our mouths
• Potentially revolutionary material: Scientists produce a novel form of artificial graphene

Human and dog brains both have dedicated 'voice areas' Posted: 20 Feb 2014 10:21 AM PST The first study to compare brain function between humans and any non-primate animal shows that dogs have dedicated voice areas in their brains, just as people do. Dog brains, like those of people, are also sensitive to acoustic cues of emotion, according to a new study.

Closing the 'free will' loophole: Using distant quasars to test Bell's theorem Posted: 20 Feb 2014 08:25 AM PST Astronomers propose an experiment that may close the last major loophole of Bell's inequality -- a 50-year-old theorem that, if violated by experiments, would mean that our universe is based not on the textbook laws of classical physics, but on the less-tangible probabilities of quantum mechanics. Such a quantum view would allow for seemingly counterintuitive phenomena such as entanglement, in which the measurement of one particle instantly affects another, even if those entangled particles are at opposite ends of the universe. Among other things, entanglement -- a quantum feature Albert Einstein skeptically referred to as "spooky action at a distance" -- seems to suggest that entangled particles can affect each other instantly, faster than the speed of light.

Food packaging chemicals may be harmful to human health over long term Posted: 19 Feb 2014 05:52 PM PST The synthetic chemicals used in the packaging, storage, and processing of foodstuffs might be harmful to human health over the long term, warn environmental scientists. This is because most of these substances are not inert and can leach into the foods we eat, they say. Despite the fact that some of these chemicals are regulated, people who eat packaged or processed foods are likely to be chronically exposed to low levels of these substances throughout their lives. And far too little is known about their long term impact.

Brain signals move paralyzed limbs in new experiment Posted: 19 Feb 2014 11:32 AM PST To help people suffering paralysis from injury, stroke or disease, scientists have invented brain-machine interfaces that record electrical signals of neurons in the brain and translate them to movement. Usually, that means the neural signals direct a device, like a robotic arm. Researchers are now bringing brain-machine interfaces to the next level: Instead of signals directing a device, they hope to help paralyzed people move their own limb, just by thinking about it.

Cell therapy shows remarkable ability to eradicate cancer in clinical study Posted: 19 Feb 2014 11:25 AM PST The largest clinical study ever conducted to date of patients with advanced leukemia found that 88 percent achieved complete remissions after being treated with genetically modified versions of their own immune cells. "These extraordinary results demonstrate that cell therapy is a powerful treatment for patients who have exhausted all conventional therapies," said a senior author. "Our initial findings have held up in a larger cohort of patients, and we are already looking at new clinical studies to advance this novel therapeutic approach in fighting cancer."

Astronomers get first peek into core of supernova, using NuSTAR telescope Posted: 19 Feb 2014 10:33 AM PST Astronomers have peered for the first time into the heart of an exploding star in the final minutes of its existence. The feat by the high-energy X-ray satellite NuSTAR provides details of the physics of the core explosion inaccessible until now, says team member Steven Boggs of UC Berkeley. NuSTAR mapped radioactive titanium in the Cassiopeia A supernova remnant, which has expanded outward and become visible from Earth since the central star exploded in 1671.

Dangers of ... sitting? Regardless of exercise, too much sedentary time is linked to major disability after 60 Posted: 19 Feb 2014 09:47 AM PST If you're 60 and older, every additional hour a day you spend sitting is linked to doubling the risk of being disabled -- regardless of how much exercise you get, reports a new study. The study is the first to show sedentary behavior is its own risk factor for disability, separate from lack of moderate vigorous physical activity. In fact, sedentary behavior is almost as strong a risk factor for disability as lack of exercise.

Clouds seen circling supermassive black hole Posted: 19 Feb 2014 09:46 AM PST Astronomers see huge clouds of gas orbiting supermassive black holes at the centres of galaxies. Once thought to be a relatively uniform, fog-like ring, the accreting matter instead forms clumps dense enough to intermittently dim the intense radiation blazing forth as these enormous objects condense and consume matter.

NASA satellites see Arctic surface darkening faster Posted: 19 Feb 2014 08:51 AM PST The retreat of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is diminishing Earth's albedo, or reflectivity, by an amount considerably larger than previously estimated, according to a new study that uses data from instruments that fly aboard several NASA satellites.

Most of us have made best memories by age 25 Posted: 19 Feb 2014 06:53 AM PST By the time most people are 25, they have made the most important memories of their lives, according to new research.

Family problems experienced in childhood and adolescence affect brain development Posted: 19 Feb 2014 04:52 AM PST New research has revealed that exposure to common family problems during childhood and early adolescence affects brain development, which could lead to mental health issues in later life. The study used brain imaging technology to scan teenagers aged 17-19. It found that those who experienced mild to moderate family difficulties between birth and 11 years of age had developed a smaller cerebellum, an area of the brain associated with skill learning, stress regulation and sensory-motor control. The researchers also suggest that a smaller cerebellum may be a risk indicator of psychiatric disease later in life, as it is consistently found to be smaller in virtually all psychiatric illnesses.

Evolution stuck in slime for a billion years Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:33 AM PST Researchers are providing a new explanation as to why life remained as little more than slime for a billion years, before rapidly diversifying in the 'Cambrian explosion of life'. Using a new technology originally developed for mineral exploration, the team has shown how varying levels of oxygen and biologically-important elements in the ancient oceans might have triggered the major evolutionary events that brought us here today.

Hubble watches stars' clockwork motion in nearby galaxy Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:22 AM PST Using the sharp-eyed NASA Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have for the first time precisely measured the rotation rate of a galaxy based on the clock-like movement of its stars. According to their analysis, the central part of the neighboring galaxy, called the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), completes a rotation every 250 million years.

Artificial leaf jumps developmental hurdle Posted: 18 Feb 2014 09:44 AM PST Scientists report advances toward perfecting a functional artificial leaf. Designing an artificial leaf that uses solar energy to convert water cheaply and efficiently into hydrogen and oxygen is an important goal. Hydrogen is an important fuel in itself and serves as an indispensible reagent for the production of light hydrocarbon fuels from heavy petroleum feed stocks. Society requires a renewable source of fuel that is widely distributed, abundant, inexpensive and environmentally clean. Society needs cheap hydrogen.

Habitat of early apes: Evidence of the environment inhabited by Proconsul Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:40 AM PST An international team of anthropologists has discovered definitive evidence of the environment inhabited by the early ape Proconsul on Rusinga Island, Kenya. The findings provide new insights into understanding and interpreting the connection between habitat preferences and the early diversification of the ape-human lineage.

World's most powerful terahertz laser chip Posted: 18 Feb 2014 08:07 AM PST Researchers have built the world's most powerful terahertz laser chip. The new laser chip has exceeded a 1 Watt output power from a quantum cascade terahertz laser. The new record more than doubles landmarks set last year. Terahertz waves, which lie in the part of the electromagnetic spectrum between infrared and microwaves, can penetrate materials that block visible light and have a wide range of possible uses including chemical analysis, security scanning, medical imaging, and telecommunications. Widely publicised potential applications include monitoring pharmaceutical products, the remote sensing of chemical signatures of explosives in unopened envelopes, and the non-invasive detection of cancers in the human body.

Hormone released after exercise can 'predict' biological age Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:56 AM PST Scientists have discovered a potential molecular link between Irisin, a recently identified hormone released from muscle after bouts of exercise, and the aging process. Irisin, which is naturally present in humans, is capable of reprograming the body's fat cells to burn energy instead of storing it. This increases the metabolic rate and is thought to have potential anti-obesity effects. The finding provides a potential molecular link between keeping active and healthy aging with those having higher Irisin levels more 'biological young' than those with lower levels of the hormone.

Chemist gets U.S. patent for solution to antibiotic resistance problem Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:52 AM PST A chemist in Copenhagen has just taken out a patent for a drug that can make previously multidrug-resistant bacteria once again responsive to antibiotics.

Scientists chip away at mystery of what lives in our mouths Posted: 14 Feb 2014 05:38 PM PST Scientists have pieced together sections of DNA from 12 individual cells to sequence the genome of a bacterium known to live in healthy human mouths. With this new data, the researchers were able to reinforce a theory that genes in a closely related bacterium could be culprits in its ability to cause severe gum disease.

Potentially revolutionary material: Scientists produce a novel form of artificial graphene Posted: 14 Feb 2014 04:54 AM PST A new breed of ultra thin super-material has the potential to cause a technological revolution. "Artificial graphene" should lead to faster, smaller and lighter electronic and optical devices of all kinds, including higher performance photovoltaic cells, lasers or LED lighting.

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