ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Scientists create circuit board modeled on the human brain
• Flexible battery, no lithium required: Lab creates thin-film battery for portable, wearable electronics
• Loss of Y chromosome can explain shorter life expectancy, higher cancer risk for men
• Egyptologists identify tomb of royal children
• Cartilage, made to order: Living human cartilage grown on lab chip
• Diet can predict cognitive decline, researchers say
• 'Horsing around' reduces stress hormones in youth
• It's a bubble, but not as we know it
• Drought may take toll on Congo rainforest, NASA satellites show

Scientists create circuit board modeled on the human brain Posted: 28 Apr 2014 10:40 AM PDT Scientists have developed faster, more energy-efficient microchips based on the human brain -- 9,000 times faster and using significantly less power than a typical PC. This offers greater possibilities for advances in robotics and a new way of understanding the brain. For instance, a chip as fast and efficient as the human brain could drive prosthetic limbs with the speed and complexity of our own actions.

Flexible battery, no lithium required: Lab creates thin-film battery for portable, wearable electronics Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:13 AM PDT Scientists have created a thin, flexible film that combines the best qualities of batteries and supercapacitors. Chemists developed a flexible material with nanoporous nickel-fluoride electrodes layered around a solid electrolyte to deliver battery-like supercapacitor performance that combines the best qualities of a high-energy battery and a high-powered supercapacitor without the lithium found in commercial batteries today.

Loss of Y chromosome can explain shorter life expectancy, higher cancer risk for men Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:12 AM PDT It is generally well known that men have an overall shorter life expectancy compared to women. A recent study shows a correlation between a loss of the Y chromosome in blood cells and both a shorter life span and higher mortality from cancer in other organs.

Egyptologists identify tomb of royal children Posted: 28 Apr 2014 09:08 AM PDT Who had the privilege to spend eternal life next to the pharaoh?  Close to the royal tombs in the Egyptian Valley of the Kings, excavations by Egyptologists have identified the burial place of several children as well as other family members of two pharaohs.

Cartilage, made to order: Living human cartilage grown on lab chip Posted: 27 Apr 2014 03:51 PM PDT The first example of living human cartilage grown on a laboratory chip has been created by scientists. The researchers ultimately aim to use their innovative 3-D printing approach to create replacement cartilage for patients with osteoarthritis or soldiers with battlefield injuries. Osteoarthritis is marked by a gradual disintegration of cartilage, a flexible tissue that provides padding where bones come together in a joint. Causing severe pain and loss of mobility in joints such as knees and fingers, osteoarthritis is one of the leading causes of physical disability in the United States.

Diet can predict cognitive decline, researchers say Posted: 27 Apr 2014 09:10 AM PDT Lower dietary consumption of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA) might be risk factors for cognitive decline, researchers say. There is growing evidence that very long chain omega-3 fatty acids are beneficial for maintaining cognitive health. "While more research is needed to determine whether intake of fatty fish such as salmon, tuna and trout can help prevent against cognitive decline, our preliminary data support previous research showing that intake of these types of fish have health benefits," one researcher said.

'Horsing around' reduces stress hormones in youth Posted: 24 Apr 2014 02:05 PM PDT New research reveals how youth who work with horses experience a substantial reduction in stress -- and the evidence lies in kids' saliva. "We were coming at this from a prevention perspective," said a developmental psychologist working on this study. "We are especially interested in optimizing healthy stress hormone production in young adolescents, because we know from other research that healthy stress hormone patterns may protect against the development of physical and mental health problems."

It's a bubble, but not as we know it Posted: 23 Apr 2014 07:16 PM PDT Multi-sensory technology that creates soap bubbles, which can have images projected onto them or when the bubbles are burst release a scent, is being unveiled at an international conference. The research could be used in areas such as gaming or education and encourage a new way of thinking about multi-sensory technologies.

Drought may take toll on Congo rainforest, NASA satellites show Posted: 23 Apr 2014 02:09 PM PDT A new analysis of NASA satellite data shows Africa's Congo rainforest, the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world, has undergone a large-scale decline in greenness over the past decade. Scientists use the satellite-derived "greenness" of forest regions as one indicator of a forest's health. While this study looks specifically at the impact of a persistent drought in the Congo region since 2000, researchers say that a continued drying trend might alter the composition and structure of the Congo rainforest, affecting its biodiversity and carbon storage.

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