ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Researchers design trees that make it easier to produce paper
• Gravity measurements confirm subsurface ocean on Saturn's moon Enceladus
• Fermi data tantalize with new clues to dark matter: Gamma rays from center of Milky Way galaxy
• Morning rays keep off pounds
• Ancient volcanic explosions shed light on Mercury's origins
• Most comprehensive wiring diagram of the mammalian brain to date
• 'Geologic clock' helps determine moon's age
• Key chocolate ingredients could help prevent obesity, diabetes
• Europeans have three times more Neanderthal genes for lipid catabolism than Asians or Africans
• Biological evidence of positive and negative people in the world
• Natural variation: Warm North Atlantic Ocean promotes extreme winters in U.S. and Europe
• Ancient stormy weather: World's oldest weather report could revise bronze age chronology
• Breast milk and diet up to two years old: A means of preventing the risk of child obesity
• Arctic melt season lengthening, ocean rapidly warming
• Erasing a genetic mutation: Researchers reverse a liver disorder in mice by correcting a mutated gene

Researchers design trees that make it easier to produce paper Posted: 03 Apr 2014 11:20 AM PDT Researchers have genetically engineered trees that will be easier to break down to produce paper and biofuel, a breakthrough that will mean using fewer chemicals, less energy and creating fewer environmental pollutants.

Gravity measurements confirm subsurface ocean on Saturn's moon Enceladus Posted: 03 Apr 2014 11:20 AM PDT In 2005, NASA's Cassini spacecraft sent pictures back to Earth depicting an icy Saturnian moon spewing water vapor and ice from fractures, known as "tiger stripes," in its frozen surface. It was big news that tiny Enceladus -- a mere 500 kilometers in diameter -- was such an active place. Since then, scientists have hypothesized that a large reservoir of water lies beneath that icy surface, possibly fueling the plumes. Now, using gravity measurements collected by Cassini, scientists have confirmed that Enceladus does in fact harbor a large subsurface ocean near its south pole, beneath those tiger stripes.

Fermi data tantalize with new clues to dark matter: Gamma rays from center of Milky Way galaxy Posted: 03 Apr 2014 09:36 AM PDT A new study of gamma-ray light from the center of our galaxy makes the strongest case to date that some of this emission may arise from dark matter, an unknown substance making up most of the material universe. Using publicly available data from NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope, independent scientists at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab), the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA), the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of Chicago have developed new maps showing that the galactic center produces more high-energy gamma rays than can be explained by known sources and that this excess emission is consistent with some forms of dark matter.

Morning rays keep off pounds Posted: 02 Apr 2014 06:25 PM PDT A surprising new strategy for managing your weight? Bright morning light. People who had most of their daily exposure to bright light in the morning had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than those who had most of their light exposure later in the day, reports a new study. The earlier light exposure occurred, the lower the BMI. The influence of morning light on weight was independent of physical activity, caloric intake, sleep timing, age or season.

Ancient volcanic explosions shed light on Mercury's origins Posted: 02 Apr 2014 12:36 PM PDT The surface of Mercury crackled with volcanic explosions for extended periods of the planet's history, according to a new analysis. The findings are surprising considering Mercury wasn't supposed to have explosive volcanism in the first place, and they could have implications for understanding how Mercury formed.

Most comprehensive wiring diagram of the mammalian brain to date Posted: 02 Apr 2014 10:39 AM PDT Researchers have published the first comprehensive, large-scale data set on how the brain of a mammal is wired, providing a groundbreaking data resource and fresh insights into how the nervous system processes information. Their landmark paper describes the publicly available Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas and demonstrates the exciting knowledge that can be gleaned from this valuable resource.

'Geologic clock' helps determine moon's age Posted: 02 Apr 2014 10:39 AM PDT Planetary scientists have determined that the moon formed nearly 100 million years after the start of the solar system, according to a new article. This conclusion is based on measurements from the interior of the Earth combined with computer simulations of the protoplanetary disk from which the Earth and other terrestrial planets formed.

Key chocolate ingredients could help prevent obesity, diabetes Posted: 02 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Improved thinking. Decreased appetite. Lowered blood pressure. The potential health benefits of dark chocolate keep piling up, and scientists are now homing in on what ingredients in chocolate might help prevent obesity, as well as type-2 diabetes. They found that one particular type of antioxidant in cocoa prevented laboratory mice from gaining excess weight and lowered their blood sugar levels.

Europeans have three times more Neanderthal genes for lipid catabolism than Asians or Africans Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Contemporary Europeans have as many as three times more Neanderthal variants in genes involved in lipid catabolism than Asians and Africans. Although Neanderthals are extinct, fragments of their genomes persist in modern humans. These shared regions are unevenly distributed across the genome and some regions are particularly enriched with Neanderthal variants.

Biological evidence of positive and negative people in the world Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT The ability to stay positive when times get tough -- and, conversely, of being negative -- may be hardwired in the brain, finds new research. The study focused on women because they are twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety related problems and previously reported sex differences in brain structure and function could have obscured the results.

Natural variation: Warm North Atlantic Ocean promotes extreme winters in U.S. and Europe Posted: 01 Apr 2014 06:04 PM PDT The extreme cold weather observed across Europe and the east coast of the U.S. in recent winters could be partly down to natural, long-term variations in sea surface temperatures, according to a new study. Researchers have shown that a phenomenon known as the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) -- a natural pattern of variation in North Atlantic sea surface temperatures that switches between a positive and negative phase every 60-70 years -- can affect an atmospheric circulation pattern, known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), that influences the temperature and precipitation over the Northern Hemisphere in winter.

Ancient stormy weather: World's oldest weather report could revise bronze age chronology Posted: 01 Apr 2014 02:29 PM PDT An inscription on a 3,500-year-old stone block from Egypt may be one of the world's oldest weather reports -- and could provide new evidence about the chronology of events in the ancient Middle East. A new translation of a 40-line inscription on the 6-foot-tall calcite block called the Tempest Stela describes rain, darkness and "the sky being in storm without cessation, louder than the cries of the masses."

Breast milk and diet up to two years old: A means of preventing the risk of child obesity Posted: 01 Apr 2014 08:21 AM PDT Scientists have shown that breast-feeding has a protective effect on the risk of obesity at 20 years of age. Researchers also emphasize that nutritional intake at the age of 2 years are critical in providing this beneficial effect.

Arctic melt season lengthening, ocean rapidly warming Posted: 31 Mar 2014 03:06 PM PDT The length of the melt season for Arctic sea ice is growing by several days each decade, and an earlier start to the melt season is allowing the Arctic Ocean to absorb enough additional solar radiation in some places to melt as much as four feet of the Arctic ice cap's thickness, according to a new study.

Erasing a genetic mutation: Researchers reverse a liver disorder in mice by correcting a mutated gene Posted: 30 Mar 2014 12:16 PM PDT Using a new gene-editing system based on bacterial proteins, researchers have cured mice of a rare liver disorder caused by a single genetic mutation. The findings offer the first evidence that this gene-editing technique, known as CRISPR, can reverse disease symptoms in living animals. CRISPR, which offers an easy way to snip out mutated DNA and replace it with the correct sequence, holds potential for treating many genetic disorders, according to the research team.

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