ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Antennae help flies 'cruise' in gusty winds
• World ranking tracks evoluntionary distinctness of birds
• Plants evolve ways to control embryo growth
• How the brain pays attention: Identifying regions of the brain dealing with object-based, spacial attention
• Fruit flies, fighter jets use similar nimble tactics when under attack
• Uncovering a new angle on mental distance: Feeling closer leads to poor judgement of space
• Rare fossilized embryos more than 500 million years old found
• Ancient 'spider' images reveal eye-opening secrets
• Sunlight generates hydrogen in new porous silicon
• Reef fish arrived in two waves, before and after mass extinction 66 million years ago
• Extinct carnivorous marsupial may have hunted prey larger than itself
• New 'switch' could power quantum computing: Light lattice traps atoms, builds networks of quantum information transmitters

Antennae help flies 'cruise' in gusty winds Posted: 10 Apr 2014 01:03 PM PDT Researchers combined bursts of air, digital video cameras, and a variety of software and sensors to explain a mechanism for a fruit fly's 'cruise control' in flight -- revealing a relationship between a fly's vision and its wind-sensing antennae.

World ranking tracks evoluntionary distinctness of birds Posted: 10 Apr 2014 11:19 AM PDT The world's first ranking of evolutionary distinct birds under threat of extinction has been published by a team of international scientists. These birds include a cave-dwelling bird that is so oily it can be used as a lamp and a bird that has claws on its wings and a stomach like a cow. The new rankings will be used in a major conservation initiative called the Edge of Existence program at the London Zoo. The zoo has already identified several species like the huge monkey-eating Philippine eagle that are at once distinct, endangered, and suffer from lack of attention.

Plants evolve ways to control embryo growth Posted: 10 Apr 2014 11:19 AM PDT A new generation of high yield plants could be created following a fundamental change in our understanding of how plants develop, experts say. The research provides the first evidence that plants have evolved ways to control embryo growth and development by emitting information from surrounding cells.

How the brain pays attention: Identifying regions of the brain dealing with object-based, spacial attention Posted: 10 Apr 2014 11:19 AM PDT A brain circuit that's key to shifting our focus from one object to another has been identified by neuroscientists. The new findings suggest that there are two types of attention have similar mechanisms involving related brain regions: object-based attention, and spatial attention. In both cases, the prefrontal cortex -- the control center for most cognitive functions -- appears to take charge of the brain's attention and control relevant parts of the visual cortex, which receives sensory input.

Fruit flies, fighter jets use similar nimble tactics when under attack Posted: 10 Apr 2014 11:17 AM PDT When startled by predators, tiny fruit flies respond like fighter jets, employing screaming-fast banked turns to evade attacks. In the midst of a banked turn, the flies can roll on their sides 90 degrees or more, almost flying upside down at times. Researchers used an array of high-speed video cameras operating at 7,500 frames a second to capture the wing and body motion of flies after they encountered a looming image of an approaching predator.

Uncovering a new angle on mental distance: Feeling closer leads to poor judgement of space Posted: 10 Apr 2014 10:15 AM PDT Why does the second hour of a journey seem shorter than the first? Research suggests that the answer lies in how we're physically oriented in space. Research has demonstrated that a person's orientation -- the direction they are headed -- changed how they thought of an object or event. "Feeling close to or distant from something impacts our behavior and judgment," says the lead author. "We feel more socially connected, more emotionally engaged, and more attuned to the present when something is perceived as close."

Rare fossilized embryos more than 500 million years old found Posted: 10 Apr 2014 09:22 AM PDT The Cambrian Period is a time when most phyla of marine invertebrates first appeared. Also dubbed the 'Cambrian explosion,' fossilized records from this time provide glimpses into evolutionary biology. Most fossils show the organisms' skeletal structure, which may give researchers accurate pictures of these prehistoric organisms. Now, researchers have found rare, fossilized embryos they believe were undiscovered previously. Their methods of study may help with future interpretation of evolutionary history.

Ancient 'spider' images reveal eye-opening secrets Posted: 10 Apr 2014 09:21 AM PDT Stunning images of a 305-million-year-old harvestman fossil reveal ancestors of the modern-day arachnids had two sets of eyes rather than one. The researchers say their findings add significant detail to the evolutionary story of this diverse and highly successful group of arthropods, which are found on every continent except Antarctica.

Sunlight generates hydrogen in new porous silicon Posted: 10 Apr 2014 08:12 AM PDT Porous silicon manufactured in a bottom up procedure using solar energy can be used to generate hydrogen from water, according to mechanical engineers who also see applications for batteries, biosensors and optical electronics as outlets for this new material.

Reef fish arrived in two waves, before and after mass extinction 66 million years ago Posted: 10 Apr 2014 06:56 AM PDT The world's reefs are hotbeds of biological diversity, including over 4,500 species of fish. A new study shows that the ancestors of these fish colonized reefs in two distinct waves, before and after the mass extinction event about 66 million years ago that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Extinct carnivorous marsupial may have hunted prey larger than itself Posted: 09 Apr 2014 05:44 PM PDT The reconstruction of an extinct meat-eating marsupial's skull, Nimbacinus dicksoni, suggests that it may have had the ability to hunt vertebrate prey exceeding its own body size.

New 'switch' could power quantum computing: Light lattice traps atoms, builds networks of quantum information transmitters Posted: 09 Apr 2014 10:47 AM PDT Using a laser to place individual rubidium atoms near the surface of a lattice of light, scientists have developed a new method for connecting particles -- one that could help in the development of powerful quantum computing systems. The new technique allows researchers to couple a lone atom of rubidium, a metal, with a single photon, or light particle.

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