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Saturday, May 10, 2014

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Paleontologists discover new fossil organism

Posted: 09 May 2014 02:29 PM PDT

Paleontologists have discovered a fossil of a newly discovered organism from the Ediacara Biota. Plexus ricei was a broadly curving tube that resided on the seafloor. Individuals range in size from 5 to 80 cm long and 5 to 20 mm wide, and comprise a rigid median tubular structure and a fragile outer tubular wall. Plexus ricei evolved around 575 million years ago, disappearing from the fossil record around 540 million years ago.

Longevity gene may boost brain power: Researchers discover the gene may enhance cognitive abilities

Posted: 09 May 2014 12:08 PM PDT

Scientists showed that people who have a variant of a longevity gene, called KLOTHO, have improved brain skills such as thinking, learning and memory regardless of their age, sex, or whether they have a genetic risk factor for Alzheimer's disease. Increasing KLOTHO gene levels in mice made them smarter, possibly by increasing the strength of connections between nerve cells in the brain.

New species of metal-eating plant discovered in the Philippines

Posted: 09 May 2014 10:00 AM PDT

Scientists have discovered a new plant species with an unusual lifestyle -- it eats nickel for a living -- accumulating up to 18,000 ppm of the metal in its leaves without itself being poisoned, says the lead author of a new report. Such an amount is a hundred to a thousand times higher than in most other plants.

Link between insecticides and collapse of honey bee colonies strengthened

Posted: 09 May 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Two widely used neonicotinoids -- a class of insecticide -- appear to significantly harm honey bee colonies over the winter, particularly during colder winters, according to researchers. The study replicated a 2012 finding from the same research group that found a link between imidacloprid and Colony Collapse Disorder, in which bees abandon their hives over the winter and eventually die. The new study found low doses of a second neonicotinoid, clothianidin, had the same negative effect.

Experiencing letters as colors: New insights into synesthesia

Posted: 09 May 2014 04:41 AM PDT

Scientists studying the bizarre phenomenon of synasthesia – best described as a "union of the senses" whereby two or more of the five senses that are normally experienced separately are involuntarily and automatically joined together – have made a new breakthrough in their attempts to understand the condition.

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