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Thursday, July 3, 2014

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


Solar panels light the way from carbon dioxide to fuel

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 02:01 PM PDT

Researchers have devised an efficient method for harnessing sunlight to convert carbon dioxide into a potential alternative fuel known as formic acid. The transformation from carbon dioxide and water to formic acid was powered by a commercial solar panel.

Two Kuiper Belt objects found: Hubble to proceed with full search for New Horizons targets

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 11:55 AM PDT

Planetary scientists have successfully used the Hubble Space Telescope to find two Kuiper Belt objects for NASA's New Horizons mission to Pluto. After the marathon probe zooms past Pluto in July 2015, it will travel across the Kuiper Belt -- a vast rim of primitive ice bodies left over from the birth of our solar system 4.6 billion years ago. If NASA approves, the probe could be redirected to fly to a Kuiper Belt object and photograph it up close.

Muscle-powered bio-bots walk on command

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 11:28 AM PDT

A new generation of miniature biological robots is flexing its muscle. Engineers have demonstrated a class of walking 'bio-bots' powered by muscle cells and controlled with electrical pulses, giving researchers unprecedented command over their function.

Tags reveal Chilean devil rays are among ocean's deepest divers

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 11:28 AM PDT

Thought to dwell mostly near the ocean's surface, Chilean devil rays (Mobula tarapacana) are most often seen gliding through shallow, warm waters. But a new study reveals that these large and majestic creatures are actually among the deepest-diving ocean animals.

Insect diet helped early humans build bigger brains: Quest for elusive bugs spurred primate tool use, problem-solving skills

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 11:01 AM PDT

Figuring out how to survive on a lean-season diet of hard-to-reach ants, slugs and other bugs may have spurred the development of bigger brains and higher-level cognitive functions in the ancestors of humans and other primates, suggests new research.

The less older adults sleep, the faster their brains age, new study suggests

Posted: 01 Jul 2014 06:14 AM PDT

Researchers have found evidence that the less older adults sleep, the faster their brains age. These findings, relevant in the context of a rapidly ageing society, pave the way for future work on sleep loss and its contribution to cognitive decline, including dementia.

Using geometry, researchers coax human embryonic stem cells to organize themselves

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:45 PM PDT

By confining colonies of human embryonic stem cells to tiny circular patterns on glass plates, researchers have for the first time coaxed them into organizing themselves just as they would under natural conditions.

Adults can undo heart disease risk by changing lifestyle

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:45 PM PDT

The heart is more forgiving than you may think -- especially to adults who try to take charge of their health, a new study has found. When adults in their 30s and 40s decide to drop unhealthy habits that are harmful to their heart and embrace healthy lifestyle changes, they can control and potentially even reverse the natural progression of coronary artery disease, scientists found.

All the world's oceans have plastic debris on their surface

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:42 PM PDT

The Malaspina Expedition, led by the Spanish National Research Council, has demonstrated that there are five large accumulations of plastic debris in the open ocean that match with the five major twists of oceanic surface water circulation. In addition to the known accumulation of plastic waste in the North Pacific, there are similar accumulations in the central North Atlantic, the South Pacific, the South Atlantic and the Indian Ocean.

Evolution of life’s operating system revealed in detail

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 01:40 PM PDT

The evolution of the ribosome, a large molecular structure found in the cells of all species, has been revealed in unprecedented detail in a new study.

Are you seen as a jerk at work? Many people are oblivious to how they come across to counterparts and colleagues

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 09:48 AM PDT

New research shows that many people seen by others as under-assertive or over-assertive think they're appropriately assertive. The study also reveals that people seen as getting assertiveness right often mistakenly think they've gotten it wrong.

Bio-printing transplantable tissues, organs: Another step closer

Posted: 30 Jun 2014 07:31 AM PDT

Researchers have made a giant leap towards the goal of 'bio-printing' transplantable tissues and organs for people affected by major diseases and trauma injuries, a new study reports. Scientists have bio-printed artificial vascular networks mimicking the body's circulatory system that are necessary for growing large complex tissues.

Some aggressive cancers may respond to anti-inflammatory drugs

Posted: 27 Jun 2014 11:59 AM PDT

Some cancer patients with aggressive tumors may benefit from a class of anti-inflammatory drugs used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, new research suggests. Studying triple-negative breast cancer, researchers found that some aggressive tumors rely on an antiviral pathway that appears to drive inflammation, widely recognized for roles in cancer, rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory diseases.

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