ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• SAR11, oceans' most abundant organism, has ability to create methane
• Building much smaller, greener electronics: Atom-scale, ultra-low-power computing devices to replace transistor circuits
• World's biggest-ever flying bird discovered: Twice as big as the royal albatross
• Neandertal trait in early human skull suggests that modern humans emerged from complex labyrinth of biology and peoples
• The quantum dance of oxygen: Proposal for a new phase of the element, when atoms dance in quartets
• Rats use their whiskers in a similar way to how humans use their hands and fingers
• Antarctic climate and food web strongly linked
• Solid-state physics: Consider the 'anticrystal'
• Why 'whispers' among bees sometimes evolve into 'shouts'
• Sleep deprivation leads to symptoms of schizophrenia, research shows
• Supermassive black hole blows molecular gas out of a galaxy at one million kilometers per hour
• Changing Antarctic winds create new sea level threat
• Babies born to healthy moms worldwide are strikingly similar in size
• Small, but plentiful: How the faintest galaxies illuminated the early universe
• 'Nanojuice' could improve how doctors examine the gut

SAR11, oceans' most abundant organism, has ability to create methane Posted: 07 Jul 2014 02:11 PM PDT The oxygen-rich surface waters of the world's major oceans are supersaturated with methane -- a powerful greenhouse gas that is roughly 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide -- yet little is known about the source of this methane. A new study demonstrates the ability of some strains of the oceans' most abundant organism -- SAR11 -- to generate methane as a byproduct of breaking down a compound for its phosphorus.

Building much smaller, greener electronics: Atom-scale, ultra-low-power computing devices to replace transistor circuits Posted: 07 Jul 2014 12:25 PM PDT The digital age has resulted in a succession of smaller, cleaner and less power-hungry technologies since the days the personal computer fit atop a desk, replacing mainframe models that once filled entire rooms. Desktop PCs have since given way to smaller and smaller laptops, smartphones and devices that most of us carry around in our pockets. Scientists are now developing atom-scale, ultra-low-power computing devices to replace transistor circuits.

World's biggest-ever flying bird discovered: Twice as big as the royal albatross Posted: 07 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT Scientists have identified the fossilized remains of an extinct giant bird that could be the biggest flying bird ever found. With an estimated 20- to 24-foot wingspan, the creature surpassed the previous record holder -- an extinct bird named Argentavis magnificens -- and was twice as big as the royal albatross, the largest flying bird today. Computer simulations show that the bird's long slender wings helped it stay aloft despite its enormous size.

Neandertal trait in early human skull suggests that modern humans emerged from complex labyrinth of biology and peoples Posted: 07 Jul 2014 12:24 PM PDT Re-examination of a circa 100,000-year-old archaic early human skull found 35 years ago in Northern China has revealed the surprising presence of an inner-ear formation long thought to occur only in Neandertals.

The quantum dance of oxygen: Proposal for a new phase of the element, when atoms dance in quartets Posted: 07 Jul 2014 12:23 PM PDT Under extremely high pressure conditions oxygen molecules group into quartets and give rise to a "dance of their magnetic moments". This results in magnetic properties never previously observed in these conditions and in theory points to the existence of a new phase of the element, called epsilon 1.

Rats use their whiskers in a similar way to how humans use their hands and fingers Posted: 07 Jul 2014 11:16 AM PDT The way rats use their whiskers is more similar to how humans use their hands and fingers than previously thought, new research has found. Rats deliberately change how they sense their environment using their facial whiskers depending on whether the environment is novel, if there is a risk of collision and whether or not they can see where they are going.

Antarctic climate and food web strongly linked Posted: 07 Jul 2014 10:43 AM PDT A long-term study of the links between climate and marine life along the rapidly warming West Antarctic Peninsula reveals how changes in physical factors such as wind speed and sea-ice cover send ripples up the food chain, with impacts on everything from single-celled algae to penguins.

Solid-state physics: Consider the 'anticrystal' Posted: 07 Jul 2014 10:43 AM PDT For the last century, the concept of crystals has been a mainstay of solid-state physics. Crystals are paragons of order; crystalline materials are defined by the repeating patterns their constituent atoms and molecules make. Physicists now have evidence that a new concept should undergird our understanding of most materials: the anticrystal, a theoretical solid that is completely disordered.

Why 'whispers' among bees sometimes evolve into 'shouts' Posted: 07 Jul 2014 10:43 AM PDT Let's say you're a bee and you've spotted a new and particularly lucrative source of nectar and pollen. What's the best way to communicate the location of this prize cache of food to the rest of your nestmates without revealing it to competitors, or 'eavesdropping' spies, outside of the colony? One risky way is to "shout" to warn would-be competitors that their prime source of food will be fiercely defended if they show up to the site.

Sleep deprivation leads to symptoms of schizophrenia, research shows Posted: 07 Jul 2014 09:14 AM PDT Twenty-four hours of sleep deprivation can lead to conditions in healthy persons similar to the symptoms of schizophrenia. This discovery was made by an international team of researchers, who point out that this effect should be investigated more closely in persons who have to work at night. In addition, sleep deprivation may serve as a model system for the development of drugs to treat psychosis.

Supermassive black hole blows molecular gas out of a galaxy at one million kilometers per hour Posted: 07 Jul 2014 09:14 AM PDT New research has solved a long-standing mystery surrounding the evolution of galaxies, deepening our understanding of the future of the Milky Way. The supermassive black holes in the cores of some galaxies drive massive outflows of molecular hydrogen gas. As a result, most of the cold gas is expelled from the galaxies. Since cold gas is required to form new stars, this directly affects the galaxies' evolution.

Changing Antarctic winds create new sea level threat Posted: 07 Jul 2014 07:36 AM PDT New research shows projected changes in the winds circling the Antarctic may accelerate global sea level rise significantly more than previously estimated. Changes to Antarctic winds have already been linked to southern Australia's drying climate but now it appears they may also have a profound impact on warming ocean temperatures under the ice shelves along the coastline of West and East Antarctic.

Babies born to healthy moms worldwide are strikingly similar in size Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:27 AM PDT Babies' growth in the womb and their size at birth, especially their length, are strikingly similar the world over -- when babies are born to healthy, well-educated and well-nourished mothers. That is the finding of a large study that involved almost 60,000 pregnancies in eight defined urban areas in Brazil, China, India, Italy, Kenya, Oman, the UK and USA.

Small, but plentiful: How the faintest galaxies illuminated the early universe Posted: 07 Jul 2014 06:24 AM PDT Astronomers investigating the behavior of the universe shortly after the Big Bang have made a surprising discovery: the properties of the early universe are determined by the smallest galaxies.

'Nanojuice' could improve how doctors examine the gut Posted: 06 Jul 2014 12:33 PM PDT A new imaging technique involving nanoparticles suspended in liquid to form 'nanojuice' that patients would drink holds promise for the examination of the gut. Upon reaching the small intestine, doctors would strike the nanoparticles with a harmless laser light, providing an unparalleled, non-invasive, real-time view of the organ.

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