ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Neighborhoods with healthy food options less likely to have overweight kids
• Carbon monoxide predicts 'red and dead' future of gas guzzler galaxy
• Friction from tides could help distant Earth-sized planets survive, and thrive
• Using sand to improve battery performance
• Planet Mercury a result of early hit-and-run collisions
• Extreme obesity may shorten life expectancy up to 14 years
• Astronomers bring the third dimension to a doomed star's outburst
• Stretching forces shaped Jupiter moon's surface, laboratory model suggests
• Record levels of solar ultraviolet on Earth's surface measured in South America
• Something is amiss in the Universe: Cosmic accounting reveals missing light crisis
• No rest for the bleary: Interrupted sleep can be as physically detrimental as no sleep at all
• Same genes drive mathematics and reading ability
• A hotspot for powerful cosmic rays, most energetic particles in the universe
• Giant earthquakes help predict volcanic eruptions

Neighborhoods with healthy food options less likely to have overweight kids Posted: 08 Jul 2014 03:56 PM PDT Children with a greater number of healthy food outlets near their homes had a reduced likelihood of being overweight or obese, finds a study. Children who had access to at least one healthy food outlet within 800 meters (about half a mile) of their home had a 38 percent decreased risk of being overweight or obese compared to those who did not. Each additional outlet for healthy foods within that distance was associated with a 19 percent reduction in risk of being overweight or obese.

Carbon monoxide predicts 'red and dead' future of gas guzzler galaxy Posted: 08 Jul 2014 02:32 PM PDT Astronomers have studied the carbon monoxide in a galaxy over 12 billion light years from Earth and discovered that it's running out of gas, quite literally, and headed for a 'red and dead' future. The galaxy, known as ALESS65, was observed by the Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) in 2011 and is one of fewer than 20 known distant galaxies to contain carbon monoxide.

Friction from tides could help distant Earth-sized planets survive, and thrive Posted: 08 Jul 2014 01:32 PM PDT As anybody who has started a campfire by rubbing sticks knows, friction generates heat. Now, computer modeling by NASA scientists shows that friction could be the key to survival for some distant Earth-sized planets traveling in dangerous orbits. The findings are consistent with observations that Earth-sized planets appear to be very common in other star systems. Although heat can be a destructive force for some planets, the right amount of friction, and therefore heat, can be helpful and perhaps create conditions for habitability.

Using sand to improve battery performance Posted: 08 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT Researchers have created a lithium ion battery that outperforms the current industry standard by three times. The key material: sand. Yes, sand. Researchers are now focused on using silicon at the nanoscale, or billionths of a meter, level as a replacement for graphite.

Planet Mercury a result of early hit-and-run collisions Posted: 08 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT New simulations show that Mercury and other unusually metal-rich objects in the solar system may be relics left behind by hit-and-run collisions in the early solar system. The origin of planet Mercury has been a difficult question in planetary science because its composition is very different from that of the other terrestrial planets and the moon.

Extreme obesity may shorten life expectancy up to 14 years Posted: 08 Jul 2014 12:39 PM PDT Adults with extreme obesity have increased risks of dying at a young age from cancer and many other causes including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and kidney and liver diseases, according to results of an analysis of data pooled from 20 large studies of people from three countries. "Given our findings, it appears that class III obesity is increasing and may soon emerge as a major cause of early death in this and other countries worldwide," said the senior author of the study.

Astronomers bring the third dimension to a doomed star's outburst Posted: 08 Jul 2014 10:19 AM PDT In the middle of the 19th century, the massive binary system Eta Carinae underwent an eruption that ejected at least 10 times the sun's mass and made it the second-brightest star in the sky. Now, a team of astronomers has used extensive new observations to create the first high-resolution 3-D model of the expanding cloud produced by this outburst.

Stretching forces shaped Jupiter moon's surface, laboratory model suggests Posted: 08 Jul 2014 10:18 AM PDT Processes that shaped the ridges and troughs on the surface of Jupiter's icy moon Ganymede are likely similar to tectonic processes seen on Earth, according to a team of researchers. To arrive at this conclusion, the team subjected physical models made of clay to stretching forces that simulate tectonic action.

Record levels of solar ultraviolet on Earth's surface measured in South America Posted: 08 Jul 2014 10:18 AM PDT Researchers have measured the highest level of ultraviolet radiation ever recorded on Earth's surface. The extraordinary UV fluxes, observed in the Bolivian Andes only 1,500 miles from the equator, are far above those normally considered to be harmful to both terrestrial and aquatic life.

Something is amiss in the Universe: Cosmic accounting reveals missing light crisis Posted: 08 Jul 2014 09:17 AM PDT Something is amiss in the Universe. There appears to be an enormous deficit of ultraviolet light in the cosmic budget. The vast reaches of empty space between galaxies are bridged by tendrils of hydrogen and helium, which can be used as a precise 'light meter.' In a recent study a team of scientists finds that the light from known populations of galaxies and quasars is not nearly enough to explain observations of intergalactic hydrogen. The difference is a stunning 400 percent.

No rest for the bleary: Interrupted sleep can be as physically detrimental as no sleep at all Posted: 08 Jul 2014 09:17 AM PDT Interrupted sleep can be as physically detrimental as no sleep at all, researchers explain in a first of its kind study. In the study, the investigators establish a causal link between interrupted sleep patterns and compromised cognitive abilities, shortened attention spans, and negative moods. The researchers discovered that interrupted sleep is equivalent to no more than four consecutive hours of sleep.

Same genes drive mathematics and reading ability Posted: 08 Jul 2014 09:17 AM PDT About half of the genes that influence how well a child can read also play a role in their mathematics ability, say scientists who led a study into the genetic basis of cognitive traits. While mathematics and reading ability are known to run in families, the complex system of genes affecting these traits is largely unknown. The finding deepens scientists' understanding of how nature and nurture interact, highlighting the important role that a child's learning environment may have on the development of reading and mathematics skills, and the complex, shared genetic basis of these cognitive traits.

A hotspot for powerful cosmic rays, most energetic particles in the universe Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:29 AM PDT An observatory found a 'hotspot' beneath the Big Dipper emitting a disproportionate number of the highest-energy cosmic rays. The discovery moves physics another step toward identifying the mysterious sources of the most energetic particles in the universe.

Giant earthquakes help predict volcanic eruptions Posted: 08 Jul 2014 06:21 AM PDT Researchers have for the first time observed the response of Japanese volcanoes to seismic waves produced by the giant Tohoku-oki earthquake of 2011. Their conclusions reveal how earthquakes can impact volcanoes and should help to assess the risk of massive volcanic eruptions worldwide.

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