ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Water tractor beam: Complex waves generate flow patterns to manipulate floating objects
• Carbon dioxide 'sponge' could ease transition to cleaner energy

• Pregnant women, fetuses exposed to antibacterial compounds face potential health risks 

• Regular marijuana use bad for teens' brains, study finds
• Ancient shellfish remains rewrite 10,000-year history of El Nino cycles
• New culprit identified in metabolic syndrome
• Violent solar system history revealed by meteorite found in Western Australia
• How we form habits, change existing ones
• What does 'diversity' mean to you? The answer may depend on your race
• Lipids boost the brain, study finds
• Still hot inside the Moon: Tidal heating in the deepest part of the lunar mantle
• Neck manipulation may be associated with stroke
• Water 'microhabitats' in oil show potential for extraterrestrial life, oil cleanup: Extremophilic ecosystems writ small
• Synthesis of structurally pure carbon nanotubes using molecular seeds
• New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord, move paralyzed limbs

Water tractor beam: Complex waves generate flow patterns to manipulate floating objects Posted: 10 Aug 2014 06:42 PM PDT Physicists have created a tractor beam on water, providing a radical new technique that could confine oil spills, manipulate floating objects or explain rips at the beach.

Carbon dioxide 'sponge' could ease transition to cleaner energy Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:42 AM PDT A plastic sponge that sops up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) might ease our tranisition away from polluting fossil fuels to new energy sources like hydrogen. A relative of food container plastics could play a role in President Obama's plan to cut CO2 emissions. The material might also someday be integrated into power plant smokestacks.

Pregnant women, fetuses exposed to antibacterial compounds face potential health risks Posted: 10 Aug 2014 09:41 AM PDT As the Food and Drug Administration mulls over whether to rein in the use of common antibacterial compounds that are causing growing concern among environmental health experts, scientists are reporting that many pregnant women and their fetuses are being exposed to these substances. The compounds are used in more than 2,000 everyday products marketed as antimicrobial, including toothpastes, soaps, detergents, carpets, paints, school supplies and toys, the researchers say.

Regular marijuana use bad for teens' brains, study finds Posted: 09 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT Frequent marijuana use can have a significant negative effect on the brains of teenagers and young adults, including cognitive decline, poor attention and memory, and decreased IQ, according to psychologists. "It needs to be emphasized that regular cannabis use, which we consider once a week, is not safe and may result in addiction and neurocognitive damage, especially in youth," said one expert.

Ancient shellfish remains rewrite 10,000-year history of El Nino cycles Posted: 08 Aug 2014 01:34 PM PDT Piles of ancient shells provide the first reliable long-term record for the powerful driver of year-to-year climate changes. Results show that the El Niños 10,000 years ago were as strong and frequent as they are today. The study results question how well computer models can reproduce historical El Niño cycles, or predict how they could change under future climates.

New culprit identified in metabolic syndrome Posted: 08 Aug 2014 09:39 AM PDT Uric acid may play a role in causing metabolic syndrome, a cluster of risk factors that increases the risk of heart disease and type 2 diabetes, a new study indicates. Uric acid is a normal waste product removed from the body by the kidneys and intestines and released in urine and stool. Elevated levels of uric acid are known to cause gout, an accumulation of the acid in the joints. High levels also are associated with the markers of metabolic syndrome.

Violent solar system history revealed by meteorite found in Western Australia Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT Planetary scientists have shed some light on the bombardment history of our solar system by studying a unique volcanic meteorite recovered in Western Australia. Captured on camera seven years ago falling on the WA side of the Nullarbor Plain, the Bunburra Rockhole Meterorite has unique characteristics that suggest it came from a large asteroid that has never before been identified.

How we form habits, change existing ones Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:19 AM PDT About 40 percent of people's daily activities are performed each day in almost the same situations, studies show. Habits emerge through associative learning. 'We find patterns of behavior that allow us to reach goals. We repeat what works, and when actions are repeated in a stable context, we form associations between cues and response,' a researcher explains.

What does 'diversity' mean to you? The answer may depend on your race Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:17 AM PDT Researchers have studied how whites, Asian-Americans, and African-Americans evaluate diversity. The research included three studies, and participants were asked to rate the diversity of various groups of people that were presented as a team at work.

Lipids boost the brain, study finds Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:08 AM PDT Consuming oils with high polyunsaturated fatty acid content, in particular those containing omega-3s, is beneficial for the health. But the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are poorly known. Researchers have investigated the effect of lipids bearing polyunsaturated chains when they are integrated into cell membranes. Their work shows that the presence of these lipids makes the membranes more malleable and therefore more sensitive to deformation and fission by proteins.

Still hot inside the Moon: Tidal heating in the deepest part of the lunar mantle Posted: 08 Aug 2014 08:07 AM PDT Scientists have found that there is an extremely soft layer deep inside the Moon and that heat is effectively generated in the layer by the gravity of the Earth. These findings suggest that the interior of the Moon has not yet cooled and hardened, and also that it is still being warmed by the effect of the Earth on the Moon. This research provides a chance to reconsider how both the Earth and the Moon have been evolving since their births through mutual influence until now.

Neck manipulation may be associated with stroke Posted: 07 Aug 2014 01:36 PM PDT Manipulating the neck has been associated with cervical dissection, a type of arterial tear that can lead to stroke. Although a direct cause-and-effect link has not been established between neck manipulation and the risk of stroke, healthcare providers should inform patients of the association before they undergo neck manipulation.

Water 'microhabitats' in oil show potential for extraterrestrial life, oil cleanup: Extremophilic ecosystems writ small Posted: 07 Aug 2014 11:57 AM PDT An international team of researchers has found extremely small habitats that increase the potential for life on other planets while offering a way to clean up oil spills on our own. Looking at samples from the world's largest natural asphalt lake, they found active microbes in droplets as small as a microliter, which is about 1/50th of a drop of water.

Synthesis of structurally pure carbon nanotubes using molecular seeds Posted: 07 Aug 2014 07:43 AM PDT For the first time, researchers have succeeded in "growing" single-wall carbon nanotubes (CNT) with a single predefined structure -- and hence with identical electronic properties. And here is how they pulled it off: the CNTs "assembled themselves", as it were, out of tailor-made organic precursor molecules on a platinum surface. In future, CNTs of this kind may be used in ultra-sensitive light detectors and ultra-small transistors.

New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord, move paralyzed limbs Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:01 AM PDT For the first time ever, a paralyzed man can move his fingers and hand with his own thoughts thanks to a new device. A 23-year-old quadriplegic is the first patient to use Neurobridge, an electronic neural bypass for spinal cord injuries that reconnects the brain directly to muscles, allowing voluntary and functional control of a paralyzed limb.

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