ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Decreased ability to identify odors can predict death: Olfactory dysfunction is a harbinger of mortality
• Why wet feels wet: Understanding the illusion of wetness
• Solving the mystery of the 'Man in the Moon': Volcanic plume, not an asteroid, likely created the moon's largest basin
• Support for controversial Darwin theory of 'jump dispersal'
• New drug-delivery capsule may replace injections
• Semen secrets: How a previous sexual partner can influence another male's offspring
• Geneticists solve 40-year-old dilemma to explain why duplicate genes remain in the genome
• Sleep twitches light up the brain
• Quest continues for peanut that won't cause allergic reaction
• Mimicking brain cells to boost computer memory power

Decreased ability to identify odors can predict death: Olfactory dysfunction is a harbinger of mortality Posted: 01 Oct 2014 12:55 PM PDT The inability of older adults to identify scents is a strong predictor of death within five years. Almost 40% of those who failed a smelling test died during that period, compared to 10% of those with a healthy sense of smell. Olfactory dysfunction predicted mortality better than a diagnosis of heart failure or cancer.

Why wet feels wet: Understanding the illusion of wetness Posted: 01 Oct 2014 10:34 AM PDT Though it seems simple, feeling that something is wet is quite a feat because our skin does not have receptors that sense wetness. UK researchers propose that wetness perception is intertwined with our ability to sense cold temperature and tactile sensations such as pressure and texture.

Solving the mystery of the 'Man in the Moon': Volcanic plume, not an asteroid, likely created the moon's largest basin Posted: 01 Oct 2014 10:30 AM PDT New data obtained by NASA's GRAIL mission reveals that the Procellarum region on the near side of the moon -- a giant basin often referred to as the "man in the moon" -- likely arose not from a massive asteroid strike, but from a large plume of magma deep within the moon's interior.

Support for controversial Darwin theory of 'jump dispersal' Posted: 01 Oct 2014 07:27 AM PDT More than one hundred and fifty years ago, Charles Darwin hypothesized that species could cross oceans and other vast distances on vegetation rafts, icebergs, or in the case of plant seeds, in the plumage of birds. Though many were skeptical of Darwin's 'jump dispersal' idea, a new study suggests that Darwin might have been correct.

New drug-delivery capsule may replace injections Posted: 01 Oct 2014 07:27 AM PDT A pill coated with tiny needles can deliver drugs directly into the lining of the digestive tract, researchers have found, suggesting that the end of injections may be near.

Semen secrets: How a previous sexual partner can influence another male's offspring Posted: 01 Oct 2014 06:02 AM PDT Scientists have discovered a new form of non-genetic inheritance, showing for the first time that offspring can resemble a mother's previous sexual partner -- in flies at least. Researchers manipulated the size of male flies and studied their offspring. They found that the size of the young was determined by the size of the first male the mother mated with, rather than the second male that sired the offspring.

Geneticists solve 40-year-old dilemma to explain why duplicate genes remain in the genome Posted: 30 Sep 2014 06:22 PM PDT After 40 years of wondering why, scientists have discovered that duplicate genes confer 'mutational robustness' in individuals, which allows them to adapt to novel, potentially dangerous environments.

Sleep twitches light up the brain Posted: 29 Sep 2014 12:39 PM PDT A new study finds twitches during rapid eye movement sleep comprise a different class of movement, which researchers say is further evidence that sleep twitches activate circuits throughout the developing brain and teach newborns about their limbs and what they can do with them.

Quest continues for peanut that won't cause allergic reaction Posted: 29 Sep 2014 09:39 AM PDT A food scientist has removed 80 percent of allergens from whole peanuts, moving him a step closer to eliminating 99.9 percent of peanut allergens. For the study, researchers used a pulsating light system to direct concentrated bursts of light to modify the peanut allergenic proteins. That way, they say, human antibodies can't recognize them as allergens and begin to release histamines.

Mimicking brain cells to boost computer memory power Posted: 29 Sep 2014 06:03 AM PDT Researchers have brought ultra-fast, nano-scale data storage within striking reach, using technology that mimics the human brain. The researchers have built a novel nano-structure that offers a new platform for the development of highly stable and reliable nanoscale memory devices.

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