ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Oldest ever engraving discovered on 500,000-year-old shell
• Unlike people, monkeys aren't fooled by expensive brands
• Brain representations of social thoughts accurately predict autism diagnosis
• Losing air: Barrage of small impacts likely erased much of the Earth’s primordial atmosphere
• Strange galaxy perplexes astronomers: Prominent 'jets' of subatomic particles
• Another case against the midnight snack: Researchers tinker with a time-restricted diet in mice and find that it's remarkably forgiving
• King Richard III: Case closed after 529 years
• Vitamin D deficiency, depression linked in international study
• Human eye can see 'invisible' infrared light
• How early trauma influences behavior
• Natural 'high' could avoid chronic marijuana use
• Doubling saturated fat in diet does not increase saturated fat in blood

Oldest ever engraving discovered on 500,000-year-old shell Posted: 03 Dec 2014 11:24 AM PST Homo erectus on Java was already using shells of freshwater mussels as tools half a million years ago, and as a 'canvas' for an engraving. The discovery of an engraved geometrical pattern on one of the shells came as a total surprise. The zig zag pattern, that can only be seen with oblique lighting, is clearly older than the weathering processes on the shell arising from fossilization.

Unlike people, monkeys aren't fooled by expensive brands Posted: 02 Dec 2014 03:33 PM PST In at least one respect, Capuchin monkeys are smarter than humans -- they don't assume a higher price tag means better quality, according to a new study.

Brain representations of social thoughts accurately predict autism diagnosis Posted: 02 Dec 2014 11:48 AM PST Researchers have created brain-reading techniques to use neural representations of social thoughts to predict autism diagnoses with 97 percent accuracy. This establishes the first biologically based diagnostic tool that measures a person's thoughts to detect the disorder that affects many children and adults worldwide.

Losing air: Barrage of small impacts likely erased much of the Earth’s primordial atmosphere Posted: 02 Dec 2014 10:23 AM PST Researchers believe a blitz of small space rocks, or planetesimals, may have bombarded Earth around the time the moon was formed, kicking up clouds of gas with enough force to permanently eject small portions of the atmosphere into space.

Strange galaxy perplexes astronomers: Prominent 'jets' of subatomic particles Posted: 02 Dec 2014 10:23 AM PST With the help of citizen scientists, astronomers have found an important new example of a very rare type of galaxy that may provide valuable insight on galaxy evolution in the early Universe.

Another case against the midnight snack: Researchers tinker with a time-restricted diet in mice and find that it's remarkably forgiving Posted: 02 Dec 2014 09:37 AM PST These days, with the abundance of artificial light, TV, tablets and smartphones, adults and children alike are burning the midnight oil. What they are not burning is calories: with later bedtimes comes the tendency to eat. A new study cautions against an extended period of snacking, suggesting instead that confining caloric consumption to an 8- to 12-hour period-as people did just a century ago-might stave off high cholesterol, diabetes and obesity.

King Richard III: Case closed after 529 years Posted: 02 Dec 2014 09:01 AM PST King Richard III: a DNA and genealogical study confirms the identity of remains found in Leicester and uncovers new truths about his appearance and Plantagenet lineage.

Vitamin D deficiency, depression linked in international study Posted: 02 Dec 2014 08:11 AM PST Vitamin D deficiency is not just harmful to physical health -- it also might impact mental health, according to a team of researchers that has found a link between seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, and a lack of sunlight.

Human eye can see 'invisible' infrared light Posted: 01 Dec 2014 01:11 PM PST Science textbooks say we can't see infrared light. Like X-rays and radio waves, infrared light waves are longer than the light waves in the visual spectrum. But an international team of researchers has found that under certain conditions, the retina can sense infrared light after all.

How early trauma influences behavior Posted: 01 Dec 2014 09:51 AM PST Traumatic and stressful events during childhood increase the risk to develop psychiatric disorders, but to a certain extent, they can also help better deal with difficult situations later in life. Researchers have studied this phenomenon in mice to learn how these effects could be transmitted to the next generation.

Natural 'high' could avoid chronic marijuana use Posted: 01 Dec 2014 08:32 AM PST Replenishing the supply of a molecule that normally activates cannabinoid receptors in the brain could relieve mood and anxiety disorders and enable some people to quit using marijuana, a new study suggests.

Doubling saturated fat in diet does not increase saturated fat in blood Posted: 21 Nov 2014 12:11 PM PST Doubling saturated fat in the diet does not drive up total levels of saturated fat in the blood, according to a controlled diet study. Increasing levels of carbohydrates in the study diet promoted a steady increase in the blood of a fatty acid linked to higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.

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