ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

Humans and mice: Similar enough for studying disease and different enough to give us new clues about evolution

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 10:27 AM PST

Scientists have completed an exhaustive description of the mouse's functional genome elements and their comparison with the human genome. Comparing humans and mice enables us to better understand mammalian biology and evolution, as well as contributing new information on the use of mice as animal models for looking at human disease.

'Green revolution' changes breathing of the biosphere: Stronger seasonal oscillations in carbon dioxide linked to intensive agriculture

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 10:26 AM PST

The intense farming practices of the 'Green Revolution' are powerful enough to alter Earth's atmosphere at an ever-increasing rate, boosting the seasonal amplitude in atmospheric carbon dioxide to about 15 percent over the past five decades. That's the key finding of a new atmospheric model, which estimates that on average, the amplitude of the seasonal oscillation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is increasing at a rate of 0.3 percent every year.

Thin film produces new chemistry in 'nanoreactor'

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 10:25 AM PST

Physicists have discovered a new manganese compound that is produced by tension in the crystal structure of terbium manganese oxide. The technique they used to create this new material could open the way to new nanoscale circuits.

Business culture in banking industry favors dishonest behavior

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 10:25 AM PST

In the past years, there have often been cases of fraud in the banking industry, which have led to a considerable loss of image for banks. Are bank employees by nature less honest people? Or does the business culture in the banking sector favor dishonest behavior? New findings indicate that the business culture in the banking sector implicitly favors dishonest behavior.

Rosetta continues into its full science phase

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 10:18 AM PST

With the Philae lander's mission complete, Rosetta will now continue its own extraordinary exploration, orbiting Comet 67P/Churymov-Gerasimenko during the coming year as the enigmatic body arcs ever closer to our Sun.

'Aquatic osteoporosis' jellifying lakes

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 09:54 AM PST

A plague of "aquatic osteoporosis" is spreading throughout many North American soft-water lakes due to declining calcium levels in the water and hindering the survival of some organisms. The reduced calcium availability is hindering the survival of aquatic organisms with high calcium requirements and promoting the growth of nutrient-poor, jelly-clad animals.

A new test measures analytical thinking linked to depression, fueling the idea that depression may be a form of adaptation

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 09:51 AM PST

Researchers studying the roots of depression have developed a test to measure analytical thinking and rumination, that are hallmarks of the condition, leading them closer to the idea that depression may actually be an adaptation meant to help people cope with complex problems such as chronic illnesses or marriage breakups.

Prehistoric landslide discovery rivals largest known on surface of Earth

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 08:28 AM PST

A catastrophic landslide that rivals in size the largest known gravity slide on the surface of the Earth has been mapped in southwestern Utah by geologists. The Markagunt gravity slide, the size of three Ohio counties, covered at least 1,300 square miles and its full scope is still being mapped. It could prove to be larger than the Heart Mountain slide, the largest known on the Earth's surface.

A jettisoned black hole? Or a giant star exploding over several decades?

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 08:25 AM PST

Astronomers have discovered an object in space that might be a black hole catapulted out of a galaxy. Or, according to an alternative interpretation, it might be a giant star that is exploding over an exceptionally long period of several decades. In any case, one thing is certain: This mysterious object is something quite unique, a source of fascination for physicists the world over because of its potential to provide experimental confirmation of the much-discussed gravitational waves predicted by Albert Einstein.

Biochemists build largest synthetic molecular 'cage' ever

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 07:20 AM PST

Biochemists have created the largest protein ever that self-assembles into a molecular cage. Their designed protein, which does not exist in nature, is hundreds of times smaller than a human cell. The research could lead to 'synthetic vaccines' that protect people from the flu, HIV and perhaps other diseases. It could also lead to new methods of delivering pharmaceuticals inside of cells and the creation of new nano-scale materials.

'Fountain of youth' underlies Antarctic mountains: Why peaks buried in ice look so young

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 07:20 AM PST

Scientists have now explained why the ice-covered Gamburtsev Mountains in the middle of Antarctica looks as young as they do.

Seed dormancy, a property that prevents germination, already existed 360 million years ago

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 07:19 AM PST

Scientists have found that seed dormancy (a property that prevents germination under non-favorable conditions) was a feature already present in the first seeds, 360 million years ago.

Improving memory by suppressing a molecule that links aging to Alzheimer's disease

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 07:18 AM PST

Researchers find a way to improve memory by suppressing a molecule that links aging to Alzheimer's disease.

Testing if a computer has human-level intelligence: Alternative to 'Turing test' proposed

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 07:17 AM PST

Researchers are offering an alternative to the celebrated "Turing Test" to determine whether a machine or computer program exhibits human-level intelligence.

Gifted men and women define success differently, 40-year study finds

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 07:17 AM PST

Researchers spent four decades studying a group of mathematically talented adolescents, finding that by mid-life they were extraordinarily accomplished and enjoyed a high level of life satisfaction. Gender, however, played a significant role in how they pursued—and defined—career, family and success. Intellectually gifted women tracked for 40 years were found to earn less money, be less present in STEM fields, and work fewer hours than their male counterparts. Despite that, they expressed a high level of personal satisfaction and sense of achievement, defining success more broadly than men to include family and community service. These observations come from the most recent round of results from the Study of Mathematically Precocious Youth (SMPY), the largest longitudinal research project of its kind. The results were posted this week to Psychological Science.

A 3-D, talking map for the blind (and everyone else)

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 07:16 AM PST

Developers have built and tested a new kind of interactive wayfinder: 3-D maps that vocalize building information and directions when touched.

Police face higher risk of sudden cardiac death during stressful duties

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:52 AM PST

Police officers in the United States face roughly 30 to 70 times higher risk of sudden cardiac death when they're involved in stressful situations -- suspect restraints, altercations, or chases -- than when they're involved in routine or non-emergency activities.

Ancient genetic program employed in more than just fins and limbs: Hox genes provide blueprint for a diversity of body plan features

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:49 AM PST

Researchers have found that the Hox gene program, responsible for directing the development of fins and limbs, is also utilized to develop other body part features of vertebrates, such as barbels and vents in fish. The research indicates that this genetic program, which dates back at least 440-480 million years, is older and more widely utilized than previously thought.

Many older brains have plasticity, but in a different place

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:49 AM PST

Brain scientists have long believed that older people have less of the neural flexibility, or plasticity, required to learn new things. A new study shows that older people learned a visual task just as well as younger ones, but the seniors who showed a strong degree of learning exhibited plasticity in a different part of the brain than younger learners did.

High heels may enhance a man’s instinct to be helpful

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:47 AM PST

A French study is the first to investigate the effect of a woman's shoe heels on men's behavior. If it's help a woman needs, maybe she should wear high heels. That's the message from researchers after they observed how helpful men are towards women in high heels versus those wearing flat, sensible shoes.

It pays to have an eye for emotions

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:47 AM PST

Attending to and caring about the emotions of employees and colleagues – that's for wimps, not for tough businesspeople and efficient performers, right? Wrong! An extensive international study has now shown: The "ability to recognize emotions" affects income.

Spooky alignment of quasars across billions of light-years

Posted: 19 Nov 2014 05:45 AM PST

New observations with ESO's Very Large Telescope (VLT) in Chile have revealed alignments over the largest structures ever discovered in the Universe. A European research team has found that the rotation axes of the central supermassive black holes in a sample of quasars are parallel to each other over distances of billions of light-years. The team has also found that the rotation axes of these quasars tend to be aligned with the vast structures in the cosmic web in which they reside.

Scientists get to the heart of fool's gold as a solar material

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 03:25 PM PST

As the installation of photovoltaic solar cells continues to accelerate, scientists are looking for inexpensive materials beyond the traditional silicon that can efficiently convert sunlight into electricity. Theoretically, iron pyrite could do the job, but when it works at all, the conversion efficiency remains frustratingly low. Now, a research team explains why that is, in a discovery that suggests how improvements in this promising material could lead to inexpensive yet efficient solar cells.

Scientists prevent memory problems caused by sleep deprivation

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 03:24 PM PST

Scientists have found that a particular set of cells in a small region of the brain are responsible for memory problems after sleep loss. By selectively increasing levels of a signaling molecule in these cells, the researchers prevented mice from having memory deficits.

Ancient New Zealand 'dawn whale' identified

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 03:24 PM PST

Palaeontologists are rewriting the history of New Zealand's ancient whales by describing a previously unknown genus of fossil baleen whales and two species within it. The two whales, which lived between 27-25 million years ago, were preserved in a rock formation near Duntroon in North Otago. At that time the continent of Zealandia was largely or completely under water and the whales were deposited on a continental shelf that was perhaps between 50 to 100 meters deep.

Surviving an ice age: Mammals didn't play by the rules of modeling on where they migrated to survive last ice age

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 12:32 PM PST

Leave it to long-dead short-tailed shrew and flying squirrels to outfox climate-modelers trying to predict future habitats. Evidence from the fossil record shows that gluttonous insect-eating shrew didn't live where a species distribution technique drawn by biologists put it 20,000 years ago to survive the reach of glaciers. The shrew is not alone.

Geologic maps of Vesta asteroid from NASA's Dawn mission

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 11:45 AM PST

Images from NASA's Dawn Mission have been used to create a series of high-resolution geological maps of the large asteroid Vesta, revealing the variety of surface features in unprecedented detail.

Salamanders a more abundant food source in forest ecosystems than previously thought

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 11:18 AM PST

In the 1970s, ecologists published results from one of the first whole-forest ecosystem studies ever conducted. Scientists reported that salamanders represent one of the largest sources of biomass, or food, of all vertebrates in the forest. Now, using new techniques, a study has estimated that the population of salamanders in forested regions may be on average 10 times higher than previously thought.

Taking antibiotics during pregnancy increases risk for child becoming obese

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 11:18 AM PST

A study just released by Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health found that children who were exposed to antibiotics in the second or third trimester of pregnancy had a higher risk of childhood obesity at age 7. The research also showed that for mothers who delivered their babies by a cesarean section, whether elective or non-elective, there was a higher risk for obesity in their offspring.

Entitlement boosts creativity

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 11:16 AM PST

Generally considered a negative trait, entitlement, in small doses, can actually have the positive effect of boosting creativity.

Were Neanderthals a sub-species of modern humans? New research says no

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 11:16 AM PST

Researchers have identified new evidence supporting the growing belief that Neanderthals were a distinct species separate from modern humans (Homo sapiens), and not a subspecies of modern humans.

Field-emission plug-and-play solution for microwave electron guns

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 11:16 AM PST

On a quest to design an alternative to the two complex approaches currently used to produce electrons within microwave electron guns, a team of researchers has demonstrated a plug-and-play solution capable of operating in this high-electric-field environment with a high-quality electron beam.

Car crash survival rates increase with being younger, male and driving a big vehicle

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 09:55 AM PST

Vehicle inequities have a significant impact on survivability in head-on collisions, a study by a doctoral student in epidemiology shows. Motor vehicle crashes are the most common cause of unintentional life lost around the world, with about 30,000 deaths occurring annually in the U.S. due to motor-vehicle crashes.

Facebook games may actually do some good in your life

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 09:55 AM PST

Beyond being a fun distraction, social network games can offer family members a meaningful way to interact and meet social obligations, a new study concludes. Researchers found that some online games offer families a common topic of conversation and enhance the quality of time spent together, despite the fact that most don't necessarily involve any direct communication. The games can also bring together family members who may be only distantly connected, with respondents citing experiences such as connecting with long-lost cousins or bolstering relationships with aging aunts.

Shift in gut bacteria observed in fiber supplement study may offer good news for weight loss

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 09:55 AM PST

Most Americans don't get the daily recommended amount of fiber in their diet, though research has shown that dietary fiber can cause a shift in the gut toward beneficial bacteria, reducing the risk of colon cancer, type 2 diabetes, and other diseases. A new study shows that two specific functional fibers may also have the potential to assist in weight loss when made part of a long-term, daily diet.

Global surge in ADHD diagnosis has more to do with marketing than medicine, expert suggests

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 09:54 AM PST

A new article attributes ADHD's global growth to five trends: expanded, overseas lobbying efforts by drug companies; the growth of biological psychiatry; the adaptation of the American-based Diagnostic and Statistical Manual standards, which are broader and have a lower threshold for diagnosing ADHD; promotion of pharmaceutical treatments by ADHD advocacy groups that work closely with drug companies; and the easy availability of ADHD information and self-diagnosis via the Internet.

New treatment for marfan syndrome shows promise

Posted: 18 Nov 2014 09:54 AM PST

An investigational treatment for Marfan syndrome is as effective as the standard therapy at slowing enlargement of the aorta, the large artery of the heart that delivers blood to the body, new research shows. The findings indicate a second treatment option for Marfan patients, who are at high risk of sudden death from tears in the aorta.