ScienceDaily: Top Science News

---

• Scientists reveal genetic mutation depicted in van Gogh's sunflower paintings
• Oscillating gel acts like artificial skin, giving robots potential ability to 'feel'
• Electricity and carbon dioxide used to generate alternative fuel
• Autism more common than previously thought: CDC report shows one in 54 boys identified
• Carbon dioxide was hidden in the ocean during last Ice Age
• Compounds dramatically alter biological clock and lead to weight loss, animal study suggests
• Simple 3-D grid structure underlying complexity of primate brain
• Weakness can be an advantage in surviving deadly parasites, a new study shows
• How bees are harmed by common crop pesticides
• Physicists find patterns in new state of matter
• How genes organize the surface of the brain
• On the path to age-defying therapies
• Star explodes and turns inside out
• Titanium paternity test fingers Earth as moon's sole parent
• Artificial thymus tissue enables maturation of immune cells
• Rare animal-shaped mounds discovered in Peru
• Why are we made of matter? Supercomputing the difference between matter and antimatter
• 'Living' micro-robot could detect diseases in humans
• Why some animals live longer than others
• Rationality of infants has been overstated, new study shows
• Gas mass role in creating fireworks versus beacons of star formation revealed

Scientists reveal genetic mutation depicted in van Gogh's sunflower paintings Posted: 29 Mar 2012 07:52 PM PDT Scientists reveal the mutation behind the distinctive, thick bands of yellow "double flowers" that Vincent van Gogh painted more than 100 years ago.

Oscillating gel acts like artificial skin, giving robots potential ability to 'feel' Posted: 29 Mar 2012 02:16 PM PDT Sooner than later, robots may have the ability to "feel." Scientists have now demonstrated that a non-oscillating gel can be resuscitated in a fashion similar to a medical cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Electricity and carbon dioxide used to generate alternative fuel Posted: 29 Mar 2012 02:16 PM PDT Imagine being able to use electricity to power your car and it's not an electric vehicle. Researchers have for the first time demonstrated a method for converting carbon dioxide into liquid fuel isobutanol using electricity.

Autism more common than previously thought: CDC report shows one in 54 boys identified Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:26 AM PDT The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 1 in 88 children in the United States has been identified as having an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), according to a new study. Autism spectrum disorders are almost five times more common among boys than girls -- with 1 in 54 boys identified.

Carbon dioxide was hidden in the ocean during last Ice Age Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:20 AM PDT Why did the atmosphere contain so little carbon dioxide during the last Ice Age 20,000 years ago? Why did it rise when the Earth's climate became warmer? Processes in the ocean are responsible for this, says a new study based on newly developed isotope measurements.

Compounds dramatically alter biological clock and lead to weight loss, animal study suggests Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:20 AM PDT Scientists have synthesized a pair of small molecules that dramatically alter the core biological clock in animal models, highlighting the compounds' potential effectiveness in treating a remarkable range of disorders -- including obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol, and serious sleep disorders.

Simple 3-D grid structure underlying complexity of primate brain Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:19 AM PDT How do you build a brain? Scientists how present a surprising answer, reporting their discovery of a remarkably simple organizational structure in the brains of humans and other primates. Employing sophisticated mathematical analysis of advanced imaging data, they found that the pathways carrying neural signals through the brain are arranged not in a disorganized tangle but in a curved, three-dimensional grid.

Weakness can be an advantage in surviving deadly parasites, a new study shows Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:19 AM PDT When battling an epidemic of a deadly parasite, less resistance can sometimes be better than more. A new study suggests that a lake's ecological characteristics influence how freshwater zooplankton Daphnia dentifera evolve to survive epidemics of a virulent yeast parasite Metschnikowia bicuspidate. The study found that Daphnia populations evolved either enhanced resistance or susceptibility to infection depending on the nutrient concentration and predation levels in the lake.

How bees are harmed by common crop pesticides Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:19 AM PDT A widely used insecticide can threaten the health of bumblebee colonies and interfere with the homing abilities of honeybees, according to a pair of new studies. Researchers have proposed multiple causes for these declines, including pesticides, but it's been unclear exactly how pesticides are inflicting their damage.

Physicists find patterns in new state of matter Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:15 AM PDT Physicists have discovered patterns which underlie the properties of a new state of matter. In a new study, the scientists describe the emergence of "spontaneous coherence," "spin textures" and "phase singularities" when excitons -- the bound pairs of electrons and holes that determine the optical properties of semiconductors and enable them to function as novel optoelectronic devices -- are cooled to near absolute zero.

How genes organize the surface of the brain Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:15 AM PDT The first atlas of the surface of the human brain based upon genetic information has been produced by a team of scientists. The atlas reveals that the cerebral cortex -- the sheet of neural tissue enveloping the brain -- is roughly divided into genetic divisions that differ from other brain maps based on physiology or function.

On the path to age-defying therapies Posted: 29 Mar 2012 11:15 AM PDT The drug rapamycin extends lifespan in lab animals, yet it's linked to two hallmarks of diabetes. By teasing apart its activity, researchers have determined that inhibiting only the protein cluster known as mTORC1 prolongs life in mice without adversely affecting glucose tolerance or insulin sensitivity.

Star explodes and turns inside out Posted: 29 Mar 2012 09:47 AM PDT A new X-ray study of the remains of an exploded star indicates that the supernova that disrupted the massive star may have turned it inside out in the process. Using very long observations of Cassiopeia A, a team of scientists has mapped the distribution elements in the supernova remnant in unprecedented detail. This information shows where the different layers of the pre-supernova star are located three hundred years after the explosion, and provides insight into the nature of the supernova.

Titanium paternity test fingers Earth as moon's sole parent Posted: 29 Mar 2012 09:47 AM PDT A new chemical analysis of lunar material collected by Apollo astronauts in the 1970s conflicts with the widely held theory that a giant collision between Earth and a Mars-sized object gave birth to the moon 4.5 billion years ago.

Artificial thymus tissue enables maturation of immune cells Posted: 29 Mar 2012 09:46 AM PDT The thymus plays a key role in the body's immune response. It is here where the T lymphocytes or T cells, a major type of immune defence cells, mature. Different types of T cells, designated to perform specific tasks, arise from progenitor cells that migrate to the thymus from the bone marrow. Researchers have now generated artificial thymus tissue in a mouse embryo to enable the maturation of immune cells. In this process, they discovered which signalling molecules control the maturation of T cells. Their results represent the first step towards the production of artificial thymus glands that could be used to replace or augment the damaged organ.

Rare animal-shaped mounds discovered in Peru Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:22 AM PDT For more than a century and a half, scientists and tourists have visited massive animal-shaped mounds, such as Serpent Mound in Ohio, created by the indigenous people of North America. But few animal effigy mounds had been found in South America until an anthropology professor recently identified numerous earthen animals rising above the coastal plains of Peru, a region already renowned for the Nazca lines, the ruined city of Chan Chan, and other cultural treasures.

Why are we made of matter? Supercomputing the difference between matter and antimatter Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:22 AM PDT Using breakthrough techniques on some of the world's fastest supercomputers -- scientists have reported a landmark calculation of a kind of subatomic particle decay that's important to understanding matter/antimatter asymmetry. The research helps nail down the exact process of kaon decay, and is also inspiring the development of a new generation of supercomputers.

'Living' micro-robot could detect diseases in humans Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:21 AM PDT A tiny prototype robot that functions like a living creature is being developed which one day could be safely used to pinpoint diseases within the human body. Called 'Cyberplasm', it will combine advanced microelectronics with latest research in biomimicry. The aim is for Cyberplasm to have an electronic nervous system, 'eye' and 'nose' sensors derived from mammalian cells, as well as artificial muscles that use glucose as an energy source to propel it.

Why some animals live longer than others Posted: 29 Mar 2012 08:21 AM PDT Scientists have developed a new method to detect proteins associated with longevity, which helps further our understanding into why some animals live longer than others.

Rationality of infants has been overstated, new study shows Posted: 27 Mar 2012 06:31 AM PDT In a widely noticed study, developmental psychologists reported that 14-month-old infants imitate an unusual action if it was chosen deliberately by the person they observed, but not if it could be attributed to external constraints. This selective imitation was put forth as evidence for an early understanding of rational action and action goals. Scientists now present a much simpler explanation for the finding.

Gas mass role in creating fireworks versus beacons of star formation revealed Posted: 27 Mar 2012 06:31 AM PDT A study of galaxies in the deepest far-infrared image of the sky highlights the two contrasting ways that stars formed in galaxies up to 12 billion years ago.

You are subscribed to email updates from ScienceDaily: Top Science News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610