ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Scientists gain understanding of self-cleaning gecko foot hair
• Researchers estimate ice content of crater at moon's south pole
• Trouble on the horizon for genetically modified crops?
• Chemical analysis of pottery reveals first dairying in Saharan Africa nearly 7,000 years ago
• Megapixel camera? Try gigapixel
• Scientists identify protein required to regrow injured nerves in limbs
• Melting sea ice threatens emperor penguins
• Stars, jets and batteries: Multi-faceted magnetic phenomenon confirmed in the laboratory for the first time
• Earliest record of mating fossil vertebrates: Nine pairs of fossilized turtles died while mating 47 million years ago
• Very Large Telescope takes a close look at the War and Peace Nebula
• Noisy environments make young songbirds shuffle their tunes: Baby songbirds shape their species' playlist

Scientists gain understanding of self-cleaning gecko foot hair Posted: 20 Jun 2012 01:24 PM PDT Wall-climbing robots, bioadhesives or other sticky substances can benefit greatly from a recent discovery about the self-cleaning and reuse abilities of a gecko. The sticky yet clean attribute of this discovery is the gecko toe pad and its ability to repeatedly attach and detach to a surface.

Researchers estimate ice content of crater at moon's south pole Posted: 20 Jun 2012 11:11 AM PDT NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO) spacecraft has returned data that indicate ice may make up as much as 22 percent of the surface material in a crater located on the moon's south pole. The team of NASA and university scientists using laser light from LRO's laser altimeter examined the floor of Shackleton crater. They found the crater's floor is brighter than those of other nearby craters, which is consistent with the presence of small amounts of ice. This information will help researchers understand crater formation and study other uncharted areas of the moon.

Trouble on the horizon for genetically modified crops? Posted: 20 Jun 2012 10:33 AM PDT Pests are adapting to genetically modified crops in unexpected ways, including dominant resistance not previously observed in the lab, researchers have discovered. The findings underscore the importance of closely monitoring and countering pest resistance to biotech crops.

Chemical analysis of pottery reveals first dairying in Saharan Africa nearly 7,000 years ago Posted: 20 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT The first unequivocal evidence that humans in prehistoric Saharan Africa used cattle for their milk nearly 7,000 years ago is described in new research.

Megapixel camera? Try gigapixel Posted: 20 Jun 2012 10:31 AM PDT By synchronizing 98 tiny cameras in a single device, electrical engineers have developed a prototype camera that can create images with unprecedented detail. The camera's resolution is five times better than 20/20 human vision over a 120 degree horizontal field. The new camera has the potential to capture up to 50 gigapixels of data, which is 50,000 megapixels. By comparison, most consumer cameras are capable of taking photographs with sizes ranging from 8 to 40 megapixels.

Scientists identify protein required to regrow injured nerves in limbs Posted: 20 Jun 2012 10:29 AM PDT A protein required to regrow injured peripheral nerves has been identified. The finding, in mice, has implications for improving recovery after nerve injury in the extremities. It also opens new avenues of investigation toward triggering nerve regeneration in the central nervous system, notorious for its inability to heal.

Melting sea ice threatens emperor penguins Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:33 AM PDT At nearly four feet tall, the Emperor penguin is Antarctica's largest sea bird -- and thanks to films like "March of the Penguins" and "Happy Feet," it's also one of the continent's most iconic. If global temperatures continue to rise, however, the Emperor penguins in Terre Adélie, in East Antarctica may eventually disappear, according to a new study.

Stars, jets and batteries: Multi-faceted magnetic phenomenon confirmed in the laboratory for the first time Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:32 AM PDT Magnetic instabilities play a crucial role in the emergence of black holes and other cosmic phenomena. The confirmation of such a magnetic instability – the Tayler instability – was successfully achieved for the first time. The findings should be able to facilitate construction of large liquid-metal batteries, which are under discussion as cheap storage facilities for renewable energy.

Earliest record of mating fossil vertebrates: Nine pairs of fossilized turtles died while mating 47 million years ago Posted: 20 Jun 2012 08:31 AM PDT The fossil record consists mostly of the fragmentary remains of ancient animals and plants. But some finds can provide spectacular insights into the life and environment of ancient organisms. Scientists have just discovered nine pairs of fossilized turtles that perished in the act of mating.

Very Large Telescope takes a close look at the War and Peace Nebula Posted: 20 Jun 2012 05:31 AM PDT ESO's Very Large Telescope has taken the most detailed image so far of a spectacular part of the stellar nursery called the War and Peace Nebula. The view shows many hot young stars, glowing clouds of gas and weird dust formations sculpted by ultraviolet radiation and stellar winds.

Noisy environments make young songbirds shuffle their tunes: Baby songbirds shape their species' playlist Posted: 19 Jun 2012 07:59 PM PDT iPod owners aren't the only ones who frequently shuffle their favorite tunes. Baby songbirds do it, too, a new study shows.

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