ScienceDaily: Top Science News

---

• New method of manufacturing smallest structures in electronics: Discovery could revolutionize semiconductors
• Implantable silk optics multi-task in body: Dissolvable micro-mirrors enhance imaging, administer heat, deliver and monitor drugs
• Major breakthrough in deciphering bread wheat's genetic code
• Human genetic variation recent, varies among populations
• Tiny algae shed light on photosynthesis as a dynamic property
• Giant black hole could upset galaxy evolution models
• 'Chill-coma' recovery: Cold cricket case could defrost mysteries of changing climate
• Record-setting X-ray jet: X-rays from supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth
• Researchers synthesize new kind of silk fiber, and use music to fine-tune material's properties
• Sea levels rising faster than IPCC projections
• Biggest black hole blast discovered: Most powerful quasar outflow ever found
• For some feathered dinosaurs, bigger not always better

New method of manufacturing smallest structures in electronics: Discovery could revolutionize semiconductors Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:39 AM PST A completely new method of manufacturing the smallest structures in electronics could make their manufacture thousands of times quicker, allowing for cheaper semiconductors. Instead of starting from a silicon wafer or other substrate, as is usual today, researchers have made it possible for the structures to grow from freely suspended nanoparticles of gold in a flowing gas.

Implantable silk optics multi-task in body: Dissolvable micro-mirrors enhance imaging, administer heat, deliver and monitor drugs Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:39 AM PST Researchers have demonstrated silk-based implantable optics that offer significant improvement in tissue imaging while simultaneously enabling photo thermal therapy, administering drugs and monitoring drug delivery. The devices also lend themselves to a variety of other biomedical functions. Biodegradable and biocompatible, these tiny mirror-like devices dissolve harmlessly at predetermined rates and require no surgery to remove them.

Major breakthrough in deciphering bread wheat's genetic code Posted: 28 Nov 2012 11:21 AM PST Scientists have unlocked key components of the genetic code of one of the world's most important crops. The first analysis of the complex and exceptionally large bread wheat genome is a major breakthrough in breeding wheat varieties that are more productive and better able to cope with disease, drought and other stresses that cause crop losses.

Human genetic variation recent, varies among populations Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:22 AM PST Nearly three-quarters of mutations in genes that code for proteins -- the workhorses of the cell -- occurred within the past 5,000 to 10,000 years, fairly recently in evolutionary terms, said genomic and genetic experts.

Tiny algae shed light on photosynthesis as a dynamic property Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:22 AM PST Many of the world's most important photosynthetic eukaryotes such as plants got their light-harnessing organelles (chloroplasts) indirectly from other organisms through endosymbiosis. In some instances, this resulted in algae with multiple, distinct genomes, some in residual organelles (nucleomorphs). To better understand why nucleomorphs persist after endosymbiosis, scientists sequenced and analyzed two tiny algae.

Giant black hole could upset galaxy evolution models Posted: 28 Nov 2012 10:21 AM PST Astronomers have discovered a black hole that could shake the foundations of current models of galaxy evolution. At 17 billion times the mass of the Sun, its mass is much greater than current models predict – in particular since the surrounding galaxy is comparatively small. This could be the most massive black hole found to date.

'Chill-coma' recovery: Cold cricket case could defrost mysteries of changing climate Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:25 AM PST Biologists have discovered that insects recover from chill-coma by getting water and salt back where it belongs. These findings not only identify the very mechanisms that drive insect movement at low temperatures but will lead to a better understanding of agriculture management, biodiversity and climate change.

Record-setting X-ray jet: X-rays from supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth Posted: 28 Nov 2012 09:15 AM PST A jet of X-rays from a supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth has been detected. This is the most distant X-ray jet ever observed and gives astronomers a glimpse into the explosive activity associated with the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe.

Researchers synthesize new kind of silk fiber, and use music to fine-tune material's properties Posted: 28 Nov 2012 08:21 AM PST Researchers have synthesized a new kind of silk fiber -- and find that music can help fine-tune the material's properties.

Sea levels rising faster than IPCC projections Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:39 AM PST Sea levels are rising 60 per cent faster than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's central projections, new research suggests. While temperature rises appear to be consistent with the projections made in the IPCC's fourth assessment report (AR4), satellite measurements show that sea levels are actually rising at a rate of 3.2 mm a year compared to the best estimate of 2 mm a year in the report.

Biggest black hole blast discovered: Most powerful quasar outflow ever found Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:37 AM PST Astronomers have discovered a quasar with the most energetic outflow ever seen, at least five times more powerful than any that have been observed to date. Quasars are extremely bright galactic centers powered by supermassive black holes. Many blast huge amounts of material out into their host galaxies, and these outflows play a key role in the evolution of galaxies. But, until now, observed quasar outflows weren't as powerful as predicted by theorists.

For some feathered dinosaurs, bigger not always better Posted: 28 Nov 2012 06:32 AM PST Researchers have started looking at why dinosaurs that abandoned meat in favor of vegetarian diets got so big, and their results may call conventional wisdom about plant-eaters and body size into question.

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