ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Pavlov's rats? Rodents trained to link rewards to visual cues
• More small meat-eating dinosaurs than thought
• Owl monkeys who 'stay true' reproduce more than those with multiple partners
• Hailstones reveal life in a storm cloud
• Research paves way for larger, safer lithium ion batteries
• Frequent multitaskers are bad at it: Can't talk and drive well
• Modifications of a nanoparticle can change chemical interactions with cell membranes
• Controlled crumpling of graphene forms artificial muscle
• Parasites of Madagascar's lemurs expanding with climate change
• First brain pacemaker implanted to treat Alzheimer’s
• Children's complex thinking skills begin before going to school
• Space instrument adds big piece to solar corona puzzle
• Learning and memory may play a central role in synesthesia: Link to childhood toys containing magnetic colored letters
• Oxygen chamber can boost brain repair years after stroke or trauma
• Blocking digestive enzymes may reverse shock, stop multiorgan failure
• Health and environment: A closer look at plastics
• Scientists underestimated potential for Tohoku earthquake: Now what?
• Microbiologists eavesdrop on the hidden lives of microbes
• Caloric restriction has a protective effect on chromosomes
• Putting the squeeze on cells: By deforming cells, researchers can deliver RNA, proteins and nanoparticles for many applications
• Self-healing, stretchable wires created using liquid metal
• Breakthrough: How salt stops plant growth
• Greenland ice cores reveal warm climate of the past
• New brain circuit sheds light on development of voluntary movements
• Researchers make DNA data storage a reality: Every film and TV program ever created -- in a teacup
• Previous unknown fossilized fox species found
• Nanoparticles digging the world's smallest tunnels
• How the universe has cooled since the Big Bang fits Big Bang theory
• Self-assembling silica microwires may herald new generation of integrated optical devices
• Setting the Dark on Fire: Beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in region of Orion
• Benefits of social grooming in wild chimpanzees: Hormone oxytocin facilitates cooperation
• How the purple and pink sunscreens of reef corals work
• Betelgeuse braces for a collision: Red supergiant star to crash into dusty 'wall'

Pavlov's rats? Rodents trained to link rewards to visual cues Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:58 PM PST In experiments on rats outfitted with tiny goggles, scientists say they have learned that the brain's initial vision processing center not only relays visual stimuli, but also can "learn" time intervals and create specifically timed expectations of future rewards. The research sheds new light on learning and memory-making, the investigators say, and could help explain why people with Alzheimer's disease have trouble remembering recent events.

More small meat-eating dinosaurs than thought Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:53 PM PST Researchers used fossilized teeth to identify at least 23 species of small meat-eating dinosaurs.

Owl monkeys who 'stay true' reproduce more than those with multiple partners Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST Breaking up is hard to do -- and can be detrimental to one's reproductive fitness, according to a new study. Focusing on wide-eyed, nocturnal owl monkeys, considered a socially monogamous species, the research reveals that, when an owl monkey pair is severed by an intruding individual, the mate who takes up with a new partner produces fewer offspring than a monkey who sticks with its tried-and-true partner.

Hailstones reveal life in a storm cloud Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:52 PM PST It isn't life on Mars, but researchers have found a rich diversity of microbial life and chemicals in the ephemeral habitat of a storm cloud, according to a new study.

Research paves way for larger, safer lithium ion batteries Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:51 PM PST Looking toward improved batteries for charging electric cars and storing energy from renewable but intermittent solar and wind, scientists have developed the first high-performance, nanostructured solid electrolyte for more energy-dense lithium ion batteries.

Frequent multitaskers are bad at it: Can't talk and drive well Posted: 23 Jan 2013 04:51 PM PST Most people believe they can multitask effectively, but a new study indicates that people who multitask the most – including talking on a cell phone while driving – are least capable of doing so.

Modifications of a nanoparticle can change chemical interactions with cell membranes Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:51 PM PST Researchers are studying the toxicity of commonly used nanoparticles, particles up to one million times smaller than a millimeter that could potentially penetrate and damage cell membranes.

Controlled crumpling of graphene forms artificial muscle Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:50 PM PST Engineers are layering atom-thick lattices of carbon with polymers to create unique materials with a broad range of applications, including artificial muscles.

Parasites of Madagascar's lemurs expanding with climate change Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:50 PM PST Rising temperatures and shifting rainfall patterns in Madagascar could fuel the spread of lemur parasites and the diseases they carry.

First brain pacemaker implanted to treat Alzheimer’s Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:49 PM PST During a five-hour surgery last October at Kathy Sanford became the first Alzheimer's patient in the United States to have a pacemaker implanted in her brain. She is the first of up to 10 patients who will be enrolled in a new FDA-approved study.

Children's complex thinking skills begin before going to school Posted: 23 Jan 2013 01:48 PM PST New research reveals that children begin to show signs of higher-level thinking skills as young as age 4 ½. Researchers have previously attributed higher-order thinking development to knowledge acquisition, but the new longitudinal study shows that other skills, not connected with knowledge, play a role in children's ability to reason analytically.

Space instrument adds big piece to solar corona puzzle Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST How can the solar atmosphere get hotter, rather than colder, the farther you go from the sun's surface? This mystery has puzzled solar astronomers for decades. A suborbital rocket mission that launched in July 2012 has just provided a major piece of the puzzle.

Learning and memory may play a central role in synesthesia: Link to childhood toys containing magnetic colored letters Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST People with color-grapheme synesthesia experience color when viewing written letters or numerals, usually with a particular color evoked by each grapheme (i.e., the letter 'A' evokes the color red). In a new study, researchers present data from 11 color grapheme synesthetes who had startlingly similar color-letter pairings that were traceable to childhood toys containing magnetic colored letters.

Oxygen chamber can boost brain repair years after stroke or trauma Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST Through the use of hyperbaric, oxygen-rich chambers, medical researchers have found a way to restore a significant amount of neurological function in brain tissue thought to be chronically damaged by stroke, traumatic injury, and metabolic disorder -- even years after the original injury.

Blocking digestive enzymes may reverse shock, stop multiorgan failure Posted: 23 Jan 2013 11:42 AM PST New research moves researchers closer to understanding and developing treatments for shock, sepsis and multiorgan failure. Collectively, these maladies represent a major unmet medical need: they are the number one cause of mortality in intensive care units in the United States, with hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. The new research provides novel results linking digestive enzymes to shock, sepsis and multiorgan failure.

Health and environment: A closer look at plastics Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:39 AM PST Scientists have been following the chemical trail of plastics, quantifying their impact on human health and the environment. In a new overview, researchers detail the risks and societal rewards of plastics and describe strategies to mitigate their negative impacts, through reconsideration of plastic composition, use and disposal.

Scientists underestimated potential for Tohoku earthquake: Now what? Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:39 AM PST The massive Tohoku, Japan, earthquake in 2011 and Sumatra-Andaman superquake in 2004 stunned scientists because neither region was thought to be capable of producing a megathrust earthquake with a magnitude exceeding 8.4. Now earthquake scientists are going back to the proverbial drawing board and admitting that existing predictive models looking at maximum earthquake size are no longer valid.

Microbiologists eavesdrop on the hidden lives of microbes Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:38 AM PST Microbiologists who study wild marine microbes, as opposed to the lab-grown variety, face enormous challenges in getting a clear picture of the daily activities of their subjects. But a team of scientists recently figured out how to make the equivalent of a nature film, showing the simultaneous activities of many coexisting species in their native habitat over time.

Caloric restriction has a protective effect on chromosomes Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:38 AM PST A sustained lowering of food intake over time results in an increase of telomere length -- the ends of chromosomes -- in adult mice, which has a protective effect on the DNA and genetic material.

Putting the squeeze on cells: By deforming cells, researchers can deliver RNA, proteins and nanoparticles for many applications Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:37 AM PST Living cells are surrounded by a membrane that tightly regulates what gets in and out of the cell. This barrier is necessary for cells to control their internal environment, but it makes it more difficult for scientists to deliver large molecules such as nanoparticles for imaging, or proteins that can reprogram them into pluripotent stem cells. Researchers have now found a safe and efficient way to get large molecules through the cell membrane, by squeezing the cells through a narrow constriction that opens up tiny, temporary holes in the membrane.

Self-healing, stretchable wires created using liquid metal Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:37 AM PST Researchers have developed elastic, self-healing wires in which both the liquid-metal core and the polymer sheath reconnect at the molecular level after being severed.

Breakthrough: How salt stops plant growth Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:37 AM PST Until now it has not been clear how salt, a scourge to agriculture, halts the growth of the plant-root system. Researcher found that not all types of roots are equally inhibited. They discovered that an inner layer of tissue in the branching roots is sensitive to salt and activates a stress hormone, which stops root growth. The study is a boon for understanding the stress response and for developing salt-resistant crops.

Greenland ice cores reveal warm climate of the past Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:36 AM PST Between 130,000 and 115,000 years ago, Earth's climate was warmer than today. But how much warmer and what did it mean for the sea levels? As we face global warming, the answer to these questions is becoming very important. New research from the NEEM icecore drilling project in Greenland shows that the period was warmer than previously thought. The international project is led by the Niels Bohr Institute and the results are published in Nature.

New brain circuit sheds light on development of voluntary movements Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:36 AM PST All parents know the infant milestones: turning over, learning to crawl, standing, and taking that first unassisted step. Achieving each accomplishment presumably requires the formation of new connections among subsets of the billions of nerve cells in the infant's brain. But how, when and where those connections form has been a mystery. Now researchers at Duke Medicine have begun to find answers.

Researchers make DNA data storage a reality: Every film and TV program ever created -- in a teacup Posted: 23 Jan 2013 10:34 AM PST Researchers have created a way to store data in the form of DNA – a material that lasts for tens of thousands of years. The new method makes it possible to store at least 100 million hours of high-definition video in about a cup of DNA.

Previous unknown fossilized fox species found Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:53 AM PST Archeologists have discovered a 2-million-year-old fossil fox at the now renowned archaeological site of Malapa, South Africa, in the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage Site. The previously unknown species of fox has been named Vulpes Skinneri.

Nanoparticles digging the world's smallest tunnels Posted: 23 Jan 2013 08:52 AM PST The world's smallest tunnels have a width of a few nanometers only. Researchers have dug such tunnels into graphite samples. This will allow structuring of the interior of materials through self-organization in the nanometer range and tailoring of nanoporous graphite for applications in medicine and battery technology.

How the universe has cooled since the Big Bang fits Big Bang theory Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:16 AM PST Astronomers have taken the universe's temperature, and have found that it has cooled down just the way the Big Bang theory predicts.

Self-assembling silica microwires may herald new generation of integrated optical devices Posted: 23 Jan 2013 07:16 AM PST Silica microwires are the tiny and as yet underutilized cousins of optical fibers. If precisely manufactured, however, these hair-like slivers of silica could enable applications and technology not currently possible with comparatively bulky optical fiber. By carefully controlling the shape of water droplets with an ultraviolet laser, a team of researchers has found a way to coax silica nanoparticles to self-assemble into much more highly uniform silica wires.

Setting the Dark on Fire: Beautiful view of clouds of cosmic dust in region of Orion Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:45 AM PST In space, dense clouds of cosmic gas and dust are the birthplaces of new stars. In visible light, this dust is dark and obscuring, hiding the stars behind it. So much so that, when astronomer William Herschel observed one such cloud in the constellation of Scorpius in 1774, he thought it was a region empty of stars and is said to have exclaimed, "Truly there is a hole in the sky here!"

Benefits of social grooming in wild chimpanzees: Hormone oxytocin facilitates cooperation Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:42 AM PST Animals which maintain cooperative relationships show gains in longevity and offspring survival. However, little is known about the cognitive or hormonal mechanisms involved in cooperation. Researchers studying wild chimpanzees have now found that cooperative relationships are facilitated by an endocrinological mechanism involving the hormone oxytocin, even when these are between non-kin.

How the purple and pink sunscreens of reef corals work Posted: 23 Jan 2013 06:41 AM PST New research has found a mechanism as to how corals use their pink and purple hues as sunscreen to protect them against harmful sunlight. Many reef corals need light to survive, as they benefit from sugars and lipids that are produced by their light-dependent symbiotic algae. However, in the shallow water of coral reefs, light levels are often higher than required by the corals, so paradoxically, the vital sunlight can become harmful for the algae and their hosts.

Betelgeuse braces for a collision: Red supergiant star to crash into dusty 'wall' Posted: 22 Jan 2013 07:56 AM PST Multiple arcs are revealed around Betelgeuse, the nearest red supergiant star to Earth, in a new image from the European Space Agency's Herschel space observatory. The star and its arc-shaped shields could collide with an intriguing dusty 'wall' in 5,000 years.

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