ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Fuel of the future: Cheap hydrogen from water one step closer
• New order found in quantum electronic material: May lead to new materials, magnets and superconductors
• Gut microbes at root of severe malnutrition in kids
• Bonobos predisposed to show sensitivity to others
• Tapeworm eggs discovered in 270-million-year-old fossil shark feces
• Chimp see, chimp learn: First evidence for chimps improving tool use techniques by watching others
• Leading by the nose: Star-nosed mole reveals how mammals perceive touch, pain
• Archaic Native Americans built massive Louisiana mound in less than 90 days
• Sorting out stroking sensations: Biologists find individual neurons in skin that react to massage
• Herschel finds past-prime star may be making planets
• Researchers develop model for identifying habitable zones around star
• First artificial enzyme created by evolution in a test tube
• Microchip moves information around in 3-D: From left to right, back to front, and up and down
• New method of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes
• New genre of 'intelligent' micro- and nanomotors
• Revolutionary cooling system uses lasers
• Good mood helps boost brain power in older adults
• Prehistoric humans not wiped out by comet, says researchers
• Engineers solve a biological mystery and boost artificial intelligence

Fuel of the future: Cheap hydrogen from water one step closer Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:44 PM PST Scientists have moved a step closer to designing bio-inspired syn­thetic cat­a­lysts to pro­duce hydro­gen from water.

New order found in quantum electronic material: May lead to new materials, magnets and superconductors Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:44 PM PST A new type of order, or symmetry, discovered in an exotic material made with uranium may one day lead to enhanced computer displays and data storage systems and more powerful superconducting magnets for medical imaging and levitating high-speed trains.

Gut microbes at root of severe malnutrition in kids Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:43 PM PST A study of young twins in Malawi, in sub-Saharan Africa, finds that bacteria living in the intestine are an underlying cause of a form of severe acute childhood malnutrition.

Bonobos predisposed to show sensitivity to others Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:43 PM PST Comforting a friend or relative in distress may be a more hard-wired behavior than previously thought, according to a new study of bonobos, which are great apes known for their empathy and close relation to humans and chimpanzees. The findings provide evolutionary insights into how critical social skills may develop in human children.

Tapeworm eggs discovered in 270-million-year-old fossil shark feces Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:42 PM PST A cluster of tapeworm eggs discovered in 270-million-year-old fossilized shark feces suggests that intestinal parasites in vertebrates are much older than previously known.

Chimp see, chimp learn: First evidence for chimps improving tool use techniques by watching others Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:41 PM PST Chimps can learn more efficient ways to use a tool by watching what others do, according to new research. Their study presents the first experimental evidence that chimps, like humans, can watch and learn a group member's invention of a better technique.

Leading by the nose: Star-nosed mole reveals how mammals perceive touch, pain Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:41 PM PST The most sensitive patch of mammalian skin known to us isn't human but on the star-shaped tip of the star-nosed mole's snout. Researchers studying this organ have found that the star has a higher proportion of touch-sensitive nerve endings than pain receptors, according to a new study.

Archaic Native Americans built massive Louisiana mound in less than 90 days Posted: 30 Jan 2013 03:36 PM PST A massive earthen mound constructed about 3,200 years ago by Native Americans in northeastern Louisiana was built in less than 90 days, and perhaps as quickly as 30 days, according to new research. The site was recently nominated for a place on the UNESCO list of Word Heritage sites.

Sorting out stroking sensations: Biologists find individual neurons in skin that react to massage Posted: 30 Jan 2013 12:29 PM PST The skin is a human being's largest sensory organ, helping to distinguish between a pleasant contact, like a caress, and a negative sensation, like a pinch or a burn. Previous studies have shown that these sensations are carried to the brain by different types of sensory neurons that have nerve endings in the skin. Now biologists have identified in mice a specific class of skin sensory neurons that reacts to an apparently pleasurable stimulus.

Herschel finds past-prime star may be making planets Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:59 AM PST A star thought to have passed the age at which it can form planets may, in fact, be creating new worlds. The disk of material surrounding the surprising star called TW Hydrae may be massive enough to make even more planets than we have in our own solar system.

Researchers develop model for identifying habitable zones around star Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST Researchers searching the galaxy for planets that could pass the litmus test of sustaining water-based life must find whether those planets fall in a habitable zone, where they could be capable of having liquid water and sustaining life. New work will help scientists in that search.

First artificial enzyme created by evolution in a test tube Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST A wobbly new biochemical structure in one scientist's lab may resemble what enzymes looked like billions of years ago, when life on Earth began to evolve -- long before they became ingredients for new and improved products, from detergents to foods and fuels.

Microchip moves information around in 3-D: From left to right, back to front, and up and down Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:24 AM PST Scientists have created, for the first time, a new type of microchip which allows information to travel in three dimensions. Currently, microchips can only pass digital information in a very limited way -- from either left to right or front to back.

New method of measuring the mass of supermassive black holes Posted: 30 Jan 2013 10:23 AM PST Astronomers report the exciting discovery of a new way to measure the mass of supermassive black holes in galaxies. By measuring the speed with which carbon monoxide molecules orbit around such black holes, this new research opens the possibility of making these measurements in many more galaxies than ever before.

New genre of 'intelligent' micro- and nanomotors Posted: 30 Jan 2013 09:16 AM PST Enzymes, workhorse molecules of life that underpin almost every biological process, may have a new role as "intelligent" micro- and nanomotors with applications in medicine, engineering and other fields. Single molecules of common enzymes can generate enough force to cause movement in specific directions, new research shows.

Revolutionary cooling system uses lasers Posted: 30 Jan 2013 07:19 AM PST Bulky and noisy air-conditioning compressors and refrigerators may soon be a thing of the past. Current cooling systems which uses refrigerant harmful to the ozone layer could be replaced by a revolutionary cooling system using lasers.

Good mood helps boost brain power in older adults Posted: 30 Jan 2013 07:18 AM PST Older adults can improve their decision making and working memory simply by putting on a happy face, a new study suggests.

Prehistoric humans not wiped out by comet, says researchers Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:24 AM PST Comet explosions did not end the prehistoric human culture, known as Clovis, in North America 13,000 years ago, according to new research.

Engineers solve a biological mystery and boost artificial intelligence Posted: 30 Jan 2013 05:23 AM PST By simulating 25,000 generations of evolution within computers, engineering and robotics researchers have discovered why biological networks tend to be organized as modules -- a finding that will lead to a deeper understanding of the evolution of complexity. The new insight also will help evolve artificial intelligence, so robot brains can acquire the grace and cunning of animals.

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