ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Freedom of assembly: Scientists see nanoparticles form larger structures in real time
• Something's fishy in the tree of life: Largests and most comprehensive studies of fish phylogeny
• Technique unlocks design principles of quantum biology
• Ocean acidification as a hearing aid for fish?
• Study of pumas in Santa Cruz Mountains documents impact of predator/human interaction
• Brain's 'slow waves': Scientists probe source of pulsing signal in sleeping brain

Freedom of assembly: Scientists see nanoparticles form larger structures in real time Posted: 19 Apr 2013 02:16 PM PDT Scientists have, for the first time, captured movies of nanoparticle self-assembly, giving researchers a new glimpse of an unusual material property.

Something's fishy in the tree of life: Largests and most comprehensive studies of fish phylogeny Posted: 19 Apr 2013 10:26 AM PDT A team of scientists has dramatically increased our understanding of fish evolution and their relationships. The group integrated extensive genetic and physical information about specimens to create a new "tree of life" for fishes. The vast amount of data generated through large-scale DNA sequencing required supercomputing resources for analysis. The result is the largest and most comprehensive studies of fish phylogeny to date.

Technique unlocks design principles of quantum biology Posted: 19 Apr 2013 09:09 AM PDT Researchers have created a synthetic compound that mimics the complex quantum dynamics observed in photosynthesis and may enable fundamentally new routes to creating solar-energy technologies.

Ocean acidification as a hearing aid for fish? Posted: 19 Apr 2013 05:00 AM PDT Scientists report stunning new insight into the potential effects of acidification on the sensory function of larval cobia. The study is the first to use micro-CT technology to examine otoliths while still inside the heads of the larval fish.

Study of pumas in Santa Cruz Mountains documents impact of predator/human interaction Posted: 18 Apr 2013 07:01 AM PDT In the first published results of more than three years of tracking mountain lions in the Santa Cruz Mountains, researchers have documented how human development affects the predators' habits.

Brain's 'slow waves': Scientists probe source of pulsing signal in sleeping brain Posted: 18 Apr 2013 07:01 AM PDT New findings clarify where and how the brain's "slow waves" originate. These rhythmic signal pulses, which sweep through the brain during deep sleep, are assumed to play a role in important processes such as consolidation of memory. For the first time, researchers have shown conclusively that slow waves start in the cerebral cortex. They also found that such a wave can be set in motion by a local cluster of just 50 to 100 neurons.

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