ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• How did a third radiation belt appear in the Earth's upper atmosphere?
• Solar splashdown provide new insights into how young stars grow by sucking up nearby gas
• Study of insect bacteria reveals genetic secrets of symbiosis
• The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction
• Uncovering quantum secret in photosynthesis
• Bigbrain: An ultra-high resolution 3-D roadmap of the human brain
• Cities are a new kind of complex system: Part social reactor, part network
• Thirdhand smoke causes DNA damage
• Changing ocean temperatures, circulation patterns affecting young Atlantic cod food supply
• Particle accelerator that can fit on a tabletop opens new chapter for science research
• Does your salad know what time it is? Managing vegetables' 'internal clocks' postharvest could have health benefits
• The link between circadian rhythms and aging: Gene associated with longevity also regulates the body's circadian clock
• Flowers: Pistil leads pollen in life-and-death dance
• Hubble spots galaxies in close encounter: Colliding galaxy pair takes flight
• Animal study shows promising path to prevent epilepsy
• Too green to be true? Highly effective method for converting CO2 into methanol
• Making a beeline for the nectar: How patterns on flowers help bees spot their first nectar-rich flower
• App to protect private data on iOS devices finds almost half of other apps access private data
• 54% of pregnant women use insecticides that are harmful to the fetus, Spanish study shows
• Snail trail reveals ancient human migration
• Transistor made from just one molecular monolayer made to work on computer chip
• Dusty surprise around giant black hole
• Detour ahead: Cities, farms reroute animals seeking cooler climes
• Making memories: Practical quantum computing moves closer to reality
• DNA constructs antenna for solar energy

How did a third radiation belt appear in the Earth's upper atmosphere? Posted: 20 Jun 2013 01:28 PM PDT How did a third radiation belt appear in the Earth's upper atmosphere, and then almost completely disappear?

Solar splashdown provide new insights into how young stars grow by sucking up nearby gas Posted: 20 Jun 2013 01:28 PM PDT On June 7, 2011, our sun erupted, blasting tons of hot plasma into space. Some of that plasma splashed back down onto the sun's surface, sparking bright flashes of ultraviolet light. This dramatic event may provide new insights into how young stars grow by sucking up nearby gas.

Study of insect bacteria reveals genetic secrets of symbiosis Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:29 AM PDT Microbiologists recently delved deeper into the genes involved in the "tripartite nested mealybug symbiosis." The researchers discovered the already complex three-way symbiosis actually depends on genes from six different organisms -- three more than the number of species that currently exist in the symbiosis.

The Red Queen was right: Life must continually evolve to avoid extinction Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:29 AM PDT Biologists quote Lewis Carroll when arguing that survival is a constant struggle to adapt and evolve. Is that true, or do groups die out because they experience a run of bad luck? Biologists tested these hypotheses using mammals that arose and died out (or are now dying out) in the past 66 million years, and found that it's not luck but failure to adapt to a deteriorating environment.

Uncovering quantum secret in photosynthesis Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:29 AM PDT Scientists have observed the quantum character of light transport through the molecular machines at work in natural photosynthesis. By studying a single machine at a time, they found that this quantum transport is very persistent and robust regardless of environmental changes. These results could pave the way for the construction of solar energy devices with an efficiency surpassing anything we have seen to date.

Bigbrain: An ultra-high resolution 3-D roadmap of the human brain Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:29 AM PDT A landmark three-dimensional digital reconstruction of a complete human brain, called the BigBrain, now for the first time shows the brain anatomy in microscopic detail -- at a spatial resolution of 20 microns, smaller than the size of one fine strand of hair -- exceeding that of existing reference brains presently in the public domain.

Cities are a new kind of complex system: Part social reactor, part network Posted: 20 Jun 2013 11:29 AM PDT Scientists have derived a series of mathematical formulas that describe how cities' properties vary in relation to their population size, and then posits a novel unified, quantitative framework for understanding how cities function and grow. The resulting theoretical framework predicts very closely dozens of statistical relationships observed in thousands of real cities around the world for which reliable data are available.

Thirdhand smoke causes DNA damage Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT A new study has found for the first time that thirdhand smoke -- the noxious residue that clings to virtually all surfaces long after the secondhand smoke from a cigarette has cleared out -- causes significant genetic damage in human cells.

Changing ocean temperatures, circulation patterns affecting young Atlantic cod food supply Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT Changing ocean water temperatures and circulation patterns have profoundly affected key Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf zooplankton species in recent decades, and may be influencing the recovery of Atlantic cod and other fish stocks in the region. Researchers have found that zooplankton species critical for the survival of Atlantic cod larvae have declined in abundance in the same areas where Atlantic cod stocks have struggled to rebuild after an extended period of overfishing.

Particle accelerator that can fit on a tabletop opens new chapter for science research Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:24 AM PDT The laser plasma accelerator has accelerated about half a billion electrons to 2 gigaelectronvolts over a distance of about 1 inch. It's a downsizing of a factor of approximately 10,000, and marks a major milestone in the advance toward the day when multi-gigaelectronvolt laser plasma accelerators are standard equipment in research laboratories around the world.

Does your salad know what time it is? Managing vegetables' 'internal clocks' postharvest could have health benefits Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:23 AM PDT Biologists have found there may be potential health benefits to storing fresh produce under day-night cycles of light. In a new study researchers used lighting to alter the circadian rhythms of cabbage, lettuce, spinach, zucchini, carrots, sweet potatoes and blueberries. The scientists showed how manipulation of circadian rhythms caused cabbage to produce more phytochemicals, including antioxidants.

The link between circadian rhythms and aging: Gene associated with longevity also regulates the body's circadian clock Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:23 AM PDT Human sleeping and waking patterns are largely governed by an internal circadian clock that corresponds closely with the 24-hour cycle of light and darkness. This circadian clock also controls other body functions, such as metabolism and temperature regulation. A new study finds that a gene associated with longevity also regulates the body's circadian clock.

Flowers: Pistil leads pollen in life-and-death dance Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:23 AM PDT Pollination, essential to much of life on earth, requires the explosive death of the male pollen tube in the female ovule. In new research, scientists describe the genetic and regulatory factors that compel the male's role in the process. Finding a way to tweak that performance could expand crop cross-breeding possibilities.

Hubble spots galaxies in close encounter: Colliding galaxy pair takes flight Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:22 AM PDT The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has produced this vivid image of a pair of interacting galaxies known as Arp 142. When two galaxies stray too close to each other they begin to interact, causing spectacular changes in both objects. In some cases the two can merge — but in others, they are ripped apart.

Animal study shows promising path to prevent epilepsy Posted: 20 Jun 2013 10:21 AM PDT Researchers have identified a receptor in the nervous system that may be key to preventing epilepsy following a prolonged period of seizures. Their findings from studies in mice provide a molecular target for developing drugs to prevent the onset of epilepsy, not just manage the disease's symptoms.

Too green to be true? Highly effective method for converting CO2 into methanol Posted: 20 Jun 2013 08:12 AM PDT Researchers have developed a highly effective method for converting CO2 into methanol, which can be used as a low-emissions fuel for vehicles.

Making a beeline for the nectar: How patterns on flowers help bees spot their first nectar-rich flower Posted: 20 Jun 2013 08:12 AM PDT Bumblebees searching for nectar go for signposts on flowers rather than the bull's eye. A new study shows that the markings at the center of a flower are not as important as the markings that will direct the bees to the center.

App to protect private data on iOS devices finds almost half of other apps access private data Posted: 20 Jun 2013 07:12 AM PDT Almost half of the mobile apps running on Apple's iOS operating system access the unique identifier of the devices where they're downloaded, computer scientists have found. In addition, more than 13 percent access the devices' location and more than 6 percent the address book. The researchers developed a new app that detects what data the other apps running on an iOS device are trying to access.

54% of pregnant women use insecticides that are harmful to the fetus, Spanish study shows Posted: 20 Jun 2013 07:08 AM PDT Pregnancy and infancy are the periods of greatest vulnerability to the use of household insecticides. This is one of the findings of the first study of its kind to be carried out in Spain, which concludes that more than half of expectant mothers routinely use these chemical compounds. Spanish researchers have described the use of domestic pesticides during pregnancy and the first year of life in nearly 2,500 women and children.

Snail trail reveals ancient human migration Posted: 20 Jun 2013 05:46 AM PDT Geneticists have used snails to uncover evidence of an ancient human migration from the Pyrenean region of France to Ireland.

Transistor made from just one molecular monolayer made to work on computer chip Posted: 20 Jun 2013 04:15 AM PDT Electronic components built from single molecules using chemical synthesis could pave the way for smaller, faster and more green and sustainable electronic devices. Now for the first time, a transistor made from just one molecular monolayer has been made to work where it really counts. On a computer chip.

Dusty surprise around giant black hole Posted: 20 Jun 2013 04:14 AM PDT ESO's Very Large Telescope Interferometer has gathered the most detailed observations ever of the dust around the huge black hole at the centre of an active galaxy. Rather than finding all of the glowing dust in a doughnut-shaped torus around the black hole, as expected, the astronomers find that much of it is located above and below the torus. These observations show that dust is being pushed away from the black hole as a cool wind — a surprising finding that challenges current theories and tells us how supermassive black holes evolve and interact with their surroundings.

Detour ahead: Cities, farms reroute animals seeking cooler climes Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:15 AM PDT Half a dozen regions could provide some of the Western Hemisphere's more heavily used thoroughfares for mammals, birds and amphibians on their way to cooler environments in a warming world. This is the first broad-scale study to consider how animals might travel when confronted with cities, large agricultural areas and other human related barriers.

Making memories: Practical quantum computing moves closer to reality Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:15 AM PDT Researchers have developed a new way to design quantum memory, bringing quantum computers a step closer to reality.

DNA constructs antenna for solar energy Posted: 19 Jun 2013 07:14 AM PDT Researchers have found an effective solution for collecting sunlight for artificial photosynthesis. By combining self-assembling DNA molecules with simple dye molecules, the researchers have created a system that resembles nature's own antenna system.

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