ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Nanoparticle vaccine: Particles that deliver vaccines directly to mucosal surfaces could defend against many infectious diseases
• Seeing light in a new light: Scientists create never-before-seen form of matter
• Global study reveals new hotspots of fish biodiversity
• 'X-shape' not true picture of chromosome structure, new imaging technique reveals
• Ancient soils reveal clues to early life on Earth
• Engineers build computer using carbon nanotube technology
• Whale mass stranding attributed to sonar mapping for first time
• 'Jekyll and Hyde' star morphs from radio to X-ray pulsar and back again
• Commonly prescribed statin linked to memory impairment, study in rats suggests
• Alpine archaeology reveals high life through the ages
• With carbon nanotubes, a path to flexible, low-cost sensors: Potential applications range from air-quality monitors to electronic skin
• Wormlike hematite photoanode breaks the world-record for solar hydrogen production efficiency
• Turning plastic bags into high-tech materials
• New genus of electric fish discovered in 'lost world' of South America
• China's synthetic gas plants would be greenhouse giants
• 'Microbial clock' may help determine time of death

Nanoparticle vaccine: Particles that deliver vaccines directly to mucosal surfaces could defend against many infectious diseases Posted: 25 Sep 2013 11:15 AM PDT Many viruses and bacteria infect humans through mucosal surfaces, such as those in the lungs, gastrointestinal tract and reproductive tract. To help fight these pathogens, scientists are working on vaccines that can establish a front line of defense at mucosal surfaces, potentially defending against many infectious diseases.

Seeing light in a new light: Scientists create never-before-seen form of matter Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:23 AM PDT Scientists have managed to coax photons into binding together to form molecules -- a state of matter that, until recently, had been purely theoretical.

Global study reveals new hotspots of fish biodiversity Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:23 AM PDT Teeming with species, tropical coral reefs have been long thought to be the areas of greatest biodiversity for fishes and other marine life -- and thus most deserving of resources for conservation. But a new global study of reef fishes reveals a surprise: when measured by factors other than the traditional species count -- instead using features such as a species' role in an ecosystem -- new hotspots of biodiversity emerge, including some nutrient-rich, temperate waters.

'X-shape' not true picture of chromosome structure, new imaging technique reveals Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:23 AM PDT A new method for visualising chromosomes is painting a truer picture of their shape, which is rarely like the X-shaped blob of DNA most of us are familiar with.

Ancient soils reveal clues to early life on Earth Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:23 AM PDT Oxygen appeared in the atmosphere up to 700 million years earlier than we previously thought, according to new research, raising new questions about the evolution of early life.

Engineers build computer using carbon nanotube technology Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:23 AM PDT Silicon chips could soon hit physical limits preventing them from getting smaller and faster. Carbon nanotube technology has been seen as a potential successor. But so far no one's been able to put all the pieces together. Stanford's CNT computer is therefore an important proof of principle. And while this is a bare-bones device, the processes used to create the world's first CNT computer are designed to scale.

Whale mass stranding attributed to sonar mapping for first time Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:22 AM PDT An independent scientific review panel has concluded that the mass stranding of approximately 100 melon-headed whales in the Loza Lagoon system in northwest Madagascar in 2008 was primarily triggered by acoustic stimuli, more specifically, a multi-beam echosounder system operated by a survey vessel contracted by ExxonMobil Exploration and Production (Northern Madagascar) Limited.

'Jekyll and Hyde' star morphs from radio to X-ray pulsar and back again Posted: 25 Sep 2013 10:22 AM PDT Astronomers have uncovered the strange case of a neutron star with the peculiar ability to transform from a radio pulsar into an X-ray pulsar and back again. This star's capricious behavior appears to be fueled by a nearby companion star and may give new insights into the birth of millisecond pulsars.

Commonly prescribed statin linked to memory impairment, study in rats suggests Posted: 25 Sep 2013 08:24 AM PDT New research that looked at whether two commonly prescribed statin medicines, used to lower low-density lipoprotein or 'bad cholesterol' levels in the blood, can adversely affect cognitive function has found that one of the drugs tested caused memory impairment in rats.

Alpine archaeology reveals high life through the ages Posted: 25 Sep 2013 08:24 AM PDT Archaeologists have uncovered evidence of human activity in the high slopes of the French Alps dating back over 8000 years.

With carbon nanotubes, a path to flexible, low-cost sensors: Potential applications range from air-quality monitors to electronic skin Posted: 25 Sep 2013 07:28 AM PDT Researchers are showing the way toward low-cost, industrial-scale manufacturing of a new family of electronic devices. A leading example is a gas sensor that could be integrated into food packaging to gauge freshness, or into compact wireless air-quality monitors. Flexible pressure and temperature sensors could be built into electronic skin. All these devices can be made with carbon nanotubes, sprayed like ink onto flexible plastic sheets or other substrates.

Wormlike hematite photoanode breaks the world-record for solar hydrogen production efficiency Posted: 25 Sep 2013 07:28 AM PDT Scientists have developed a "wormlike" hematite photoanode that can convert sunlight and water to clean hydrogen energy with a record-breaking high efficiency of 5.3 percent.

Turning plastic bags into high-tech materials Posted: 25 Sep 2013 07:26 AM PDT Researchers have developed a process for turning waste plastic bags into a high-tech nanomaterial. The innovative nanotechnology uses non-biodegradable plastic grocery bags to make 'carbon nanotube membranes' -- highly sophisticated and expensive materials with a variety of potential advanced applications including filtration, sensing, energy storage and a range of biomedical innovations.

New genus of electric fish discovered in 'lost world' of South America Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:22 AM PDT A previously unknown genus of electric fish has been identified in a remote region of South America by team of international researchers. The Akawaio penak, a thin, eel-like electric fish, was discovered in the shallow, murky waters of the upper Mazaruni River is northern Guyana.

China's synthetic gas plants would be greenhouse giants Posted: 25 Sep 2013 06:22 AM PDT Coal-powered synthetic natural gas plants being planned in China would produce seven times more greenhouse gas emissions than conventional natural gas plants, and use up to 100 times the water as shale gas production, according to a new study.

'Microbial clock' may help determine time of death Posted: 24 Sep 2013 12:39 PM PDT An intriguing study may provide a powerful new tool in the quiver of forensic scientists attempting to determine the time of death in cases involving human corpses: A microbial clock.

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