ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• When a black hole shreds a star, a bright flare tells the story
• Solar-induced hybrid fuel cell produces electricity directly from biomass
• Theory on origin of animals challenged: Some animals need extremely little oxygen
• How evolution shapes the geometries of life
• Einstein's conversion from a belief in a static to an expanding universe
• Why does the brain remember dreams?
• Study on flu evolution may change textbooks, history books
• Responding to potential asteroid redirect mission targets
• Mars rover heads uphill after solving 'doughnut' riddle
• What do women want? It depends on time of month
• New depression treatments reported
• Gene for dissected leaves: Lost gene leads to simple leaves
• Arctic biodiversity under serious threat from climate change
• Fathers drinking: Also responsible for fetal disorders?
• Psychologist shows why talking to kids really matters
• Interactive map of human genetic history revealed
• Revision to rules for color in dinosaurs suggests connection between color and physiology
• How Coffee Raises Cholesterol

When a black hole shreds a star, a bright flare tells the story Posted: 18 Feb 2014 11:32 AM PST A new study explains what happens during the disruption of a normal sun-like star by a supermassive black hole. The study shows why observers might fail to see evidence of the hydrogen in the star, casting doubt on a 2012 report of the disruption of an exotic helium star.

Solar-induced hybrid fuel cell produces electricity directly from biomass Posted: 18 Feb 2014 07:00 AM PST Researchers have developed a new type of low-temperature fuel cell that directly converts biomass to electricity with assistance from a catalyst activated by solar or thermal energy.

Theory on origin of animals challenged: Some animals need extremely little oxygen Posted: 17 Feb 2014 01:11 PM PST One of science's strongest dogmas is that complex life on Earth could only evolve when oxygen levels in the atmosphere rose to close to modern levels. But now studies of a small sea sponge fished out of a Danish fjord shows that complex life does not need high levels of oxygen in order to live and grow.

How evolution shapes the geometries of life Posted: 17 Feb 2014 01:11 PM PST An interdisciplinary team re-examined Kleiber's Law, a famous 80-year-old equation that accurately describes many biological phenomena, although scientists don't agree on why it works. The team shows that Kleiber's Law captures the physics and mathematics underlying the evolution of plants' and animals' different, but equally efficient forms.

Einstein's conversion from a belief in a static to an expanding universe Posted: 17 Feb 2014 07:25 AM PST Albert Einstein accepted the modern cosmological view that the universe is expanding long after many of his contemporaries. Until 1931, physicist Albert Einstein believed that the universe was static. An urban legend attributes this change of perspective to when American astronomer Edwin Hubble showed Einstein his observations of redshift in the light emitted by far away nebulae -- today known as galaxies. But the reality is more complex. The change in Einstein's viewpoint, in fact, resulted from a tortuous thought process. Now researchers explain how Einstein changed his mind following many encounters with some of the most influential astrophysicists of his generation.

Why does the brain remember dreams? Posted: 17 Feb 2014 05:59 AM PST Some people recall a dream every morning, whereas others rarely recall one. In a new study, research shows that the temporo-parietal junction, an information-processing hub in the brain, is more active in high dream recallers. Increased activity in this brain region might facilitate attention orienting toward external stimuli and promote intrasleep wakefulness, thereby facilitating the encoding of dreams in memory.

Study on flu evolution may change textbooks, history books Posted: 16 Feb 2014 12:17 PM PST A new study reconstructing the evolutionary tree of flu viruses challenges conventional wisdom and solves some of the mysteries surrounding flu outbreaks of historical significance. The study challenges several tenets of conventional wisdom -- for example, the notion that the virus moves largely unidirectionally from wild birds to domestic birds rather than with spillover in the other direction. It also helps resolve the origin of the virus that caused the unprecedentedly severe influenza pandemic of 1918.

Responding to potential asteroid redirect mission targets Posted: 15 Feb 2014 07:57 AM PST One year ago, on Feb. 15, 2013, the world witnessed the dangers presented by near-Earth Objects (NEOs) when a relatively small asteroid entered Earth's atmosphere, exploding over Chelyabinsk, Russia, and releasing more energy than a large atomic bomb. Tracking near-Earth asteroids has been a significant endeavor for NASA and the broader astronomical community, which has discovered 10,713 known near-Earth objects to date. NASA is now pursuing new partnerships and collaborations in an Asteroid Grand Challenge to accelerate NASA's existing planetary defense work, which will help find all asteroid threats to human population and know what to do about them. In parallel, NASA is developing an Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) -- a first-ever mission to identify, capture and redirect an asteroid to a safe orbit of Earth's moon for future exploration by astronauts in the 2020s.

Mars rover heads uphill after solving 'doughnut' riddle Posted: 14 Feb 2014 11:40 AM PST Researchers have determined the now-infamous Martian rock resembling a jelly doughnut, dubbed Pinnacle Island, is a piece of a larger rock broken and moved by the wheel of NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity in early January.

What do women want? It depends on time of month Posted: 14 Feb 2014 10:09 AM PST A meta-analysis of research on changes in mate preferences across the menstrual cycle suggests that ovulating women have evolved to prefer mates who display sexy traits, such as a masculine body type, dominant behavior, certain body odors and masculine facial features, rather than traits that are generally desirable in a long-term mate.

New depression treatments reported Posted: 14 Feb 2014 10:07 AM PST New insights into the physiological causes of depression are leading to treatments beyond common antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, according to an evidence-based report. Depression treatments on the horizon include new medications, electrical and magnetic stimulation of the brain and long-term cognitive behavioral therapy for stress management.

Gene for dissected leaves: Lost gene leads to simple leaves Posted: 14 Feb 2014 08:11 AM PST Spinach looks nothing like parsley, and basil bears no resemblance to thyme. Each plant has a typical leaf shape that can differ even within the same family. The information about what shape leaves will be is stored in the DNA. According to researchers in Germany, the hairy bittercress (Cardamine hirsuta) has a particular gene to thank for its dissected leaves. This homeobox gene inhibits cell proliferation and growth between leaflets, allowing them to separate from each other. The thale cress Arabidopsis thaliana does not have this gene. Therefore, its leaves are not dissected, but simple and entire.

Arctic biodiversity under serious threat from climate change Posted: 14 Feb 2014 04:55 AM PST Climate change caused by human activities is by far the worst threat to biodiversity in the Arctic. Some of these changes are already visible. Unique and irreplaceable Arctic wildlife and landscapes are crucially at risk due to global warming caused by human activities according to a new report prepared by 253 scientists from 15 countries.

Fathers drinking: Also responsible for fetal disorders? Posted: 14 Feb 2014 04:54 AM PST Maternal exposure to alcohol in-utero is a known risk and cause of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). FAS children suffer significant problems such as retarded intellect, stunted growth and nervous system abnormalities, social problems and isolation. Until now, fathers have not had a causal link to such disabilities. Ground breaking new research has been revealed which shows dads may have more accountability.

Psychologist shows why talking to kids really matters Posted: 13 Feb 2014 11:22 AM PST Exposure to child-directed speech sharpens infants' language processing skills and can predict future success. New work indicates early intervention can improve language skills in kids lagging behind.

Interactive map of human genetic history revealed Posted: 13 Feb 2014 11:22 AM PST A global map detailing the genetic histories of 95 different populations across the world, showing likely genetic impacts of European colonialism, the Arab slave trade, the Mongol Empire and European traders near the Silk Road mixing with people in China, has been revealed for the first time.

Revision to rules for color in dinosaurs suggests connection between color and physiology Posted: 12 Feb 2014 10:27 AM PST New research revising rules on deciphering color in dinosaurs may provide a tool for understanding the evolutionary emergence of flight and changes in dinosaur physiology. While surveying melanosome shape in fossil and extant specimens, a research team unexpectedly discovered that ancient maniraptoran dinosaurs, paravians, and living mammals and birds uniquely shared the evolutionary development of diverse melanosome shapes related to color. The similarity could relate to a key shift in dinosaurian physiology.

How Coffee Raises Cholesterol Posted: 14 Jun 2007 01:22 PM PDT Drinking your coffee black or decaffeinated to keep cholesterol in check? Think again. Cafestol, a compound found in coffee, elevates cholesterol by hijacking a receptor in an intestinal pathway critical to its regulation, according to a recent article.

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