ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Planet-sized space weather explosions at Venus
• Powerful artificial muscles made from fishing line and sewing thread
• Climate change: Unstable Atlantic deep ocean circulation may hasten 'tipping point'
• Rocks around the clock: Asteroids pound tiny star
• The musical brain: Novel study of jazz players shows common brain circuitry processes both music, language
• Dreams, déjà vu and delusions caused by faulty 'reality testing,' research shows

Planet-sized space weather explosions at Venus Posted: 20 Feb 2014 04:40 PM PST Researchers recently discovered that a common space weather phenomenon on the outskirts of Earth's magnetic bubble, the magnetosphere, has much larger repercussions for Venus. The giant explosions, called hot flow anomalies, can be so large at Venus that they're bigger than the entire planet and they can happen multiple times a day.

Powerful artificial muscles made from fishing line and sewing thread Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:17 AM PST Scientists have discovered that ordinary fishing line and sewing thread can be cheaply converted to powerful artificial muscles. The new muscles can lift a hundred times more weight and generate a hundred times higher mechanical power than the same length and weight of human muscle. Per weight, they can generate 7.1 horsepower per kilogram, about the same mechanical power as a jet engine.

Climate change: Unstable Atlantic deep ocean circulation may hasten 'tipping point' Posted: 20 Feb 2014 11:16 AM PST A new study looking at past climate change asks if these changes in the future will be spasmodic and abrupt rather than a more gradual increase in the temperature. Today, deep waters formed in the northern North Atlantic fill approximately half of the deep ocean globally. In the process, this helps moderate the effects of global warming. Changes in this circulation mode are considered a potential tipping point in future climate change that could have widespread and long-lasting impacts. Until now, this pattern of circulation has been considered relatively stable during warm climate states such as those projected for the end of the century. A new study suggests that Atlantic deep water formation may be much more fragile than previously realized.

Rocks around the clock: Asteroids pound tiny star Posted: 20 Feb 2014 06:50 AM PST Scientists have found evidence that a tiny star called PSR J0738-4042 is being pounded by asteroids -- large lumps of rock from space. The environment around this star is especially harsh, full of radiation and violent winds of particles.

The musical brain: Novel study of jazz players shows common brain circuitry processes both music, language Posted: 19 Feb 2014 02:31 PM PST The brains of jazz musicians engrossed in spontaneous, improvisational musical conversation showed robust activation of brain areas traditionally associated with spoken language and syntax, which are used to interpret the structure of phrases and sentences. But this musical conversation shut down brain areas linked to semantics -- those that process the meaning of spoken language, according to results of a novel study.

Dreams, déjà vu and delusions caused by faulty 'reality testing,' research shows Posted: 19 Feb 2014 06:53 AM PST New research has delved into the reasons why some people are unable to break free of their delusions, despite overwhelming evidence explaining the delusion isn't real.

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