ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Morning rays keep off pounds
• Ancient volcanic explosions shed light on Mercury's origins
• Magnitude 8.2 earthquake off Chile: Thrust faulting at shallow depths near the Chilean coast
• Most comprehensive wiring diagram of the mammalian brain to date
• 'Geologic clock' helps determine moon's age
• Key chocolate ingredients could help prevent obesity, diabetes
• Europeans have three times more Neanderthal genes for lipid catabolism than Asians or Africans
• Biological evidence of positive and negative people in the world
• Pigeons share our ability to place everyday things in categories
• Ancient nomads spread earliest domestic grains along Silk Road: Findings push back earliest known East-West interaction by 2,000 years
• Ancient stormy weather: World's oldest weather report could revise bronze age chronology
• Obesity primes colon for cancer, according to study

Morning rays keep off pounds Posted: 02 Apr 2014 06:25 PM PDT A surprising new strategy for managing your weight? Bright morning light. People who had most of their daily exposure to bright light in the morning had a significantly lower body mass index (BMI) than those who had most of their light exposure later in the day, reports a new study. The earlier light exposure occurred, the lower the BMI. The influence of morning light on weight was independent of physical activity, caloric intake, sleep timing, age or season.

Ancient volcanic explosions shed light on Mercury's origins Posted: 02 Apr 2014 12:36 PM PDT The surface of Mercury crackled with volcanic explosions for extended periods of the planet's history, according to a new analysis. The findings are surprising considering Mercury wasn't supposed to have explosive volcanism in the first place, and they could have implications for understanding how Mercury formed.

Magnitude 8.2 earthquake off Chile: Thrust faulting at shallow depths near the Chilean coast Posted: 02 Apr 2014 11:56 AM PDT A large earthquake struck off Chile on April 1, 2014 at 23:46:46 UTC, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The magnitude 8.2 earthquake in northern Chile occurred as the result of thrust faulting at shallow depths near the Chilean coast. The location and mechanism of the earthquake are consistent with slip on the primary plate boundary interface, or megathrust, between the Nazca and South America plates.

Most comprehensive wiring diagram of the mammalian brain to date Posted: 02 Apr 2014 10:39 AM PDT Researchers have published the first comprehensive, large-scale data set on how the brain of a mammal is wired, providing a groundbreaking data resource and fresh insights into how the nervous system processes information. Their landmark paper describes the publicly available Allen Mouse Brain Connectivity Atlas and demonstrates the exciting knowledge that can be gleaned from this valuable resource.

'Geologic clock' helps determine moon's age Posted: 02 Apr 2014 10:39 AM PDT Planetary scientists have determined that the moon formed nearly 100 million years after the start of the solar system, according to a new article. This conclusion is based on measurements from the interior of the Earth combined with computer simulations of the protoplanetary disk from which the Earth and other terrestrial planets formed.

Key chocolate ingredients could help prevent obesity, diabetes Posted: 02 Apr 2014 08:00 AM PDT Improved thinking. Decreased appetite. Lowered blood pressure. The potential health benefits of dark chocolate keep piling up, and scientists are now homing in on what ingredients in chocolate might help prevent obesity, as well as type-2 diabetes. They found that one particular type of antioxidant in cocoa prevented laboratory mice from gaining excess weight and lowered their blood sugar levels.

Europeans have three times more Neanderthal genes for lipid catabolism than Asians or Africans Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT Contemporary Europeans have as many as three times more Neanderthal variants in genes involved in lipid catabolism than Asians and Africans. Although Neanderthals are extinct, fragments of their genomes persist in modern humans. These shared regions are unevenly distributed across the genome and some regions are particularly enriched with Neanderthal variants.

Biological evidence of positive and negative people in the world Posted: 02 Apr 2014 07:00 AM PDT The ability to stay positive when times get tough -- and, conversely, of being negative -- may be hardwired in the brain, finds new research. The study focused on women because they are twice as likely as men to suffer from anxiety related problems and previously reported sex differences in brain structure and function could have obscured the results.

Pigeons share our ability to place everyday things in categories Posted: 02 Apr 2014 06:51 AM PDT Pinecone or pine nut? Friend or foe? Distinguishing between the two requires that we pay special attention to the telltale characteristics of each. And as it turns out, us humans aren't the only ones up to the task. According to researchers, pigeons share our ability to place everyday things in categories. And, like people, they can home in on visual information that is new or important and dismiss what is not.

Ancient nomads spread earliest domestic grains along Silk Road: Findings push back earliest known East-West interaction by 2,000 years Posted: 01 Apr 2014 06:04 PM PDT Charred grains of barley, millet and wheat deposited nearly 5,000 years ago at campsites in the high plains of Kazakhstan show that nomadic sheepherders played a surprisingly important role in the early spread of domesticated crops throughout a mountainous east-west corridor along the historic Silk Road, suggests new research.

Ancient stormy weather: World's oldest weather report could revise bronze age chronology Posted: 01 Apr 2014 02:29 PM PDT An inscription on a 3,500-year-old stone block from Egypt may be one of the world's oldest weather reports —- and could provide new evidence about the chronology of events in the ancient Middle East. A new translation of a 40-line inscription on the 6-foot-tall calcite block called the Tempest Stela describes rain, darkness and "the sky being in storm without cessation, louder than the cries of the masses."

Obesity primes colon for cancer, according to study Posted: 01 Apr 2014 09:23 AM PDT Obesity, rather than diet, causes changes in the colon that may lead to colorectal cancer, according to results from a study in mice. The finding bolsters the recommendation that calorie control and frequent exercise are not only key to a healthy lifestyle, but a strategy to lower the risk for colon cancer, the second leading cause of cancer-related death in the United States.

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