Παρασκευή 27 Ιουνίου 2014

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


Origin of life: Stanley Miller's forgotten experiments, analyzed

Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:26 AM PDT

Stanley Miller, the chemist whose landmark experiment published in 1953 showed how some of the molecules of life could have formed on a young Earth, left behind boxes of experimental samples that he never analyzed. The first-ever analysis of some of Miller's old samples has revealed another way that important molecules could have formed on early Earth.

New device allows brain to bypass spinal cord, move paralyzed limbs

Posted: 25 Jun 2014 10:01 AM PDT

For the first time ever, a paralyzed man can move his fingers and hand with his own thoughts thanks to a new device. A 23-year-old quadriplegic is the first patient to use Neurobridge, an electronic neural bypass for spinal cord injuries that reconnects the brain directly to muscles, allowing voluntary and functional control of a paralyzed limb.

Puzzling X-rays point to dark matter

Posted: 25 Jun 2014 08:38 AM PDT

Astronomers using ESA and NASA high-energy observatories have discovered a tantalizing clue that hints at an elusive ingredient of our Universe: dark matter. Astronomers believe that dark matter is the dominant type of matter in the Universe -- yet it remains obscure. Now a hint may have been found by studying galaxy clusters, the largest cosmic assemblies of matter bound together by gravity.

Morphable surfaces cut air resistance: Golf ball-like dimples on cars may improve fuel efficiency

Posted: 24 Jun 2014 08:07 AM PDT

Testing over the years has proved that a golf ball's irregular surface dramatically increases the distance it travels, because it can cut the drag caused by air resistance in half. Now researchers are aiming to harness that same effect to reduce drag on a variety of surfaces -- including domes that sometimes crumple in high winds, or perhaps even vehicles.

Bizarre parasite from the Jurassic had mouthparts for sucking blood of salamanders

Posted: 24 Jun 2014 07:58 AM PDT

Around 165 million years ago, a spectacular parasite was at home in the freshwater lakes of present-day Inner Mongolia (China): A fly larva with a thorax formed entirely like a sucking plate. With it, the animal could adhere to salamanders and suck their blood with its mouthparts formed like a sting. To date no insect is known that is equipped with a similar specialized design.

Cancer 'as old as multi-cellular life on Earth': Researchers discover a primordial cancer in a primitive animal

Posted: 24 Jun 2014 06:25 AM PDT

Can cancer ever be completely defeated? Researchers have now reached a sobering conclusion: "cancer is as old as multi-cellular life on Earth and will probably never be completely eradicated," says one expert, following his latest research results. The researchers have now achieved an impressive understanding of the roots of cancer, providing proof that tumors indeed exist in primitive and evolutionary old animals.

How repeatable is evolutionary history? 'Weakness' in clover genome biases species to evolve same trait

Posted: 23 Jun 2014 07:50 PM PDT

Some clover species have two forms, one of which releases cyanide to discourage nibbling by snails and insects and the other of which does not. A scientist found that this 'polymorphism' has evolved independently in six different species of clover, each time by the wholesale deletion of a gene. The clover species are in a sense predisposed to develop this trait, suggesting that evolution is not entirely free form but instead bumps up against constraints.

It is time to abandon obesity myths, experts say

Posted: 23 Jun 2014 07:49 PM PDT

Researchers say it is time to abandon some popular but erroneous obesity myths. In a new article, the team presents nine obesity myths and 10 commonly held but unproven presumptions that the authors suggest lead to poor policy decisions, inaccurate public health recommendations and wasted resources.

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