ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Earth expected to be habitable for another 1.75 billion years
• E-readers can make reading easier for those with dyslexia
• Toxoplasma infection permanently shifts balance in cat and mouse game
• Jupiter's moon: Long-stressed Europa likely off-kilter at one time
• African dust storms in our air: Dust storms in Africa affect U.S. and the Caribbean's air quality
• What's that smell? Ten basic odor categories sniffed out with math
• Coma: researchers observe never-before-detected brain activity
• Contaminants may cause birds to sing a different tune
• Controlling wettability: 'Sticky tape' for water droplets mimics rose petal
• Novel gene discovery could lead to new HIV treatments
• Origins of genomic 'dark matter' discovered
• Beyond quantum simulation: Physicists create 'crystal' of spin-swapping ultracold molecules
• Stem cell reprogramming made easier
• Four new species of 'legless lizards' discovered living on the edge
• Nanocrystal catalyst transforms impure hydrogen into electricity
• Dinosaur wind tunnel test provides new insight into the evolution of bird flight
• Young stars cooking in the Prawn Nebula
• Uncovering cancer's inner workings by capturing live images of growing tumors

Earth expected to be habitable for another 1.75 billion years Posted: 18 Sep 2013 06:14 PM PDT Habitable conditions on Earth will be possible for at least another 1.75 billion years – according to astrobiologists. "If we ever needed to move to another planet, Mars is probably our best bet. It's very close and will remain in the habitable zone until the end of the Sun's lifetime -- six billion years from now," one of the researchers said.

E-readers can make reading easier for those with dyslexia Posted: 18 Sep 2013 03:11 PM PDT As e-readers grow in popularity as convenient alternatives to traditional books, researchers have found that convenience may not be their only benefit. The team discovered that when e-readers are set up to display only a few words per line, some people with dyslexia can read more easily, quickly and with greater comprehension.

Toxoplasma infection permanently shifts balance in cat and mouse game Posted: 18 Sep 2013 03:11 PM PDT Infection with the toxoplasma parasite makes mice fearless in the presence of cats -- to their regret. But how does the protozoan do that? Scientists looked at the effects of three common strains of toxoplasma and found that they remove the fear of cat urine for as long as four months, long after the mice have cleared the parasite from their brains. The parasite appears to make permanent changes in the brain's neurons.

Jupiter's moon: Long-stressed Europa likely off-kilter at one time Posted: 18 Sep 2013 03:11 PM PDT By analyzing the distinctive cracks lining the icy face of Europa, scientists found evidence that this moon of Jupiter likely spun around a tilted axis at some point.

African dust storms in our air: Dust storms in Africa affect U.S. and the Caribbean's air quality Posted: 18 Sep 2013 03:09 PM PDT Dust clouds from the African Sahara can travel thousands of miles across the Atlantic Ocean, every year and in large quantities. Scientists found that the average air concentrations of inhalable particles more than doubled during a major Saharan dust intrusion in Houston, Texas.

What's that smell? Ten basic odor categories sniffed out with math Posted: 18 Sep 2013 03:04 PM PDT Taste can be classified into five flavors that we sense, but how many odors can we smell? There are likely about 10 basic categories of odor.

Coma: researchers observe never-before-detected brain activity Posted: 18 Sep 2013 03:02 PM PDT Researchers have found brain activity beyond a flat line EEG, which they have called Nu-complexes (from the Greek letter n). According to existing scientific data, researchers and doctors had established that beyond the so-called "flat line" (flat electroencephalogram or EEG), there is nothing at all, no brain activity, no possibility of life. This major discovery suggests that there is a whole new frontier in animal and human brain functioning.

Contaminants may cause birds to sing a different tune Posted: 18 Sep 2013 02:55 PM PDT In some environments songbirds exhibit inconsistency in their songs which may be caused by non-lethal levels of contaminants that persist in the sediments of the Hudson River region. Biologists studied songbirds that nest along the Hudson River valley, a region with legacy levels of PCBs as a result of decades of electronics manufacturing upriver. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are synthetic chemical pollutants with demonstrated detrimental toxic and developmental effects on humans and wildlife.

Controlling wettability: 'Sticky tape' for water droplets mimics rose petal Posted: 18 Sep 2013 11:25 AM PDT A new nanostructured material may lead to surfaces that stay dry forever, never need cleaning and are able to repel bacteria and even prevent mold and fungi growth.

Novel gene discovery could lead to new HIV treatments Posted: 18 Sep 2013 10:24 AM PDT Medical researchers have for the first time identified a new gene which may have the ability to prevent HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, from spreading after it enters the body.

Origins of genomic 'dark matter' discovered Posted: 18 Sep 2013 10:24 AM PDT A major milestone has been achieved in understanding genomic "dark matter" -- called non-coding RNA. This "dark matter" is difficult to detect and no one knows exactly what it is doing or why it is there in our genome, but scientists suspect it may be the source of inherited diseases. This research achievement may help to pinpoint exactly where complex-disease traits reside in the human genome.

Beyond quantum simulation: Physicists create 'crystal' of spin-swapping ultracold molecules Posted: 18 Sep 2013 10:24 AM PDT Physicists have created a crystal-like arrangement of ultracold gas molecules that swap quantum "spin" properties with nearby and distant partners. The novel structure might be used to simulate or even invent new materials that derive exotic properties from quantum spin behavior, for electronics or other practical applications.

Stem cell reprogramming made easier Posted: 18 Sep 2013 10:24 AM PDT Embryonic stem cells have the enormous potential to treat and cure many medical problems. That is why the discovery that induced embryonic-like stem cells can be created from skin cells (iPS cells) was rewarded with a Nobel Prize in 2012. But the process has remained frustratingly slow and inefficient, and the resulting stem cells are not yet ready for medical use. New research dramatically changes that: Scientists have revealed the "brake" that holds back the production of stem cells, and found that releasing this brake can both synchronize the process and increase its efficiency from around 1% or less today to 100%. These findings may help facilitate the production of stem cells for medical use, as well as advancing our understanding of the mysterious process by which adult cells can revert back into their original, embryonic state.

Four new species of 'legless lizards' discovered living on the edge Posted: 18 Sep 2013 07:18 AM PDT Legless lizards evolved on five continents to burrow in loose soil and sand, but are rarely seen because they live underground. Hence the surprise when biologists found four new species in California, living in marginal areas like downtown Bakersfield, San Joaquin Valley oil fields and west of the runways at the airport. The discovery, which brings the number of species in the state to five, illustrates the undiscovered biodiversity around us.

Nanocrystal catalyst transforms impure hydrogen into electricity Posted: 18 Sep 2013 07:14 AM PDT Scientists have used a simple, 'green' process to create a novel core-shell catalyst that tolerates carbon monoxide in fuel cells and opens new, inexpensive pathways for zero-emission vehicles.

Dinosaur wind tunnel test provides new insight into the evolution of bird flight Posted: 18 Sep 2013 06:05 AM PDT A study into the aerodynamic performance of feathered dinosaurs has provided new insight into the evolution of bird flight. In recent years, new fossil discoveries have changed our view of the early evolution of birds and, more critically, their powers of flight. We now know about a number of small-bodied dinosaurs that had feathers on their wings as well as on their legs and tails: completely unique in the fossil record.

Young stars cooking in the Prawn Nebula Posted: 18 Sep 2013 06:05 AM PDT The glowing jumble of gas clouds visible in a new image make up a huge stellar nursery nicknamed the Prawn Nebula. Taken using the VLT Survey Telescope at ESO's Paranal Observatory in Chile, this may well be the sharpest picture ever taken of this object. It shows clumps of hot new-born stars nestled in among the clouds that make up the nebula.

Uncovering cancer's inner workings by capturing live images of growing tumors Posted: 17 Sep 2013 01:17 PM PDT Scientists seeking new ways to fight cancer often try to understand the subtle, often invisible, changes to DNA, proteins, cells, and tissue that alter the body's normal biology and cause disease. Now, to aid in that fight, a team of researchers has developed a sophisticated new optical imaging tool that enables scientists to look deep within tumors and uncover their inner workings.

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