ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Carbon capture and storage: An inside look at a metal-organic framework (MOF) in action
• Biodiversity higher in the tropics, but species more likely to arise at higher latitudes
• Powerful tool for genetic engineering
• Pre-industrial rise in greenhouse gases had natural and anthropogenic causes
• Copper promises cheaper, sturdier fuel cells
• Sea level rise forecasts helped by insights into glacier melting
• Expert assessment: Sea-level rise could exceed one meter in this century
• Decoding, oral comprehension, vocabulary: Three key literacy skills for primary schools in priority areas
• College students more likely to be lawbreakers if spanked as children
• Smaller islands host shorter food chains
• Archaeologists discover largest, oldest wine cellar in Near East: 3,700 year-old store room held 2,000 liters of strong, sweet wine
• Artificial skin created using stem cells from the umbilical cord
• Colossal new predatory dino terrorized early tyrannosaurs
• Frequent breaks from sedentary behavior makes kids healthier
• PTSD raises risk for obesity in women
• Long-term unemployment may accelerate aging in men
• Current practice may over-diagnose vitamin D deficiency
• Brain still injured from concussion after symptoms fade
• Connections in children's brains strengthen during sleep

Carbon capture and storage: An inside look at a metal-organic framework (MOF) in action Posted: 22 Nov 2013 10:24 AM PST A unique inside look at the electronic structure of a highly touted metal-organic framework (MOF) as it is adsorbing carbon dioxide gas should help in the design of new and improved MOFs for carbon capture and storage.

Biodiversity higher in the tropics, but species more likely to arise at higher latitudes Posted: 22 Nov 2013 10:24 AM PST A study of 2300 species of mammals and 6700 species of birds helps explain why there are more species in the tropics than at higher latitudes. Researchers found that while the tropics harbor more species, the number of subspecies increases in the harsher environments typical of higher latitudes. The results suggest that the latitudinal diversity gradient may be due higher species turnover -- speciation counterbalanced by extinction -- towards the poles than near the equator.

Powerful tool for genetic engineering Posted: 22 Nov 2013 08:27 AM PST Viruses cannot only cause illnesses in humans, they also infect bacteria. Those protect themselves with a kind of "immune system" which -- simply put -- consists of specific sequences in the genetic material of the bacteria and a suitable enzyme. Scientists have now shown that the dual-RNA guided enzyme Cas9 which is involved in the process has developed independently in various strains of bacteria.

Pre-industrial rise in greenhouse gases had natural and anthropogenic causes Posted: 22 Nov 2013 07:39 AM PST For years scientists have intensely argued over whether increases of potent methane gas concentrations in the atmosphere -- from about 5,000 years ago to the start of the industrial revolution -- were triggered by natural causes or human activities. A new study suggests the increase in methane likely was caused by both. A new study, published Friday in the journal Science, suggests the increase in methane likely was caused by both.

Copper promises cheaper, sturdier fuel cells Posted: 22 Nov 2013 07:39 AM PST Chemists are exploring the use of copper nanowires in fuel cells to convert solar energy into storable fuel. Copper nanowire catalysts cost less to produce than their indium tin oxide counterparts because they can be "printed" on pieces of glass or plastic in a liquid ink form, using a machine that functions much like a printing press. The nanowires can also be incorporated into transparent, flexible films.

Sea level rise forecasts helped by insights into glacier melting Posted: 22 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST Predictions of sea level rise could become more accurate, thanks to new insight into how glacier movement is affected by melting ice in summer.

Expert assessment: Sea-level rise could exceed one meter in this century Posted: 22 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST Sea-level rise in this century is likely to be 70-120 centimeters by 2100 if greenhouse-gas emissions are not mitigated, a broad assessment of the most active scientific publishers on that topic has revealed. The 90 experts participating in the survey anticipate a median sea-level rise of 200-300 centimeters by the year 2300 for a scenario with unmitigated emissions.

Decoding, oral comprehension, vocabulary: Three key literacy skills for primary schools in priority areas Posted: 22 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST What types of skills do first-year primary school children in education priority areas need most to learn to read? To find out, scientists conducted a study of 394 children at the end of their first year of school. The results show that, of all the factors involved in their reading comprehension skills, three played a predominant role: decoding ability, oral comprehension and vocabulary.

College students more likely to be lawbreakers if spanked as children Posted: 22 Nov 2013 07:36 AM PST No matter where they live in the world, university students who were spanked as children are more likely to engage in criminal behavior, according to new research. Even young adults whose parents were generally loving and helpful as they were growing up showed higher rates of criminal behavior.

Smaller islands host shorter food chains Posted: 22 Nov 2013 05:45 AM PST That smaller islands will typically sustain fewer species than large ones is a widespread pattern in nature. Now a team of researchers shows that smaller area will mean not only fewer species, but also shorter food chains. This implies that plant and animal communities on small islands may work differently from those on large ones.

Archaeologists discover largest, oldest wine cellar in Near East: 3,700 year-old store room held 2,000 liters of strong, sweet wine Posted: 22 Nov 2013 05:45 AM PST Archaeologists have unearthed what may be the oldest -- and largest -- ancient wine cellar in the Near East, containing 40 jars, each of which would have held 50 liters of strong, sweet wine.

Artificial skin created using stem cells from the umbilical cord Posted: 22 Nov 2013 05:44 AM PST An important scientific breakthrough will aid the immediate use of artificially-grown skin for major burn patients, since the skin could be stored in tissue banks and made available when needed.

Colossal new predatory dino terrorized early tyrannosaurs Posted: 22 Nov 2013 05:42 AM PST A new species of carnivorous dinosaur – one of the three largest ever discovered in North America – lived alongside and competed with small-bodied tyrannosaurs 98 million years ago. Siats meekerorum, (pronounced see-atch) was the apex predator of its time.

Frequent breaks from sedentary behavior makes kids healthier Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:24 PM PST This study suggests that frequent interruptions in children's sedentary time -- or the number of times children got up, rather than the duration of the break -- can have a positive impact on reducing global health risks.

PTSD raises risk for obesity in women Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:23 PM PST Women with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) gain weight more rapidly and are more likely to be overweight or obese than women without the disorder, find researchers. It is the first study to look at the relationship between PTSD and obesity over time.

Long-term unemployment may accelerate aging in men Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:23 PM PST Men who are unemployed for more than two years show signs of faster aging in their DNA, a new study has found.

Current practice may over-diagnose vitamin D deficiency Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:23 PM PST The current "gold standard" test for measuring vitamin D status may not accurately diagnose vitamin D deficiency in black individuals. A team of researchers has found that genetic differences in a vitamin D carrier protein may explain the discrepancy between the prevalence of diagnosed vitamin D deficiency in black Americans and a lack of the usual symptoms of vitamin deficiency.

Brain still injured from concussion after symptoms fade Posted: 20 Nov 2013 04:21 PM PST After a mild concussion, special brain scans show evidence of brain abnormalities four months later, when symptoms from the concussion have mostly dissipated, according to research published.

Connections in children's brains strengthen during sleep Posted: 20 Nov 2013 12:52 PM PST While young children sleep, connections between the left and the right hemispheres of their brain strengthen, which may help brain functions mature, according to a new study.

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