ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• Why it snows so much in the frozen north
• Researchers grow liquid crystal 'flowers' that can be used as lenses
• Starless cloud cores reveal why some stars are bigger than others
• 91 new species described by California Academy Of Sciences in 2013
• Birth of black hole kills the radio star
• Scientists discover how immune cells die during HIV infection; Identify potential drug to block AIDS
• New evidence that computers change the way we learn

Why it snows so much in the frozen north Posted: 20 Dec 2013 05:06 PM PST Scientists have long puzzled over the seemingly ceaseless drizzle of snow drifting down from arctic clouds. Now they may have an explanation.

Researchers grow liquid crystal 'flowers' that can be used as lenses Posted: 20 Dec 2013 12:45 PM PST A team of material scientists, chemical engineers and physicists has made another advance in their effort to use liquid crystals as a medium for assembling structures. Their earlier studies produced patterns of "defects," useful disruptions in the repeating patterns found in liquid crystals, in nanoscale grids and rings. The new study adds a more complex pattern out of an even simpler template: a three-dimensional array shaped like a flower.

Starless cloud cores reveal why some stars are bigger than others Posted: 20 Dec 2013 11:35 AM PST Massive stars -- those at least 8 times the mass of our Sun -- present an intriguing mystery: how do they grow so large when the vast majority of stars in the Milky Way are considerably smaller? Massive stars -- those at least 8 times the mass of our Sun -- present an intriguing mystery: how do they grow so large when the vast majority of stars in the Milky Way are considerably smaller? To find the answer, astronomers used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array telescope to survey the cores of some of the darkest, coldest, and densest clouds in our Galaxy to search for the telltale signs of star formation.

91 new species described by California Academy Of Sciences in 2013 Posted: 20 Dec 2013 09:10 AM PST In 2013, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences discovered 91 new plant and animal species and two new genera, enriching our understanding of the complex web of life on Earth and strengthening our ability to make informed conservation decisions. The new species, previously unknown to science, include 38 different ants, 12 fishes, 14 plants, eight beetles, two spiders, one reptile, and one amphibian.

Birth of black hole kills the radio star Posted: 20 Dec 2013 08:40 AM PST Astronomers have discovered a new population of exploding stars that "switch off" their radio transmissions before collapsing into a Black Hole. These exploding stars use all of their energy to emit one last strong beam of highly energetic radiation -- known as a gamma-ray burst -- before they die.

Scientists discover how immune cells die during HIV infection; Identify potential drug to block AIDS Posted: 19 Dec 2013 11:22 AM PST Research has identified the chain of molecular events that drives the death of the immune system's CD4 T cells as an HIV infection leads to AIDS. Further, they have identified an existing anti-inflammatory drug that blocks the death of these cells -- and now are planning a Phase 2 clinical trial to determine if it can prevent HIV-infected people from developing AIDS.

New evidence that computers change the way we learn Posted: 19 Dec 2013 10:07 AM PST People who use computers regularly are constantly mapping the movements of their hand and computer mouse to the cursor on the screen. Now, researchers have shown that all that pointing and clicking (the average computer user performs an impressive 7,400 mouse clicks per week) changes the way the brain generalizes movements.

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