ScienceDaily: Top News

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• How to be winner in the game of evolution
• Study of microbes reveals new insight about Earth's geology, carbon cycles
• Giant Middle East dust storm caused by a changing climate, not human conflict
• Deep mantle chemistry surprise: Carbon content not uniform
• Large scale study highlights challenges faced by children with ASD in early school years
• Magnesium is ready for take off
• Multiregional brain on a chip
• 3D scans for the automotive industry
• New pest threatens crops in West Africa
• Chemist develops new theory for explaining the function of proteins
• Crystallography: Electron diffraction locates hydrogen atoms
• Diagnostic breakthrough: 'Shaking piglets' attributed to previously unidentified virus
• Clean-fuel cookstoves may improve cardiovascular health in pregnant women

How to be winner in the game of evolution Posted: 13 Jan 2017 04:44 PM PST A new study helps explain why different groups of animals differ dramatically in their number of species, and how this is related to differences in their body forms and ways of life.

Study of microbes reveals new insight about Earth's geology, carbon cycles Posted: 13 Jan 2017 04:41 PM PST Tiny microbes play a big role in cycling carbon and other key elements through our air, water, soil and sediment. Researchers who study these processes have discovered that these microbial communities are significantly affected by the types of carbon "food" sources available. Their findings reveal that the type of carbon source affects not only the composition and activity of natural microbial communities, but also in turn the types of mineral products that form in their environment.

Giant Middle East dust storm caused by a changing climate, not human conflict Posted: 13 Jan 2017 12:54 PM PST Researchers have concluded that the most likely cause of a giant dust storm that struck the Middle East in 2015 was climate and unusual weather rather than conflict.

Deep mantle chemistry surprise: Carbon content not uniform Posted: 13 Jan 2017 12:54 PM PST Even though carbon is one of the most-abundant elements on Earth, it is actually very difficult to determine how much of it exists below the surface in Earth's interior. Analysis of crystals containing completely enclosed mantle magma with its original carbon content preserved has doubled the world's known finds of mantle carbon.

Large scale study highlights challenges faced by children with ASD in early school years Posted: 13 Jan 2017 12:48 PM PST New research outlined in a report stems from one of the largest studies on young children with ASD as they transition into school.

Magnesium is ready for take off Posted: 13 Jan 2017 12:47 PM PST Researchers are hoping to transform the fortunes of magnesium this year, by showcasing it as a viable alternative for luxury car makers and the aerospace industry.

Multiregional brain on a chip Posted: 13 Jan 2017 08:59 AM PST A multiregional brain-on-a-chip that models the connectivity between three distinct regions of the brain has been revealed by researchers. The in vitro model was used to extensively characterize the differences between neurons from different regions of the brain and to mimic the system's connectivity.

3D scans for the automotive industry Posted: 13 Jan 2017 08:59 AM PST The variety of car models has increased significantly over the past decades. Take Volkswagen: In 1950, the automaker produced just two model ranges – the Beetle and the transporter. Long gone are the times when one factory fabricated the same car for years on end. There is a trend towards more frequent model changes and smaller volumes. A car factory with just one production line suitable to manufacture multiple models is what the future will look like.

New pest threatens crops in West Africa Posted: 13 Jan 2017 08:59 AM PST The moth Spodoptera frugiperda, commonly known as fall armyworm moth, was first registered in Africa in 2016. It is not certain how it arrived, but DNA-analyses show that it is likely to have been more than an introduction. The species is a native of Latin America where it is a well-known pest. It can attack more than 80 different plant species, including important crops such as maize, rice, sugarcane, sorghum, grains and other plants in the grass family.

Chemist develops new theory for explaining the function of proteins Posted: 13 Jan 2017 06:40 AM PST A chemist and a collaborator have developed a new theory for explaining how proteins and other biomolecules function based on movement and change of shape and structure rather than content.

Crystallography: Electron diffraction locates hydrogen atoms Posted: 13 Jan 2017 06:04 AM PST Diffraction-based analytical methods are widely used in laboratories, but they struggle to study samples that are smaller than a micrometer in size. Researchers have nevertheless been successful in using electron diffraction to reveal the structure of nanocrystals.

Diagnostic breakthrough: 'Shaking piglets' attributed to previously unidentified virus Posted: 13 Jan 2017 06:04 AM PST Symptoms of tremors and shaking in newborn piglets are not a sign that the animals are cold, but rather that they are suffering from a specific viral infection. Researchers have now been able to prove this correlation for the first time using a newly developed test. The scientists detected a previously unknown virus, termed atypical porcine pestivirus (APPV), in "shaking piglets", making it possible to clearly diagnose the potentially fatal disease.

Clean-fuel cookstoves may improve cardiovascular health in pregnant women Posted: 13 Jan 2017 05:59 AM PST Replacing biomass and kerosene cookstoves used throughout the developing world with clean-burning ethanol stoves may reduce hypertension and cardiovascular risk in pregnant women, according to new research.

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