ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

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• Evidence of past Southern hemisphere rainfall cycles related to Antarctic temperatures
• Power generation is blowing in the wind
• Neutron scattering provides window into surface interactions
• Fruit flies watch the sky to stay on course
• Ice age findings forecast problems: Data from end of last Ice Age confirm effects of climate change on oceans
• Ten-second dance of electrons is step toward exotic new computers
• Solutions for a nitrogen-soaked world
• Gossip can have social and psychological benefits
• 'Green' pesticide effective against citrus pests
• Greater brain activation after cognitive rehabilitation for MS
• A first: Brain support cells from umbilical cord stem cells
• Biologists replicate key evolutionary step
• The illusion of courage: Why people mispredict their behavior in embarrassing situations
• Natural enzyme provides potential new approach for treating graft-vs.-host disease
• Study reveals origins of esophageal cancer
• The perfect liquid -- now even more perfect

Evidence of past Southern hemisphere rainfall cycles related to Antarctic temperatures Posted: 17 Jan 2012 01:16 PM PST Geoscientists have published the first evidence that warm-cold climate oscillations well known in the Northern Hemisphere over the most recent glacial period also appear as tropical rainfall variations in the Amazon Basin of South America. It is the first clear expression of these cycles in the Southern hemisphere.

Power generation is blowing in the wind Posted: 17 Jan 2012 01:16 PM PST By looking at the stability of the atmosphere, wind farm operators could gain greater insight into the amount of power generated at any given time. Power generated by a wind turbine largely depends on the wind speed. In a wind farm in which the turbines experience the same wind speeds but different shapes (such as turbulence) to the wind profile, a turbine will produce different amounts of power.

Neutron scattering provides window into surface interactions Posted: 17 Jan 2012 01:15 PM PST To better understand the fundamental behavior of molecules at surfaces, researchers are combining the powers of neutron scattering with chemical analysis.

Fruit flies watch the sky to stay on course Posted: 17 Jan 2012 01:14 PM PST New research demonstrates that fruit flies keep their bearings by using the polarization pattern of natural skylight, bolstering the belief that many, if not all, insects have that capability.

Ice age findings forecast problems: Data from end of last Ice Age confirm effects of climate change on oceans Posted: 17 Jan 2012 01:14 PM PST Data from end of the last Ice Age confirm effects of climate change on oceans The first comprehensive study of changes in the oxygenation of oceans at the end of the last Ice Age (between about 10 to 20,000 years ago) has implications for the future of our oceans under global warming.

Ten-second dance of electrons is step toward exotic new computers Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:52 AM PST Scientists have achieved a 100-fold increase in the ability to maintain control the spins of electrons in a solid material, a key step in the development of ultrafast quantum computers.

Solutions for a nitrogen-soaked world Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:51 AM PST Nitrogen is both an essential nutrient and a pollutant, a byproduct of fossil fuel combustion and a fertilizer that feeds billions, a benefit and a hazard, depending on form, location, and quantity. Agriculture, industry and transportation have spread nitrogen liberally around the planet, say scientists with complex and interrelated consequences for human and ecological health.

Gossip can have social and psychological benefits Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:51 AM PST For centuries, gossip has been dismissed as salacious, idle chatter that can damage reputations and erode trust. But a new study suggests rumor-mongering can have positive outcomes such as helping us police bad behavior, prevent exploitation and lower stress.

'Green' pesticide effective against citrus pests Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:51 AM PST Researchers have discovered a key amino acid essential for human nutrition is also an effective insecticide against caterpillars that threaten the citrus industry.

Greater brain activation after cognitive rehabilitation for MS Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:50 AM PST Scientists have documented increased cerebral activation in patients with multiple sclerosis following memory retraining using modified Story Memory Technique. This study is the first to demonstrate that behavioral interventions can have a positive effect on brain function in MS, an important step in validating the clinical utility of cognitive rehabilitation.

A first: Brain support cells from umbilical cord stem cells Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:43 AM PST For the first time ever, stem cells from umbilical cords have been converted into other types of cells, which may eventually lead to new treatment options for spinal cord injuries and multiple sclerosis, among other nervous system diseases.

Biologists replicate key evolutionary step Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:43 AM PST More than 500 million years ago, single-celled organisms on the Earth's surface began forming multicellular clusters that ultimately became plants and animals. Just how that happened is a question that has eluded evolutionary biologists.

The illusion of courage: Why people mispredict their behavior in embarrassing situations Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:42 AM PST Whether it's investing in stocks, bungee jumping or public speaking, why do we often plan to take risks but then "chicken out" when the moment of truth arrives? Scientists argue that this "illusion of courage" is one example of an "empathy gap" -- that is, our inability to imagine how we will behave in future emotional situations.

Natural enzyme provides potential new approach for treating graft-vs.-host disease Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:42 AM PST A natural enzyme derived from human blood plasma showed potential in significantly reducing the effects of graft-vs.-host disease, a common and deadly side effect of lifesaving bone marrow transplants.

Study reveals origins of esophageal cancer Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:40 AM PST Researchers have identified the critical early cellular and molecular events that give rise to a type of esophageal cancer called esophageal adenocarcinoma, the fastest-rising solid tumor in the United States. The findings challenge conventional wisdom regarding the origin and development of this deadly cancer and its precursor lesion, Barrett's esophagus, and highlight possible targets for new clinical therapies.

The perfect liquid -- now even more perfect Posted: 17 Jan 2012 11:35 AM PST How liquid can a fluid be? This is a question particle physicists have been working on. The "most perfect liquid" is nothing like water, but the extremely hot quark-gluon-plasma which is produced in heavy-ion collisions at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. New theoretical results show that this quark-gluon plasma could be even less viscous than was deemed possible by previous theories.

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