ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Signalers vs. strong silent types: Sparrows exude personalities during fights
• Expedition yields unexpected clues to ocean mysteries
• Antarctic fjords are climate-sensitive hotspots of diversity in a rapidly warming region
• Domestication of dogs may have elaborated on a pre-existing capacity of wolves to learn from humans
• Gene therapy bolsters enzyme activity to combat Alzheimer's disease in mice
• 'Spooky action' builds a wormhole between 'entangled' quantum particles
• Many patients have trouble identifying their medications
• Tongue-drive wheelchair works better than sip-and-puff system
• Silent stalkers of dark ocean waters: Killer whales hunt marine mammals at night in near total darkness
• Ocean currents shape Jupiter-moon Europa's icy shell in ways critical for potential habitats
• Hubble traces subtle signals of water on hazy worlds
• Alzheimer's risk gene may begin to affect brains in childhood, research shows
• Biology professor finds 'Goldilocks' effect in snail populations
• 1950s pandemic influenza virus remains a health threat, particularly to those under 50
• Nanoscale shape-memory oxide discovered: Opens door to applications in medicine, energy and electronics
• Companies could make the switch to wood power
• Rainfall to blame for decline in Arctic peregrines
• Tipping points: Where may abrupt impacts from climate change occur?
• Obesity, smoking increase risk after immediate breast reconstruction with implants
• Technology could lead to more reliable renewable energy systems
• Catastrophic collapse of Sahara Desert's wildlife
• Tracking fracking pollution
• Manufacturing new gut to treat GI diseases
• Unlikely collaboration leads to discovery of 'gender-bending' plant
• Beetles that live with ants: A remarkably large and colorful new species from Guyane
• Himalayan flowers shed light on climate change
• Continuing with pledge pathways to 2030 could push climate goals out of reach
• Biotemplated design of piezoelectric energy harvesting device developed
• Prenatal exposure to alcohol disrupts brain circuitry: No safe level of drinking during pregnancy, neuroscientist says
• Current sound-localization theories turned 'on their ear'
• New thermoelectronic generator: Heat energy efficiently converted to electricity
• Dual protein knockout could lead to new male contraceptive
• Art could help create a better 'STEM' student
• Our pupils adjust as we imagine bright and dark scenes
• New evidence suggests Neanderthals organized their living spaces
• New research shows promise for possible HIV cure
• London 2012 Velodrome: The role of simulation in the design process
• Face to face with Sweden's social robot
• Talk therapy may reverse biological changes in PTSD patients
• Plastic found to account for the majority of marine microlitter accumulating in the food chain
• Citrus fruit inspires a new energy-absorbing metal structure
• Division of labor in the test tube: Bacteria grow faster if they feed each other
• The secret beauty of the World Wide Web
• Genome for the king cobra sequenced
• Airborne radar looking through thick ice during NASA polar campaigns
• Biologist develops method for monitoring shipping noise in dolphin habitat
• Living desert underground: In perpetual darkness of limestone cave, surprisingly diverse ecosystem of microbes
• Arctic study shows key marine food web species at risk from increasing carbon dioxide
• Optimizing carbon nanotube arrays for use in hot spots
• Researchers revise Darwin's thinking on invasive species
• Biological interactions make some malaria parasites specific to host species

Signalers vs. strong silent types: Sparrows exude personalities during fights Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:00 PM PST Some song sparrows are more effusive than others in defending territory. New findings show consistent individual differences not only for how aggressive individual song sparrows are but also for how much they use signals to communicate aggressive intentions.

Expedition yields unexpected clues to ocean mysteries Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:11 PM PST Geoscientists have revealed new discoveries about Earth's development, following a major international expedition that recovered the first-ever drill core from the lower crust of the Pacific Ocean.

Antarctic fjords are climate-sensitive hotspots of diversity in a rapidly warming region Posted: 03 Dec 2013 04:11 PM PST In the first significant study of seafloor communities in the glacier-dominated fjords along the west Antarctic Peninsula, scientists expected to find an impoverished seafloor highly disturbed by glacial sedimentation, similar to what has been documented in well-studied Arctic regions. Instead, they found high levels of diversity and abundance in megafauna. The difference can be explained by the fact that the subpolar Antarctic is in an earlier stage of climate warming than the Arctic.

Domestication of dogs may have elaborated on a pre-existing capacity of wolves to learn from humans Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:17 PM PST Wolves can learn from observing humans and pack members where food is hidden and recognize when humans only pretend to hide food, reports a new study.

Gene therapy bolsters enzyme activity to combat Alzheimer's disease in mice Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:15 PM PST Scientists have identified an enzyme that can halt or possibly even reverse the build-up of toxic protein fragments known as plaques in the brains of mice with Alzheimer's disease.

'Spooky action' builds a wormhole between 'entangled' quantum particles Posted: 03 Dec 2013 01:15 PM PST New research indicates a phenomenon known as "quantum entanglement" might be intrinsically linked with wormholes, hypothetical features of space-time that could link one part of the universe with another.

Many patients have trouble identifying their medications Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:42 AM PST People who identified their medication by shape, size or color instead of name had poorer adherence and an increased risk of hospitalization, finds a recent study.

Tongue-drive wheelchair works better than sip-and-puff system Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:18 AM PST After a diving accident left Jason DiSanto paralyzed from the neck down in 2009, he had to learn how to navigate life from a powered wheelchair, which he controls with a sip-and-puff system. Users sip or puff air into a straw mounted on their wheelchair to execute four basic commands that drive the chair. But results from a new clinical study offer hope that sip-and-puff users like DiSanto could gain a higher level of independence than offered by this common assistive technology. Researchers found that people with tetraplegia can maneuver a wheelchair better with the Tongue Drive System than with the sip-and-puff system.

Silent stalkers of dark ocean waters: Killer whales hunt marine mammals at night in near total darkness Posted: 03 Dec 2013 11:17 AM PST The mating roar of a male harbor seal is supposed to attract a partner, not a predator. Unfortunately for the seals, scientists have found evidence that marine-mammal-eating killer whales eavesdrop on their prey. Previous research had shown mammal-eating killer whales are nearly silent before making a kill, neither vocalizing nor using their echolocation. The likely reason, researchers say, is the excellent hearing of the seals, porpoises, and other animals the whales stalk.

Ocean currents shape Jupiter-moon Europa's icy shell in ways critical for potential habitats Posted: 03 Dec 2013 10:38 AM PST In a finding of relevance to the search for life in our solar system, researchers have shown the subsurface ocean on Jupiter's moon Europa may have deep currents and circulation patterns with heat and energy transfers capable of sustaining biological life. The findings are based on numerical models accounting for the formation of the chaos terrains, one of Europa's most prominent surface features.

Hubble traces subtle signals of water on hazy worlds Posted: 03 Dec 2013 10:38 AM PST Using the powerful eye of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, scientists have found faint signatures of water in the atmospheres of five distant planets. The presence of atmospheric water was reported previously on a few exoplanets orbiting stars beyond our solar system, but this is the first study to conclusively measure and compare the profiles and intensities of these signatures on multiple worlds.

Alzheimer's risk gene may begin to affect brains in childhood, research shows Posted: 03 Dec 2013 10:38 AM PST People who carry a high-risk gene for Alzheimer's disease show changes in their brains beginning in childhood, decades before the illness appears, new research suggests.

Biology professor finds 'Goldilocks' effect in snail populations Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:49 AM PST A researcher has discovered that a "Goldilocks" effect applies to the reproductive output of a tiny New Zealand snail -- considered a troublesome species in many countries -- that may one day help environmentalists control their spread.

1950s pandemic influenza virus remains a health threat, particularly to those under 50 Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:49 AM PST Scientists have evidence that descendants of the H2N2 avian influenza A virus that killed millions worldwide in the 1950s still pose a threat to human health, particularly to those under 50.

Nanoscale shape-memory oxide discovered: Opens door to applications in medicine, energy and electronics Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:49 AM PST Researchers have discovered a way to introduce a shape memory effect in bismuth ferrite that is larger than any observed in a metal. This discovery opens the door to applications in a wide range of fields, including medical, energy and electronics.

Companies could make the switch to wood power Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:47 AM PST Some companies could economically convert their operations to wood boilers for heat and power, according to a team of forestry researchers.

Rainfall to blame for decline in Arctic peregrines Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:47 AM PST Rain, crucial to sustaining life on Earth, is proving deadly for young peregrine falcons in Canada's Arctic, a new study shows.

Tipping points: Where may abrupt impacts from climate change occur? Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:47 AM PST A new report extends the idea of abrupt climate change, stating that even steady, gradual change in the physical climate system can have abrupt impacts elsewhere -- in human infrastructure and ecosystems for example -- if critical thresholds are crossed.

Obesity, smoking increase risk after immediate breast reconstruction with implants Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:47 AM PST New research findings confirm that factors such as smoking and obesity increase the odds of early implant loss in women who undergo mastectomy and immediate breast reconstruction with implants.

Technology could lead to more reliable renewable energy systems Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:45 AM PST Renewable energy sources such as wind-powered generators can be more reliable and efficient by better controlling the process of getting electricity onto the power grid, according to new research.

Catastrophic collapse of Sahara Desert's wildlife Posted: 03 Dec 2013 09:45 AM PST A new study warns that the world's largest tropical desert, the Sahara, has suffered a catastrophic collapse of its wildlife populations.

Tracking fracking pollution Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:22 AM PST A team of geochemistry researchers has just completed the first detailed study to examine the natural quality of groundwater prior to fracking.

Manufacturing new gut to treat GI diseases Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:22 AM PST Researchers grow extensive numbers of intestinal stem cells, then coax them to develop into different types of mature intestinal cells.

Unlikely collaboration leads to discovery of 'gender-bending' plant Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:22 AM PST Biologists have discovered and described a new species of wild eggplant, found in Australia's Lost City. The plant is curiously described as "gender bending," coming from the fact that the females actually pretend to be male by producing pollen.

Beetles that live with ants: A remarkably large and colorful new species from Guyane Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:22 AM PST The Pseudomorphini Tribe of the Family Carabidae is a group of extraordinary beetles reported to live with ants in the soil and in the rainforest canopy. Mostly dull colored and relatively small, scientists discovered the first species in the Western Hemisphere to astonish with great size and beautiful color pattern, more typical for representatives from Australia.

Himalayan flowers shed light on climate change Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:03 AM PST Flower color in some parts of the world, including the Himalayas, has evolved to attract bees as pollinators, research has shown for the first time.

Continuing with pledge pathways to 2030 could push climate goals out of reach Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:03 AM PST Current pledges for greenhouse gas emission reductions are inadequate and will further increase the challenge to reach internationally agreed climate targets, according to new research.

Biotemplated design of piezoelectric energy harvesting device developed Posted: 03 Dec 2013 08:03 AM PST Scientists have developed a biotemplated design for a flexible piezoelectric energy harvesting device, called a "nanogenerator."

Prenatal exposure to alcohol disrupts brain circuitry: No safe level of drinking during pregnancy, neuroscientist says Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:59 AM PST Prenatal exposure to alcohol severely disrupts major features of brain development that potentially lead to increased anxiety and poor motor function, conditions typical in humans with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, say neuroscientists.

Current sound-localization theories turned 'on their ear' Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:59 AM PST New research challenges the two dominant theories of how people localize sounds, explains why neuronal responses to sounds are so diverse and shows how sound can be localized, even with the absence of one half of the brain.

New thermoelectronic generator: Heat energy efficiently converted to electricity Posted: 03 Dec 2013 07:59 AM PST Through a process known as thermionic conversion, heat energy can be converted into electricity with very high efficiency. Because of its promise, researchers have been trying for more than half a century to develop a practical thermionic generator, with little luck. That luck may soon change, thanks to a new design -- dubbed a thermoelectronic generator.

Dual protein knockout could lead to new male contraceptive Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST A new male contraceptive could be on the horizon after scientists identified a novel way to block the transport of sperm during ejaculation.

Art could help create a better 'STEM' student Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST Scientists have focused on how to incorporate creativity into STEM education with the implication that doing so will increase the quality of STEM graduates. STEM studies are about problem solving, and creative endeavors are exercises in problem solving, experts say.

Our pupils adjust as we imagine bright and dark scenes Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST Conjuring up a visual image in the mind -- like a sunny day or a night sky -- has a corresponding effect on the size of our pupils, as if we were actually seeing the image.

New evidence suggests Neanderthals organized their living spaces Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST Scientists have found that Neanderthals organized their living spaces in ways that would be familiar to modern humans, a discovery that once again shows similarities between these two close cousins.

New research shows promise for possible HIV cure Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:16 AM PST Researchers have used radioimmunotherapy to destroy remaining human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected cells in the blood samples of patients treated with antiretroviral therapy, offering the promise of a strategy for curing HIV infection.

London 2012 Velodrome: The role of simulation in the design process Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:15 AM PST Whilst stadia preparations for the upcoming 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, and 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar come under intense scrutiny, we look back at how the 2012 Summer Olympics in London got it right – by incorporating simulation into the design process of the highly acclaimed velodrome.

Face to face with Sweden's social robot Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:15 AM PST Human interaction with robots is about to get a little more personal. Meet "Furhat," the face of tomorrow's interactive technology.

Talk therapy may reverse biological changes in PTSD patients Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST New research suggests that cognitive behavioral therapy for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) not only reduces symptoms but also affects the underlying biology of this disorder.

Plastic found to account for the majority of marine microlitter accumulating in the food chain Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST Researchers have demonstrated that microplastics are transferred in the marine food web. The study also provided additional support to suspicions that many plankton organisms are unable to separate plastic particles from their natural food and that they therefore also ingest plastic.

Citrus fruit inspires a new energy-absorbing metal structure Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST It has been said that nature provides us with everything that we need. A new study may lend credence to that claim. Researchers have developed an aluminum hybrid that could be used to optimize technical components and safety materials. And the inspiration came from an unexpected source - the peel of the pomelo fruit (Citrus maxima). Pomelo fruits have a mass of one to two kilograms, but are able to withstand impact forces resulting from falls of over 10 meters. The fruit's impact resistance is mainly due to the hierarchical structuring of the peel, which is made up of a graded, fiber-reinforced foam. The new aluminum hybrid is the product of a bio-inspired approach, combining metals with different mechanical properties that reflect these naturally occurring structures and mimic the strength of the pomelo peel.

Division of labor in the test tube: Bacteria grow faster if they feed each other Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:14 AM PST The division of labor is more efficient than a struggle through life without help from others -- this is also true for microorganisms. Researchers came to this conclusion when they performed experiments with microbes. The scientists worked with bacteria that were deficient in the production of a certain amino acid and therefore depended on a partner to provide the missing nutrient.

The secret beauty of the World Wide Web Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:07 AM PST From a distance, these newly created visualizations look likes stars exploding, fireworks or simply striking patterns -- but what you're actually looking at are the hidden dimensions of the World Wide Web.

Genome for the king cobra sequenced Posted: 03 Dec 2013 06:07 AM PST Biologists who have recently sequenced the genome of the king cobra, say that their work reveals dynamic evolution and adaptation in the snake venom system, which seemingly occurs in response to an evolutionary arms race between venomous snakes and their prey.

Airborne radar looking through thick ice during NASA polar campaigns Posted: 02 Dec 2013 02:20 PM PST The bedrock hidden beneath the thick ice sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica has intrigued researchers for years. Scientists are interested in how the shape of this hidden terrain affects how ice moves -- a key factor in making predictions about the future of these massive ice reservoirs and their contribution to sea level rise in a changing climate.

Biologist develops method for monitoring shipping noise in dolphin habitat Posted: 02 Dec 2013 02:20 PM PST A biologist has developed a system of techniques for tracking ships and monitoring underwater noise levels in a protected marine mammal habitat. The research focused on the bottlenose dolphin population in Scotland's Moray Firth.

Living desert underground: In perpetual darkness of limestone cave, surprisingly diverse ecosystem of microbes Posted: 02 Dec 2013 01:22 PM PST Researchers have discovered a surprisingly diverse ecosystem of microbes in a limestone cave near Tucson, Arizona, eking out a living from not much more than drip water, rock and air. The discovery not only expands our understanding of how microbes manage to colonize every niche on the planet but also could lead to applications ranging from environmental cleanup solutions to drug development.

Arctic study shows key marine food web species at risk from increasing carbon dioxide Posted: 02 Dec 2013 01:21 PM PST A research expedition to the Arctic, as part of the Catlin Arctic Survey, has revealed that tiny crustaceans, known as copepods, that live just beneath the ocean surface are likely to battle for survival if ocean acidity continues to rise. The study found that copepods that move large distances, migrating vertically across a wide range of pH conditions, have a better chance of surviving.

Optimizing carbon nanotube arrays for use in hot spots Posted: 02 Dec 2013 01:21 PM PST Experimental evidence and computer simulations suggest how to grow structures with the best trade offs between three desired characteristics: strength, flexibility and the ability to dissipate heat.

Researchers revise Darwin's thinking on invasive species Posted: 02 Dec 2013 01:21 PM PST Rebutting Charles Darwin, researchers say the relatedness of native and introduced species is not as important as the details of how they go about doing their business. The model they've developed in analyzing Darwin's "naturalization conundrum" could lead to a new way of gauging the potential of invasive species, a major ecological and economic concern as plants and animals have spread into new habitats around the planet.

Biological interactions make some malaria parasites specific to host species Posted: 02 Dec 2013 01:19 PM PST Researchers have discovered why the parasite that causes the deadliest form of malaria only infects humans.

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