ScienceDaily: Top News

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• Scents that are sent: oPhone delivers aromas
• How chronic stress predisposes brain to mental disorders
• No clowning around: Juggling sheds light on how we run
• Child abuse rises with income inequality
• Nanoparticles treat muscular dystrophy in mice
• Apollo reflectors performance: Source of 'full moon curse' revealed by eclipse
• Excess weight linked to brain changes that may relate to memory, emotions, and appetite
• Hacking the environment: Bringing biodiversity hardware into the open
• Are wind farms changing Europe's climate?
• Blinded by speed, tiger beetles use antennae to 'see' while running
• NASA spacecraft get a 360-degree view of Saturn's auroras
• Urban bees using plastic to build hives
• Small families, big houses: Population bomb may be defused, but research reveals ticking household bomb
• First 3-D movies of living sperm help doctors select best for IVF
• After committing a crime, guilt and shame predict re-offense
• Molecular collisions now imaged better than ever
• Fish living near the equator will not thrive in the warmer oceans of the future
• How to make the wonder material graphene superconducting
• Males and females differ in specific brain structures
• Revolutionary new view on heritability in plants: Complex heritable traits not only determined by changes in DNA sequence
• Better RNA interference, inspired by nature: New nanoparticles offer best-ever gene silencing
• Lactate and brain function: How the body regulates fundamental neuro-hormone
• Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence
• How our brain networks: White matter 'scaffold' of human brain revealed
• Is an earthquake behind the Shroud of Turin image? Radiation from earthquake could have led to 'wrong' 1988 dating
• 'Smelling' with our eyes: Descriptions affect odor perception
• Eat spinach or eggs for faster reflexes: Tyrosine helps you stop faster
• Helical electron and nuclear spin order in quantum wires
• Why white dots appear larger than equal size black dots: How Galileo's visual illusion works in the mind's eye
• California drought similar to historic drought in Texas
• Cars, computers, TVs spark obesity in developing countries

Scents that are sent: oPhone delivers aromas Posted: 11 Feb 2014 01:25 PM PST A technological breakthrough is on the horizon: a new kind of smart phone that sends scents. Scientists have created the oPhone, which will allow odors -- oNotes -- to be sent, via Bluetooth and smartphone attachments, to oPhones across the state, country or ocean, where the recipient can enjoy American Beauties or any other variety of rose.

How chronic stress predisposes brain to mental disorders Posted: 11 Feb 2014 12:35 PM PST Biologists have shown in rats that chronic stress makes stem cells in the brain produce more myelin-producing cells and fewer neurons, possibly affecting the speed of connections between cells as well as memory and learning. This could explain why stress leads to mental illness, such as PTSD, anxiety and mood disorders, later in life.

No clowning around: Juggling sheds light on how we run Posted: 11 Feb 2014 10:30 AM PST Juggling may seem like mere entertainment, but a study led by engineers used this circus skill to gather critical clues about how vision and the sense of touch help control the way humans and animals move their limbs in a repetitive way, such as in running. The findings eventually may aid in the treatment of people with neurological diseases and could lead to prosthetic limbs and robots that move more efficiently.

Child abuse rises with income inequality Posted: 11 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST As the Great Recession deepened and income inequality became more pronounced, county-by-county rates of child maltreatment -- from sexual, physical and emotional abuse to traumatic brain injuries and death -- worsened, according to a nationwide study.

Nanoparticles treat muscular dystrophy in mice Posted: 11 Feb 2014 10:29 AM PST Researchers have demonstrated a new approach to treating muscular dystrophy. Mice with a form of this muscle-weakening disease showed improved strength and heart function when treated with nanoparticles loaded with rapamycin, an immunosuppressive drug recently found to improve recycling of cellular waste.

Apollo reflectors performance: Source of 'full moon curse' revealed by eclipse Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:18 AM PST Signals bounced off reflectors on the lunar surface return surprisingly faint echoes on full moon nights. Scientists think it's the result of uneven heating of the reflective lenses, which would alter their refractive index, dispersing the return beam, and they found compelling evidence for this explanation during an eclipse as Earth's shadow passed over each reflector in turn.

Excess weight linked to brain changes that may relate to memory, emotions, and appetite Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:18 AM PST Being overweight appears related to reduced levels of a molecule that reflects brain cell health in the hippocampus, a part of the brain involved in memory, learning, and emotions, and likely also involved in appetite control, according to a new study.

Hacking the environment: Bringing biodiversity hardware into the open Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:18 AM PST New technologies are changing the way we collect biodiversity data, providing low-cost and customizable alternative to expensive proprietary data loggers and sensors. A new article describes the construction of a data-logger using the Arduino platform in the hope of encouraging the adoption of new data collection technologies by biodiversity scientists and fostering new collaborations with both electronics hobbyists and electronical engineers.

Are wind farms changing Europe's climate? Posted: 11 Feb 2014 09:18 AM PST The development of wind farms in Europe only has an extremely limited impact on the climate at the continental scale, and this will remain true until at least 2020. These are the main conclusions of a new study.

Blinded by speed, tiger beetles use antennae to 'see' while running Posted: 11 Feb 2014 08:37 AM PST Speed is blinding. Just ask the tiger beetle: This predatory insect has excellent sight, but when it chases prey, it runs so fast it can no longer see where it's going.

NASA spacecraft get a 360-degree view of Saturn's auroras Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:38 AM PST NASA trained several pairs of eyes on Saturn as the planet put on a dancing light show at its poles. While NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, orbiting around Earth, was able to observe the northern auroras in ultraviolet wavelengths, NASA's Cassini spacecraft, orbiting around Saturn, got complementary close-up views in infrared, visible-light and ultraviolet wavelengths. Cassini could also see northern and southern parts of Saturn that don't face Earth.

Urban bees using plastic to build hives Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:33 AM PST Once the snow melts, bees will be back in business -- pollinating, making honey and keeping busy doing bee things. For at least two urban bee species, that means making nests out of plastic waste. A new study reveals that some bees use bits of plastic bags and plastic building materials to construct their nests.

Small families, big houses: Population bomb may be defused, but research reveals ticking household bomb Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:33 AM PST After decades of fretting about population explosion, scientists are pointing to a long-term hidden global menace. The household. More specifically, the household explosion.

First 3-D movies of living sperm help doctors select best for IVF Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:33 AM PST Doctors may soon have a new technique to help them sort the good sperm cells from the less viable ones: a tracking system that takes 3-D movies of living sperm. In addition to showing the sperm's movement and behavior in real time, the novel method simultaneously provides detailed 3-D imaging of the sperm's form and structure to detect potential infertility-causing anomalies.

After committing a crime, guilt and shame predict re-offense Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:33 AM PST Within three years of being released from jail, two out of every three inmates in the US wind up behind bars again -- a problem that contributes to the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. New research suggests that the degree to which inmates' express guilt or shame may provide an indicator of how likely they are to re-offend.

Molecular collisions now imaged better than ever Posted: 11 Feb 2014 07:31 AM PST Molecular physicists have produced images of the changes in direction of colliding nitrogen monoxide molecules (NO) with unprecedented sharpness. By combining a Stark decelerator with advanced imaging techniques, they were able to obtain very high resolution images of the collision processes.

Fish living near the equator will not thrive in the warmer oceans of the future Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:43 AM PST According to an international team of researchers, the rapid pace of climate change is threatening the future presence of fish near the equator.

How to make the wonder material graphene superconducting Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:42 AM PST Whenever a new material is discovered, scientists are eager to find out whether or not it can be superconducting. This applies particularly to the wonder material graphene. Now scientists have unveiled the superconducting pairing mechanism in calcium doped graphene using the ARPES method.

Males and females differ in specific brain structures Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:42 AM PST Reviewing over 20 years of neuroscience research into sex differences in brain structure, researchers have conducted the first meta-analysis of the evidence. The team performed a quantitative review of the brain imaging literature testing overall sex differences in total and regional brain volumes. They found that males on average have larger total brain volumes than women (by 8 to 13 percent). Looking more closely, the researchers found differences in volume between the sexes were located in several regions. These included parts of the limbic system, and the language system.

Revolutionary new view on heritability in plants: Complex heritable traits not only determined by changes in DNA sequence Posted: 11 Feb 2014 06:41 AM PST Complex heritable traits are not only determined by changes in the DNA sequence. Scientists have now shown that epigenetic marks can affect traits such as flowering time and architecture in plants. Furthermore, these marks are passed on for many generations in a stable manner.

Better RNA interference, inspired by nature: New nanoparticles offer best-ever gene silencing Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST Inspired by tiny particles that carry cholesterol through the body, chemical engineers have designed nanoparticles that can deliver snippets of genetic material that turn off disease-causing genes. This approach, known as RNA interference (RNAi), holds great promise for treating cancer and other diseases. However, delivering enough RNA to treat the diseased tissue, while avoiding side effects in the rest of the body, has proven difficult. The new particles, which encase short strands of RNA within a sphere of fatty molecules and proteins, silence target genes in the liver more efficiently than any previous delivery system.

Lactate and brain function: How the body regulates fundamental neuro-hormone Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST New research has revealed a previously unknown mechanism in the body which regulates a hormone that is crucial for motivation, stress responses and control of blood pressure, pain and appetite. The breakthrough could be used to design drugs to help fight health problems connected with these functions in the future.

Scientists identify gene linking brain structure to intelligence Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST For the first time, scientists have identified a gene linking the thickness of the grey matter in the brain to intelligence. Teenagers carrying a particular gene variant had a thinner cortex in the left cerebral hemisphere, particularly in the frontal and temporal lobes, and performed less well on tests for intellectual ability.

How our brain networks: White matter 'scaffold' of human brain revealed Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST For the first time, neuroscientists have systematically mapped the white matter "scaffold" of the human brain, the critical communications network that supports brain function.

Is an earthquake behind the Shroud of Turin image? Radiation from earthquake could have led to 'wrong' 1988 dating Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST Neutron radiation caused by 33 A.D. earthquake could have led to "wrong" 1988 radiocarbon dating of Shroud, suggest researchers. An earthquake in Old Jerusalem might be behind the famous image of the Shroud of Turin, says a group of researchers. They believe that neutron radiation caused by an earthquake could have induced the image of a crucified man - which many people believe to be that of Jesus - onto the length of linen cloth, and caused carbon-14 dating done on it in 1988 to be wrong.

'Smelling' with our eyes: Descriptions affect odor perception Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:40 AM PST An odor is judged differently depending on whether it is accompanied by a positive or negative description when it is smelled. When associated with a pleasant label, we enjoy the odor more than when it is presented with a negative label. To put it another way, we also 'smell' with our eyes!

Eat spinach or eggs for faster reflexes: Tyrosine helps you stop faster Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:38 AM PST A child suddenly runs out into the road. Brake!! A driver who has recently eaten spinach or eggs will stop faster, thanks to the amino acid tyrosine found in these and other food products.

Helical electron and nuclear spin order in quantum wires Posted: 11 Feb 2014 05:38 AM PST Physicists have observed a spontaneous magnetic order of electron and nuclear spins in a quantum wire at temperatures of 0.1 kelvin. In the past, this was possible only at much lower temperatures, typically in the microkelvin range. The coupling of nuclei and electrons creates a new state of matter whereby a nuclear spin order arises at a much higher temperature.

Why white dots appear larger than equal size black dots: How Galileo's visual illusion works in the mind's eye Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:13 PM PST Scientists have studied a visual illusion first discovered by Galileo Galilei, and found that it occurs because of the surprising way our eyes see lightness and darkness in the world. Their results advance our understanding of how our brains are wired for seeing white versus black objects.

California drought similar to historic drought in Texas Posted: 10 Feb 2014 01:12 PM PST The worst drought ever to hit California could rival the historic 2011 drought that devastated Texas, says a Texas A&M University professor.

Cars, computers, TVs spark obesity in developing countries Posted: 10 Feb 2014 11:19 AM PST The spread of obesity and Type 2 diabetes could become epidemic in low-income countries, as more individuals are able to own higher priced items such as TVs, computers and cars.

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