ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

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• Water splitter runs on an ordinary AAA battery
• Laser device may end pin pricks, improve quality of life for diabetics
• Hot-spring bacteria reveal ability to use far-red light for photosynthesis
• X-ray laser probes tiny quantum tornadoes in superfluid droplets
• Severe drought is causing the western US to rise like a spring uncoiling
• Cause of global warming hiatus found deep in the Atlantic Ocean
• First direct evidence of 'spin symmetry' in atoms
• Alternate mechanism of species formation picks up support, thanks to a South American ant
• Children with autism have extra synapses in brain: May be possible to prune synapses with drug after diagnosis
• Neanderthals 'overlapped' with modern humans for up to 5,400 years
• Polio: Mutated virus breaches vaccine protection
• One of oldest metal objects found to date in Middle East
• Ozone-depleting compound persists, NASA research shows
• How lizards regenerate their tails: Researchers discover genetic 'recipe'
• Seals and sea lions likely spread tuberculosis to humans
• Jurassic mammals were picky eaters, new study finds
• The power of salt: Power generation from where river water and seawater meet
• Paving the way for cyborg moth 'biobots'
• 'Tickling' your ear could be good for your heart
• Does love make sex better for most women?
• New 'invisibility cloak': Octopus-inspired camouflage systems automatically read surroundings and mimic them
• Quasi-legal drug 15 times stronger than heroin hides in plain sight
• New treatment for obstructive sleep apnea

Water splitter runs on an ordinary AAA battery Posted: 22 Aug 2014 05:40 AM PDT Although touted as zero-emissions vehicles, most fuel cell vehicle run on hydrogen made from natural gas. Now scientists have developed a low-cost, emissions-free device that uses an ordinary AAA battery to produce hydrogen by water electrolysis. Unlike other water splitters that use precious-metal catalysts, the electrodes in this device are made of inexpensive and abundant nickel and iron.

Laser device may end pin pricks, improve quality of life for diabetics Posted: 21 Aug 2014 11:16 AM PDT Researchers have developed a way to use a laser to measure people's blood sugar, and, with more work to shrink the laser system to a portable size, the technique could allow diabetics to check their condition without pricking themselves to draw blood. In a new article, the researchers describe how they measured blood sugar by directing their specialized laser at a person's palm.

Hot-spring bacteria reveal ability to use far-red light for photosynthesis Posted: 21 Aug 2014 11:15 AM PDT Bacteria growing in near darkness use a previously unknown process for harvesting energy and producing oxygen from sunlight, scientists have discovered. The discovery lays the foundation for further research aimed at improving plant growth, harvesting energy from the sun, and understanding dense blooms like those now occurring on Lake Erie and other lakes worldwide.

X-ray laser probes tiny quantum tornadoes in superfluid droplets Posted: 21 Aug 2014 11:15 AM PDT An experiment at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory revealed a well-organized 3-D grid of quantum 'tornadoes' inside microscopic droplets of supercooled liquid helium -- the first time this formation has been seen at such a tiny scale. The findings by an international research team provide new insight on the strange nanoscale traits of a so-called 'superfluid' state of liquid helium.

Severe drought is causing the western US to rise like a spring uncoiling Posted: 21 Aug 2014 11:15 AM PDT The severe drought gripping the western United States in recent years is changing the landscape well beyond localized effects of water restrictions and browning lawns. Scientists have used GPS data to discover that the growing, broad-scale loss of water is causing the entire western US to rise up like an uncoiled spring.

Cause of global warming hiatus found deep in the Atlantic Ocean Posted: 21 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT Observations show that the heat absent from the Earth's surface for more than a decade is plunging deep in the north and south Atlantic Ocean, and is part of a naturally occurring cycle. Subsurface warming in the ocean explains why global average air temperatures have flatlined since 1999, despite greenhouse gases trapping more solar heat at Earth's surface.

First direct evidence of 'spin symmetry' in atoms Posted: 21 Aug 2014 11:14 AM PDT Physicists have observed the first direct evidence of symmetry in the magnetic properties -- or nuclear 'spins' -- of atoms. The advance could spin off practical benefits such as the ability to simulate and better understand exotic materials such as superconductors.

Alternate mechanism of species formation picks up support, thanks to a South American ant Posted: 21 Aug 2014 09:48 AM PDT A newly discovered species of ant supports a controversial theory of species formation. The ant, only found in a single patch of eucalyptus trees on the São Paulo State University campus in Brazil, branched off from its original species while living in the same colony, something thought rare in current models of evolutionary development.

Children with autism have extra synapses in brain: May be possible to prune synapses with drug after diagnosis Posted: 21 Aug 2014 09:47 AM PDT Children and adolescents with autism have a surplus of synapses in the brain, and this excess is due to a slowdown in a normal brain "pruning" process during development, according to a new study. Because synapses are the points where neurons connect and communicate with each other, the excessive synapses may have profound effects on how the brain functions.

Neanderthals 'overlapped' with modern humans for up to 5,400 years Posted: 21 Aug 2014 09:37 AM PDT Neanderthals and modern humans were both living in Europe for between 2,600 and 5,400 years, according to a new article. For the first time, scientists have constructed a robust timeline showing when the last Neanderthals died out.

Polio: Mutated virus breaches vaccine protection Posted: 21 Aug 2014 08:57 AM PDT Thanks to effective vaccination, polio is considered nearly eradicated. Each year only a few hundred people are stricken worldwide. However, scientists are reporting alarming findings: a mutated virus that was able to resist the vaccine protection to a considerable extent was found in victims of an outbreak in the Congo in 2010. The pathogen could also potentially have infected many people in Germany.

One of oldest metal objects found to date in Middle East Posted: 21 Aug 2014 07:15 AM PDT A copper awl, one of the oldest metal objects found to date in the Middle East, has been discovered during the excavations at Tel Tsaf. The awl dates back to the late 6th millennium or the early 5th millennium BCE, moving back by several hundred years the date it was previously thought that the peoples of the region began to use metals.

Ozone-depleting compound persists, NASA research shows Posted: 20 Aug 2014 02:35 PM PDT NASA research shows Earth's atmosphere contains an unexpectedly large amount of an ozone-depleting compound from an unknown source decades after the compound was banned worldwide.

How lizards regenerate their tails: Researchers discover genetic 'recipe' Posted: 20 Aug 2014 01:43 PM PDT By understanding the secret of how lizards regenerate their tails, researchers may be able to develop ways to stimulate the regeneration of limbs in humans. Now, a team of researchers is one step closer to solving that mystery. The scientists have discovered the genetic "recipe" for lizard tail regeneration, which may come down to using genetic ingredients in just the right mixture and amounts.

Seals and sea lions likely spread tuberculosis to humans Posted: 20 Aug 2014 11:00 AM PDT Scientists who study tuberculosis have long debated its origins. New research shows that tuberculosis likely spread from humans in Africa to seals and sea lions that brought the disease to South America and transmitted it to Native people there before Europeans landed on the continent.

Jurassic mammals were picky eaters, new study finds Posted: 20 Aug 2014 10:59 AM PDT New analyses of tiny fossil mammals from Glamorgan, South Wales are shedding light on the function and diets of our earliest ancestors, a team reports. Mammals and their immediate ancestors from the Jurassic period (201-145 million years ago) developed new characteristics - such as better hearing and teeth capable of precise chewing.

The power of salt: Power generation from where river water and seawater meet Posted: 20 Aug 2014 08:05 AM PDT Where the river meets the sea, there is the potential to harness a significant amount of renewable energy, according to a team of mechanical engineers. The researchers evaluated an emerging method of power generation called pressure retarded osmosis (PRO), in which two streams of different salinity are mixed to produce energy. In principle, a PRO system would take in river water and seawater on either side of a semi-permeable membrane. Through osmosis, water from the less-salty stream would cross the membrane to a pre-pressurized saltier side, creating a flow that can be sent through a turbine to recover power.

Paving the way for cyborg moth 'biobots' Posted: 20 Aug 2014 06:17 AM PDT Researchers have developed methods for electronically manipulating the flight muscles of moths and for monitoring the electrical signals moths use to control those muscles. The work opens the door to the development of remotely-controlled moths, or 'biobots,' for use in emergency response.

'Tickling' your ear could be good for your heart Posted: 19 Aug 2014 05:02 PM PDT Stimulating nerves in your ear could improve the health of your heart, researchers have discovered. Scientists used a standard TENS machine like those designed to relieve labour pains to apply electrical pulses to the tragus, the small raised flap at the front of the ear immediately in front of the ear canal.

Does love make sex better for most women? Posted: 19 Aug 2014 09:59 AM PDT Love and commitment can make sex physically more satisfying for many women, according to a sociologist. The benefits of being in love with a sexual partner are more than just emotional. Most of the women in the study said that love made sex physically more pleasurable. Women who loved their sexual partners also said they felt less inhibited and more willing to explore their sexuality.

New 'invisibility cloak': Octopus-inspired camouflage systems automatically read surroundings and mimic them Posted: 18 Aug 2014 05:41 PM PDT Researchers have developed a technology that allows a material to automatically read its environment and adapt to mimic its surroundings. Cunjiang Yu, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Houston and lead author of the paper, said the system was inspired by the skins of cephalopods, a class of marine animals which can change coloration quickly, both for camouflage and as a form of warning.

Quasi-legal drug 15 times stronger than heroin hides in plain sight Posted: 18 Aug 2014 10:52 AM PDT Emergency physicians should expect 'an upswing in what on the surface appear to be heroin overdoses,' but are actually overdoses tied to acetyl fentanyl, an opiate that is mixed into street drugs marketed as heroin, a new study suggests.

New treatment for obstructive sleep apnea Posted: 15 Aug 2014 04:33 PM PDT Certain hospitals are beginning to offer a new FDA-approved treatment for obstructive sleep apnea.

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