ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• New study finds extreme longevity in white sharks
• Two million years ago, human relative 'Nutcracker Man' lived on tiger nuts
• Fossil pigments reveal the colors of ancient sea monsters
• Quasars illuminate swiftly swirling clouds around galaxies
• Engineers make world's fastest organic transistor, herald new generation of see-through electronics
• Bio-inspired glue keeps hearts securely sealed
• Universe measured to one-percent accuracy: Most precise calibration yet of cosmic 'standard ruler'
• Organic mega flow battery promises breakthrough for renewable energy
• Massive exoplanets may be more Earth-like than thought: 'Super-Earths' likely to have oceans, continents
• Symbiotic fungi inhabiting plant roots have major impact on atmospheric carbon, scientists say
• Infants show ability to tell friends from foes
• Elephant shark genome decoded: New insights gained into bone formation and immunity
• Newly discovered celestial object defies categories: Is it a new kind of planet or a rare kind of failed star?
• Ocean's hidden waves show their power: Origins of giant underwater waves explained
• Soap bubbles for predicting cyclone intensity?
• BPA increases risk of cancer in human prostate tissue, study shows
• Ants shape thoraces to match tasks they perform
• Suburban sprawl cancels carbon footprint savings of dense urban cores

New study finds extreme longevity in white sharks Posted: 08 Jan 2014 09:41 PM PST Great white sharks -- top predators throughout the world's ocean -- grow much slower and live significantly longer than previously thought, according to a new study.

Two million years ago, human relative 'Nutcracker Man' lived on tiger nuts Posted: 08 Jan 2014 09:39 PM PST A new study concludes that ancient ancestors who lived in East Africa between 2.4 million-1.4 million years ago mostly ate tiger nuts with additional nourishment from fruits and invertebrates, like worms and grasshoppers. The study examines the diet of Paranthropus boisei, nicknamed "Nutcracker Man," through studying modern-day baboons in Kenya to help to explain a puzzle that has vexed archaeologists for 50 years.

Fossil pigments reveal the colors of ancient sea monsters Posted: 08 Jan 2014 02:07 PM PST During the Age of the dinosaurs, huge reptiles, such as mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs, ruled the seas. Previously, scientists could only guess what colors these spectacular animals had; however, pigment preserved in fossilized skin has now been analyzed. The unique soft tissue remains were obtained from a 55 million-year-old leatherback turtle, an 85 million-year-old mosasaur and a 196–190 million-year-old ichthyosaur. This is the first time that the color scheme of any extinct marine animal has been revealed.

Quasars illuminate swiftly swirling clouds around galaxies Posted: 08 Jan 2014 12:45 PM PST A new study of light from quasars has provided astronomers with illuminating insights into the swirling clouds of gas that form stars and galaxies, proving that the clouds can shift and change much more quickly than previously thought.

Engineers make world's fastest organic transistor, herald new generation of see-through electronics Posted: 08 Jan 2014 12:45 PM PST Researchers have produced the world's fastest thin-film organic transistors, proving that this experimental technology could achieve the performance needed for high-resolution television screens and similar electronic devices. For years engineers have been trying to use inexpensive, carbon-rich molecules and plastics to create organic semiconductors that can approximate the performance of costlier technologies based on silicon.

Bio-inspired glue keeps hearts securely sealed Posted: 08 Jan 2014 12:44 PM PST In the preclinical study, researchers developed a bio-inspired adhesive that could rapidly attach biodegradable patches inside a beating heart -- in the exact place where congenital holes in the heart occur, such as with ventricular heart defects.

Universe measured to one-percent accuracy: Most precise calibration yet of cosmic 'standard ruler' Posted: 08 Jan 2014 12:44 PM PST The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is the largest component of the third Sloan Digital Sky Survey. BOSS has measured the clustering of nearly 1.3 million galaxies spectroscopically, determining the "standard ruler" of the universe's large-scale structure to within one percent. This is the most precise such measurement ever made and likely to be the standard for years to come.

Organic mega flow battery promises breakthrough for renewable energy Posted: 08 Jan 2014 12:42 PM PST Scientists and engineers have demonstrated a new type of battery that could fundamentally transform the way electricity is stored on the grid, making power from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar far more economical and reliable.

Massive exoplanets may be more Earth-like than thought: 'Super-Earths' likely to have oceans, continents Posted: 08 Jan 2014 10:33 AM PST Massive terrestrial planets, called "super-Earths," are known to be common in our Milky Way galaxy. Now scientists report the odds of these planets having an Earth-like climate are much greater than previously thought. They conclude that most tectonically active super-Earths -- regardless of mass -- store most of their water in the mantle and will have both oceans and exposed continents, enabling a stable climate such as Earth's.

Symbiotic fungi inhabiting plant roots have major impact on atmospheric carbon, scientists say Posted: 08 Jan 2014 10:32 AM PST Microscopic fungi that live in plants' roots play a major role in the storage and release of carbon from the soil into the atmosphere, according to new research. The role of these fungi is currently unaccounted for in global climate models.

Infants show ability to tell friends from foes Posted: 08 Jan 2014 10:31 AM PST Even before babies have language skills or much information about social structures, they can infer whether other people are likely to be friends by observing their likes and dislikes, a new study on infant cognition has found.

Elephant shark genome decoded: New insights gained into bone formation and immunity Posted: 08 Jan 2014 10:31 AM PST An international team of researchers has sequenced the genome of the elephant shark, a curious-looking fish with a snout that resembles the end of an elephant's trunk.

Newly discovered celestial object defies categories: Is it a new kind of planet or a rare kind of failed star? Posted: 08 Jan 2014 08:27 AM PST An object discovered by astrophysicists nearly 500 light years away from the Sun may challenge traditional understandings about how planets and stars form. The object is located near and likely orbiting a very young star about 440 light years away from the Sun, and is leading astrophysicists to believe that there is not an easy-to-define line between what is and is not a planet.

Ocean's hidden waves show their power: Origins of giant underwater waves explained Posted: 08 Jan 2014 07:24 AM PST Large-scale tests in the lab and the South China Sea reveal the origins of underwater waves that can tower hundreds of feet.

Soap bubbles for predicting cyclone intensity? Posted: 08 Jan 2014 05:10 AM PST Could soap bubbles be used to predict the strength of hurricanes and typhoons? However unexpected it may sound, this question prompted physicists to perform a highly novel experiment: they used soap bubbles to model atmospheric flow. A detailed study of the rotation rates of the bubble vortices enabled the scientists to obtain a relationship that accurately describes the evolution of their intensity, and propose a simple model to predict that of tropical cyclones.

BPA increases risk of cancer in human prostate tissue, study shows Posted: 07 Jan 2014 10:57 AM PST Fetal exposure to a commonly used plasticizer found in products such as water bottles, soup can liners and paper receipts, can increase the risk for prostate cancer later in life, according to a study.

Ants shape thoraces to match tasks they perform Posted: 07 Jan 2014 06:28 AM PST Scientists have discovered that the specialization of queen and worker ants goes beyond the presence or absence of wings. In a new study, researchers showed that ants grow the size of their thoracic segments differently according to the specialized tasks they will perform as adults. In particular, the researchers discovered that worker ants have a unique thoracic architecture that explains how they are able to hunt and carry preys many times their own weight.

Suburban sprawl cancels carbon footprint savings of dense urban cores Posted: 06 Jan 2014 10:32 AM PST According to a new study, population-dense cities contribute less greenhouse gas emissions per person than other areas of the country, but these cities' extensive suburbs essentially wipe out the climate benefits. Dominated by emissions from cars, trucks and other forms of transportation, suburbs account for about 50 percent of all household emissions -- largely carbon dioxide -- in the United States.

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