ScienceDaily: Top Science News

---

• Language structure… you're born with it
• Surprising truth about obsessive-compulsive thinking
• DNA modifications measured in blood signal related changes in the brain
• Living organ regenerated for first time: Thymus rebuilt in mice
• How coughs and sneezes float much farther than you think
• From learning in infancy to planning ahead in adulthood: Sleep's vital role for memory
• Humans and Neandertals interbred, new method confirms
• Antimicrobial from soaps promotes bacteria buildup in human noses
• Saturn's hexagon: An amazing phenomenon
• Patients with paraplegia regain voluntary movement after spinal stimulation
• From athletes to couch potatoes: Humans through 6,000 years of farming
• Severe obesity on the rise among children in the U.S.
• Permafrost thawing could accelerate global warming
• Insomnia may significantly increase stroke risk

Language structure… you're born with it Posted: 08 Apr 2014 09:23 AM PDT Humans are unique in their ability to acquire language. But how? A new study shows that we are in fact born with the basic fundamental knowledge of language, thus shedding light on the age-old linguistic 'nature vs. nurture' debate.

Surprising truth about obsessive-compulsive thinking Posted: 08 Apr 2014 09:21 AM PDT People who check whether their hands are clean or imagine their house might be on fire are not alone. New global research shows that 94 percent of people experience unwanted, intrusive thoughts, images and/or impulses. The study people on six continents, and found that the thoughts, images and impulses symptomatic of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) are widespread.

DNA modifications measured in blood signal related changes in the brain Posted: 08 Apr 2014 09:19 AM PDT Researchers say they have confirmed suspicions that DNA modifications found in the blood of mice exposed to high levels of stress hormone — and showing signs of anxiety — are directly related to changes found in their brain tissues. Scientists say this research offers the first evidence that epigenetic changes that alter the way genes function without changing their underlying DNA sequence -- and are detectable in blood -- mirror alterations in brain tissue linked to underlying psychiatric diseases.

Living organ regenerated for first time: Thymus rebuilt in mice Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:56 AM PDT Scientists have succeeded in regenerating a living organ for the first time. Researchers rebuilt the thymus -- an organ in the body located next to the heart that produces important immune cells. The advance could pave the way for new therapies for people with damaged immune systems and genetic conditions that affect thymus development. The team reactivated a natural mechanism that shuts down with age to rejuvenate the thymus in very old mice. After treatment, the regenerated organ had a similar structure to that found in a young mouse.

How coughs and sneezes float much farther than you think Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:21 AM PDT The next time you feel a sneeze coming on, raise your elbow to cover up that multiphase turbulent buoyant cloud you're about to expel. It turns out that smaller droplets that emerge in a cough or sneeze may travel five to 200 times further than they would if those droplets simply moved as groups of unconnected particles -- which is what previous estimates had assumed.

From learning in infancy to planning ahead in adulthood: Sleep's vital role for memory Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:17 AM PDT Babies and young children make giant developmental leaps all of the time. Sometimes, it seems, even overnight they figure out how to recognize certain shapes or what the word 'no' means no matter who says it. It turns out that making those leaps could be a nap away: New research finds that infants who nap are better able to apply lessons learned to new skills, while preschoolers are better able to retain learned knowledge after napping.

Humans and Neandertals interbred, new method confirms Posted: 08 Apr 2014 08:12 AM PDT Technical objections to the idea that Neandertals interbred with the ancestors of Eurasians have been overcome, thanks to a new genome analysis method. The technique can more confidently detect the genetic signatures of interbreeding than previous approaches and will be useful for evolutionary studies of other ancient or rare DNA samples.

Antimicrobial from soaps promotes bacteria buildup in human noses Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:49 AM PDT An antimicrobial agent found in common household soaps, shampoos and toothpastes may be finding its way inside human noses where it promotes the colonization of Staphylococcus aureus bacteria and could predispose some people to infection.

Saturn's hexagon: An amazing phenomenon Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:48 AM PDT An unusual structure with a hexagonal shape surrounding Saturn's north pole was spotted on the planet for the first time thirty years ago. Nothing similar with such a regular geometry had ever been seen on any planet in the solar system. Astronomers have now been able to study and measure the phenomenon and, among other achievements, establish its rotation period. What is more, this period could be the same as that of the planet itself. Saturn is the only planet in the solar system whose rotation time remains unknown.

Patients with paraplegia regain voluntary movement after spinal stimulation Posted: 08 Apr 2014 04:46 AM PDT Four people with paraplegia are able to voluntarily move previously paralyzed muscles as a result of a novel therapy involving electrical stimulation of the spinal cord, according to a new study. All four participants were classified with a chronic motor complete spinal cord injury and were unable to move their lower extremities prior to the implantation of an epidural stimulator.

From athletes to couch potatoes: Humans through 6,000 years of farming Posted: 07 Apr 2014 06:49 PM PDT Research into the strength and shape of lower limb bones shows that, in the first 6,000 years of farming, our ancestors in Central Europe became less active as their tasks diversified and technology improved. Anthropologists show that this drop in mobility was particularly marked in men.

Severe obesity on the rise among children in the U.S. Posted: 07 Apr 2014 01:45 PM PDT A new analysis finds that all classes of obesity in children have increased over the last 14 years. In addition, there is a troubling upward trend in the more severe forms of childhood obesity.

Permafrost thawing could accelerate global warming Posted: 07 Apr 2014 12:39 PM PDT Researchers have found new evidence that permafrost thawing is releasing large quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere via plants, which could accelerate warming trends. Permafrost is soil that is frozen year round and is typically located in polar regions. As the world has gotten slightly warmer, that permafrost is thawing and decomposing, which is producing increased amounts of methane.

Insomnia may significantly increase stroke risk Posted: 03 Apr 2014 06:25 PM PDT Insomnia may significantly increase your risk of stroke and subsequent stroke hospitalizations. The risk was highest -- up to eight times -- among insomniacs 18-34 years old in a recent study. The risk also seems to be far greater when insomnia occurs as a young adult compared to those who are older, said researchers.

You are subscribed to email updates from All Top News -- ScienceDaily To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610