ScienceDaily: Top Science News

3-D view of Greenland Ice Sheet opens window on ice history Posted: 23 Jan 2015 11:09 AM PST Scientists using ice-penetrating radar have created 3-D maps of the age of the ice within the Greenland Ice Sheet. The new maps will aid future research to understand the impact of climate change on the ice sheet. The Greenland Ice Sheet is the second largest mass of ice on Earth, containing enough water to raise ocean levels by about 20 feet.

Pictured together for the first time: A chemokine and its receptor Posted: 22 Jan 2015 12:48 PM PST The first crystal structure of the cellular receptor CXCR4 bound to an immune signaling protein called a chemokine has been reported by researchers. The structure answers longstanding questions about a molecular interaction that plays an important role in human development, immune responses, cancer metastasis and HIV infections.

How malaria-spreading mosquitoes can tell you're home Posted: 22 Jan 2015 11:54 AM PST Females of the malaria-spreading mosquito tend to obtain their blood meals within human dwellings. But is human odor enough as a reliable cue for the mosquitoes in finding humans to bite? Not quite, reports a team of entomologists. The researchers' experiments with female Anopheles gambiae show that the mosquitoes respond very weakly to human skin odor alone. Minute changes in concentrations of exhaled carbon dioxide are also required.

Family voices, stories speed coma recovery Posted: 22 Jan 2015 10:32 AM PST 'Can he hear me?' Family members are desperate to know when a loved one with a traumatic brain injury is in a coma. A new study shows the recorded voices of loved ones telling the patient familiar stories stored in his long-term memory help awaken the unconscious brain and speed recovery from the coma.