ScienceDaily: Top Science News

Gigantic ring system around J1407b much larger, heavier than Saturn's Posted: 26 Jan 2015 10:52 AM PST Astronomers have discovered that the ring system that they see eclipse the very young Sun-like star J1407 is of enormous proportions, much larger and heavier than the ring system of Saturn.

Girls lead boys in academic achievement globally Posted: 26 Jan 2015 09:50 AM PST Considerable attention has been paid to how boys' educational achievements in science and math compare to girls' accomplishments in those areas, often leading to the assumption that boys outperform girls in these areas. Now, using international data, researchers have determined that girls outperform boys in educational achievement in 70 percent of the countries they studied -- regardless of the level of gender, political, economic or social equality.

Got bees? Got vitamin A? Got malaria? Loss of pollinators increases risk of malnutrition, disease Posted: 26 Jan 2015 09:44 AM PST More than half the people in some developing countries could become newly at risk for malnutrition if crop-pollinating animals -- like bees -- continue to decline, experts say. Despite popular reports that pollinators are crucial for human nutritional health, no scientific studies have actually tested this claim -- until now.

Brain circuit that regulates thirst identified Posted: 26 Jan 2015 08:20 AM PST Scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately begin drinking water, even if they are fully hydrated. A second set of cells suppresses the urge to drink.

Chemists find a way to unboil egg whites: Ability to quickly restore molecular proteins could slash biotechnology costs Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:59 AM PST Chemists have figured out how to unboil egg whites -- an innovation that could dramatically reduce costs for cancer treatments, food production and other segments of the $160 billion global biotechnology industry, according to new findings.

Entanglement on a chip: Breakthrough promises secure communications and faster computers Posted: 26 Jan 2015 06:57 AM PST A team of scientists has developed, for the first time, a microscopic component that is small enough to fit onto a standard silicon chip that can generate a continuous supply of entangled photons.