ScienceDaily: Top Science News

Autism genes activate during fetal brain development Posted: 18 Feb 2015 11:13 AM PST Mutations that cause autism in children are connected to a pathway that regulates brain development, scientists have found. The researchers studied a set of well-known autism mutations called copy number variants or CNVs. They investigated when and where the genes were expressed during brain development.

New insights into origins of the world's languages Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST Linguists have long agreed that languages from English to Greek to Hindi, known as 'Indo-European languages', are the modern descendants of a language family that first emerged from a common ancestor spoken thousands of years ago. Now, a new study gives us more information on when and where it was most likely used. Using data from over 150 languages, linguists provide evidence that this ancestor language originated 5,500 - 6,500 years ago on the Pontic-Caspian steppe.

Neanderthal groups based part of their lifestyle on sexual division of labor Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST Neanderthals divided some of their tasks according to their sex. A new study analyzed 99 teeth of 19 individuals from three different sites (El Sidron, in Asturias - Spain, L'Hortus in France, and Spy in Belgium), reveals that the dental grooves in the female fossils follow the same pattern, different to that found in male individuals.

Dark matter guides growth of supermassive black holes Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST Every massive galaxy has a black hole at its center, and the heftier the galaxy, the bigger its black hole. But why are the two related? After all, the black hole is millions of times smaller and less massive than its home galaxy. A new study of football-shaped collections of stars called elliptical galaxies finds that the invisible hand of dark matter somehow influences black hole growth.

Mutant bacteria that keep on growing Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:34 AM PST The typical Escherichia coli, the laboratory rat of microbiology, is a tiny 1-2 thousandths of a millimeter long. Now, by blocking cell division, researchers have grown E. coli that stretch three quarters of a millimeter. That's up to 750 times their normal length. The research has potential applications in nanoscale industry, and may lead to a better understanding of how pathogens work.

3-D engineered bone marrow makes functioning platelets Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:31 AM PST An international research team has reported development of the first three-dimensional tissue system that reproduces the complex structure and physiology of human bone marrow and successfully generates functional human platelets. Using a biomaterial matrix of porous silk, the new system is capable of producing platelets for future clinical use and also provides a laboratory tissue system to advance study of blood platelet diseases.

Tropical fire ants traveled the world on 16th century ships Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:29 AM PST Thanks to a bit of genetic sleuthing, researchers now know the invasion history of the tropical fire ant (Solenopsis geminata), the first ant species known to travel the globe by sea.

Can you judge a man by his fingers? Link between relative lengths of index and ring fingers in men and behavior towards women Posted: 18 Feb 2015 09:21 AM PST Men with short index fingers and long ring fingers are on average nicer towards women. This phenomenon stems from their fetal life, and the hormones these men have been exposed to in their mother's womb. The findings might help explain why these men have more children.

Increased DNA mutations found in children of teenage fathers Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:18 AM PST New research reveals that the sperm cells of adolescent boys have more than six times the rate of DNA mutations as the equivalent egg cells in adolescent girls, resulting in higher rates of DNA mutation being passed down to children of teenage fathers. The findings suggest that the risk of birth defects is higher in the children of teenage fathers as a consequence.

Brain's iconic seat of speech goes silent when we actually talk Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:18 AM PST The brain's speech area, named after 19th century French physician Pierre Paul Broca, shuts down when we talk out loud, according to a new study that challenges the long-held assumption that 'Broca's area' governs all aspects of speech production.

Size matters in the battle to adapt to diverse environments, avoid extinction Posted: 18 Feb 2015 07:16 AM PST By examining research on global patterns of amphibian diversification over hundreds of millions of years, researchers have discovered that 'sexually dimorphic' species -- those in which males and females differ in size, for example -- are at lower risk of extinction and better able to adapt to diverse environments.

New species, the Ruby Seadragon, discovered Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:21 AM PST While researching the two known species of seadragons as part of an effort to understand and protect the exotic and delicate fish, scientists made a startling discovery: A third species of seadragon.

Epigenome of more than 100 tissue and cell types mapped Posted: 18 Feb 2015 06:20 AM PST Much like mapping the human genome laid the foundations for understanding the genetic basis of human health, new maps of the human epigenome may further unravel the complex links between DNA and disease. The epigenome is part of the machinery that helps direct how genes are turned off and on in different types of cells.

Scientists announce anti-HIV agent so powerful it can work in a vaccine Posted: 18 Feb 2015 04:30 AM PST In a remarkable new advance against the virus that causes AIDS, scientists have announced the creation of a novel drug candidate that is so potent and universally effective, it might work as part of an unconventional vaccine.