ScienceDaily: Top Science News

Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease reversed in rats Posted: 26 Feb 2015 11:49 AM PST A controlled-release oral therapy has been developed by scientists that reversed type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease in rats, according to a study. "Given these promising results in animal models of NAFLD/NASH and type 2 diabetes we are pursuing additional preclinical safety studies to take this mitochondrial protonophore approach to the clinic" said the researchers.

Asian Herb Holds Promise as Treatment for Ebola Virus Disease Posted: 26 Feb 2015 11:13 AM PST New research focuses on the mechanism by which Ebola virus infects a cell and the discovery of a promising drug therapy candidate. A small molecule called Tetrandrine derived from an Asian herb has shown to be a potent small molecule inhibiting infection of human white blood cells in vitro or petri dish experiments and prevented Ebola virus disease in mice.

How mantis shrimp evolved many shapes with same powerful punch Posted: 26 Feb 2015 10:21 AM PST The miniweight boxing title of the animal world belongs to the mantis shrimp, a cigar-sized crustacean whose front claws can deliver an explosive 60-mile-per-hour blow akin to a bullet leaving the barrel of a gun. A study of 80 million years of mantis shrimp evolution reveals how these fast weapons evolved their dizzying array of shapes -- from spiny and barbed spears to hatchets and hammers -- while still managing to pack their characteristic punch.

Bumblebees make false memories too Posted: 26 Feb 2015 10:19 AM PST It's well known that our human memory can fail us. People can be forgetful, and they can sometimes also 'remember' things incorrectly, with devastating consequences in the classroom, courtroom, and other areas of life. Now, researchers show for the first time that bumblebees can be unreliable witnesses too.

New insight found in black hole collisions Posted: 26 Feb 2015 08:04 AM PST New research by an astrophysicist provides revelations about the most energetic event in the universe -- the merging of two spinning, orbiting black holes into a much larger black hole.

MUSE goes beyond Hubble: Looking deeply into the universe in 3-D Posted: 26 Feb 2015 05:49 AM PST The MUSE instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope has given astronomers the best ever three-dimensional view of the deep universe. After staring at the Hubble Deep Field South region for only 27 hours, the new observations reveal the distances, motions and other properties of far more galaxies than ever before in this tiny piece of the sky. They also go beyond Hubble and reveal previously invisible objects.

One brain area, two planning strategies Posted: 26 Feb 2015 05:48 AM PST Ready to strike, the spear fisherman holds his spear above the water surface. He aims at the fish. But he is misled by the view: Due to the refraction of light on the surface, he does not see the actual location of the fish. How must his brain now plan the arm movement? Do the brain cells (neurons) reflect the position where the fish was spotted, in other words, the visual target? Or do they plan the physical target, which is the actual direction in which the arm and spear should move in order to hit the fish? In new research, investigators tried to answer this question on the different aspects of planning a limb movement.

Pockets of calm protect molecules around a supermassive black hole Posted: 26 Feb 2015 05:44 AM PST Researchers have discovered regions where certain organic molecules somehow endure the intense radiation near the supermassive black hole at the center of galaxy NGC 1068, also known to amateur stargazers as M77.