ScienceDaily: Top Science News

BPA exposure linked to autism spectrum disorder, study reports Posted: 02 Mar 2015 12:07 PM PST A newly published study is the first to report an association between bisphenol-A (BPA), a common plasticizer used in a variety of consumer food and beverage containers, with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children.

Forbidden atomic transitions: Controlling matter 1,000 times more precisely using high-resolution spectroscopy Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:33 AM PST A new twist on an old tool lets scientists use light to study and control matter with 1,000 times better resolution and precision than previously possible. Physicists have demonstrated "ponderomotive spectroscopy," which allows researchers to peer more deeply into the structure of atoms and direct their behavior at a much finer scale. The new technique could have applications in quantum computing.

Genetically speaking, mammals are more like their fathers Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:32 AM PST You might resemble or act more like your mother, but a novel research study reveals that mammals are genetically more like their dads. Specifically, the research shows that although we inherit equal amounts of genetic mutations from our parents -- the mutations that make us who we are and not some other person -- we actually 'use' more of the DNA that we inherit from our dads.

Scientists crack piece of neural code for learning, memory Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:31 AM PST Researchers describe how postmortem brain slices can be 'read' to determine how a rat was trained to behave in response to specific sounds, a new article suggests. The work provides one of the first examples of how specific changes in the activity of individual neurons encode particular acts of learning and memory in the brain.

Old-looking galaxy in a young universe: Astronomers find dust in the early universe Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:29 AM PST Dust plays an extremely important role in the universe -- both in the formation of planets and new stars. But the earliest galaxies had no dust, only gas. Now an international team of astronomers has discovered a dust-filled galaxy from the very early universe. The discovery demonstrates that galaxies were very quickly enriched with dust particles containing elements such as carbon and oxygen, which could form planets.

Breakthrough in organic light emitting diodes technology Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:24 AM PST Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), which are made from carbon-containing materials, have the potential to revolutionize future display technologies, making low-power displays so thin they'll wrap or fold around other structures, for instance.

Peanut consumption associated with decreased total mortality and mortality from cardiovascular diseases Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:16 AM PST Researchers have examined the association of nut and peanut consumption with mortality among low-income and racially diverse populations and found that intake of peanuts was associated with fewer deaths, especially from heart disease.

Results challenge conventional wisdom about where the brain begins processing visual information Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:16 AM PST Neuroscientists generally think of the front end of the human visual system as a simple light detection system: The patterns produced when light falls on the retina are relayed to the visual cortex at the rear of the brain, where all of the "magic" happens that transforms these patterns into the three-dimensional world view that we perceive with our mind's eye. Now, however, a brain imaging study challenges this basic assumption.

Sleep-walking neurons: Brain's GPS never stops working -- even during sleep Posted: 02 Mar 2015 09:15 AM PST Navigational brain cells that help sense direction are as electrically active during deep sleep as they are during wake time, scientists have discovered. Such information could be useful in treating navigational problems associated with Alzheimer's disease and other neurological disorders.

First ever photograph of light as a particle and a wave Posted: 02 Mar 2015 07:47 AM PST Light behaves both as a particle and as a wave. Since the days of Einstein, scientists have been trying to directly observe both of these aspects of light at the same time. Now, scientists have succeeded in capturing the first-ever snapshot of this dual behavior.

Living on the edge: Stars found far from galaxy center Posted: 27 Feb 2015 08:11 AM PST Astronomers using data from NASA's Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, have found a cluster of stars forming at the very edge of our Milky Way galaxy. This is the first time astronomers have found stars being born in such a remote location. Clouds of star-forming material at very high latitudes away from the galactic plane are rare and, in general, are not expected to form stars.

Treadmill performance predicts mortality Posted: 02 Mar 2015 04:08 AM PST Analyzing data from 58,000 heart stress tests, Johns Hopkins cardiologists report they have developed a formula that estimates one's risk of dying over a decade based on a person's ability to exercise on a treadmill at an increasing speed and incline. For example, a 45-year-old woman with a fitness score in the bottom fifth percentile is estimated to have a 38 percent risk of dying over the next decade, compared with 2 percent for a 45-year-old woman with a top fitness score.