ScienceDaily: Top Science News

Newly discovered hormone mimics the effects of exercise Posted: 03 Mar 2015 03:34 PM PST Scientists have discovered a new hormone that fights the weight gain caused by a high-fat Western diet and normalizes the metabolism -- effects commonly associated with exercising. When tested in mice, the hormone blocked the negative health effects of eating a high-fat diet.

Creative genius driven by distraction Posted: 03 Mar 2015 12:32 PM PST The literary great Marcel Proust wore ear-stoppers because he was unable to filter out irrelevant noise -- and lined his bedroom with cork to attenuate sound. Now new research suggests why the inability to shut out competing sensory information while focusing on the creative project at hand might have been so acute for geniuses such as Proust, Franz Kafka, Charles Darwin, Anton Chekhov and many others.

Far from home: Wayward star cluster is both tiny and distant Posted: 03 Mar 2015 12:32 PM PST Like the lost little puppy that wanders too far from home, astronomers have found an unusually small and distant group of stars that seems oddly out of place. The cluster, made of only a handful of stars, is located far away, in the Milky Way's 'suburbs.' It is located where astronomers have never spotted such a small cluster of stars before.

High-salt diet could protect against invading microbes Posted: 03 Mar 2015 09:38 AM PST Most people consume more salt than they need and therefore have a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are the two leading causes of death worldwide. But a new study reveals that dietary salt could have a biological advantage: Defending the body against invading microbes. A high-salt diet increased sodium accumulation in the skin of mice, thereby boosting their immune response to a skin-infecting parasite.

Cloudy, with a wisp of liquid rock: Clouds around exoplanets analyzed Posted: 03 Mar 2015 08:17 AM PST Meteorologists sometimes struggle to accurately predict the weather here on Earth, but now we can find out how cloudy it is on planets outside our solar system, thanks to new research.

When age matters: precise dating of ancient charcoal found near skull is helping reveal unique period in prehistory Posted: 03 Mar 2015 07:59 AM PST The precise dating of ancient charcoal found near a skull is helping reveal a unique period in prehistory. The Manot Cave, a natural limestone formation, had been sealed for some 15,000 years. It was discovered by a bulldozer clearing the land for development, and the first to find the partial skull, which was sitting on a ledge, were spelunkers exploring the newly-opened cave. Five excavation seasons uncovered a rich deposit, with stone tools and stratified occupation levels covering a period of time from at least 55,000 to 27,000 years ago.

Nice to sniff you: Handshakes may engage our sense of smell Posted: 03 Mar 2015 07:59 AM PST Why do people shake hands? A new study suggests one of the reasons for this ancient custom may be to check out each other's odors. Even if we are not consciously aware of this, handshaking may provide people with a socially acceptable way of communicating via the sense of smell. People sniff their hands twice as much after a handshake.

Some tropical plants pick the best hummingbirds to pollinate flowers Posted: 03 Mar 2015 06:58 AM PST Rather than just waiting patiently for any pollinator that comes their way to start the next generation of seeds, some plants appear to recognize the best suitors and 'turn on' to increase the chance of success. These findings stem from the discovery that the showy red and yellow blooms of Heliconia tortuosa, an exotic tropical plant, recognize certain hummingbirds by the way the birds sip the flowers' nectar. The plants respond by allowing pollen to germinate, ultimately increasing the chances for successful seed formation.

Black phosphorus is new 'wonder material' for improving optical communication Posted: 02 Mar 2015 10:07 AM PST In a new study, researchers used an ultrathin black phosphorus film -- only 20 layers of atoms -- to demonstrate high-speed data communication on nanoscale optical circuits. The devices showed vast improvement in efficiency over comparable devices using the earlier "wonder material" graphene.