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ScienceDaily: Top Science News

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• How the brain creates the 'buzz' that helps ideas spread
• Researcher sheds light on M.O. of unusual RNA molecules
• Why some women don't have enough breastmilk for baby: Important role of insulin in making breast milk identified
• The evolution of fins to limbs in the land invasion race
• Solitary lemurs avoid danger with a little help from the neighbors
• New insights into the early bombardment history on Mercury
• Radically better smarphones may be possible using system inspired by bird migration: Molecular chains hypersensitive to magnetic fields
• Unique epigenomic code identified during human brain development
• Variation between hot extrasolar planet atmospheres revealed
• Cosmic radio bursts point to cataclysmic origins
• Feeding galaxy caught in distant searchlight
• Seeing Sea stars: The missing link in eye evolution?
• Farming started in several places at once: Origins of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent
• Mysterious radio flashes may be farewell greetings from massive stars collapsing into black holes
• Ancient jigsaw puzzle of past supercontinent revealed
• Space weather forecast study turns table of effective predictions on its head
• In bitter cold subglacial lake, surprising life goes on

How the brain creates the 'buzz' that helps ideas spread Posted: 05 Jul 2013 06:22 PM PDT How do ideas spread? What messages will go viral on social media, and can that be predicted? Psychologists report for the first time which brain regions are associated with the successful spread of ideas, often called "buzz." The research has a broad range of implications, and could lead to more effective public health campaigns.

Researcher sheds light on M.O. of unusual RNA molecules Posted: 05 Jul 2013 06:22 PM PDT Researchers have figured out how some RNA molecules take advantage of their position within the three-dimensional mishmash of genomic material to home in on targets.

Why some women don't have enough breastmilk for baby: Important role of insulin in making breast milk identified Posted: 05 Jul 2013 06:22 PM PDT Why do so many mothers have difficulty making enough milk to breastfeed? A new study adds to previous research implicating insulin's role in lactation success.

The evolution of fins to limbs in the land invasion race Posted: 05 Jul 2013 06:22 PM PDT Why did animals with limbs win the race to invade land over those with fins? A new study comparing the forces acting on fins of mudskipper fish and on the forelimbs of tiger salamanders can now be used to analyze early fossils that spanned the water-to-land transition in tetrapod evolution, and further understand their capability to move on land.

Solitary lemurs avoid danger with a little help from the neighbors Posted: 05 Jul 2013 08:36 AM PDT An endangered species of Madagascan lemur uses the alarm calls of birds and other lemurs to warn it of the presence of predators, a new study has found. This is the first time this phenomenon has been observed in a solitary and nocturnal lemur species.

New insights into the early bombardment history on Mercury Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:21 AM PDT Astronomers have studied the surface of Mercury to better understand if the plains were formed by volcanic flows or composed of material ejected from the planet's giant impact basins.

Radically better smarphones may be possible using system inspired by bird migration: Molecular chains hypersensitive to magnetic fields Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:20 AM PDT Researchers have for the first time created perfect one-dimensional molecular wires of which the electrical conductivity can almost entirely be suppressed by a weak magnetic field at room temperature. The underlying mechanism is possibly closely related to the biological compass used by some migratory birds. This spectacular discovery may lead to radically new magnetic field sensors, for smartphones for example.

Unique epigenomic code identified during human brain development Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:20 AM PDT Experience of parents with their children and teachers with their students demonstrate how kids change their behaviors and knowledge from infancy to adolescence. Until now, little was known of the causes that could lead to these changes. New findings uncovers dynamic changes in the epigenome that occur during brain circuitry formation.

Variation between hot extrasolar planet atmospheres revealed Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:20 AM PDT First results from the analysis of eight 'hot Jupiter' exoplanets suggest that winds and clouds play an important role in the atmospheric make up of these exotic planets.

Cosmic radio bursts point to cataclysmic origins Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:20 AM PDT Mysterious bursts of radio waves originating from billions of light years away have left the scientists who detected them speculating about their origins. The burst energetics indicate that they originate from an extreme astrophysical event involving relativistic objects such as neutron stars or black holes.

Feeding galaxy caught in distant searchlight Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:20 AM PDT Astronomers have spotted a distant galaxy hungrily snacking on nearby gas. Gas is seen to fall inwards towards the galaxy, creating a flow that both fuels star formation and drives the galaxy's rotation. This is the best direct observational evidence so far supporting the theory that galaxies pull in and devour nearby material in order to grow and form stars.

Seeing Sea stars: The missing link in eye evolution? Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:18 AM PDT A study has shown for the first time that sea stars (also known as starfish) use primitive eyes at the tip of their arms to visually navigate their environment. New research has shown that sea star eyes are image-forming and could be an essential stage in eye evolution.

Farming started in several places at once: Origins of agriculture in the Fertile Crescent Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:16 AM PDT For decades archaeologists have been searching for the origins of agriculture. Their findings indicated that early plant domestication took place in the western and northern Fertile Crescent. In a new study, researchers demonstrate that the foothills of the Zagros Mountains of Iran in the eastern Fertile Crescent also served as a key center for early domestication.

Mysterious radio flashes may be farewell greetings from massive stars collapsing into black holes Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:16 AM PDT Mysterious bright radio flashes that appear for only a brief moment on the sky and do not repeat could be the final farewell greetings of a massive star collapsing into a black hole, astronomers argue.

Ancient jigsaw puzzle of past supercontinent revealed Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:15 AM PDT A new study has revealed the past position of the Australian, Antarctic and Indian tectonic plates, demonstrating how they formed the supercontinent Gondwana 165 million years ago.

Space weather forecast study turns table of effective predictions on its head Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:15 AM PDT A comparison of solar flare forecasting systems has turned the performance table of apparently effective prediction methods on its head.  Researchers have tested the reliability of seven techniques against their record of predicting flares and non-flare events correctly, as well as their history of missed flares and false alarms.  When the predictions were put into context of the Sun's activity levels over time, some of the most seemingly successful techniques slid down the table.

In bitter cold subglacial lake, surprising life goes on Posted: 05 Jul 2013 07:14 AM PDT Lake Vostok, buried under a glacier in Antarctica, is so dark, deep and cold that scientists had considered it a possible model for other planets, a place where nothing could live. However, researchers have revealed a surprising variety of life forms living and reproducing in this most extreme of environments.