ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines -- for Sunday, March 11, 2012

ScienceDaily Top Science Headlines

for Sunday, March 11, 2012

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In recognizing faces, the whole is not greater than the sum of its parts (March 9, 2012) -- How do we recognize a face? To date, most research has answered "holistically": we look at all the features -- eyes, nose, mouth -- simultaneously and, perceiving the relationships among them, gain an advantage over taking in each feature individually. ... > full story

Don’t bite the hand that feeds: Using satellite technology to evaluate the effects of ecotourism on tiger sharks (March 9, 2012) -- Ecotourism activities that use food to attract and concentrate wildlife for viewing have become a controversial topic in ecological studies. This debate is best exemplified by the shark dive tourism industry, a highly lucrative and booming global market. Use of chum or food to attract big sharks to areas where divers can view the dwindling populations of these animals has generated significant criticism because of the potential for ecological and behavioral impacts to the species. However, the debate has been largely rhetorical due to a lack of sufficient data to make any conclusions either way. ... > full story

Meteorites reveal another way to make life's components (March 9, 2012) -- Creating some of life's building blocks in space may be a bit like making a sandwich -- you can make them cold or hot, according to new NASA research. This evidence that there is more than one way to make crucial components of life increases the likelihood that life emerged elsewhere in the Universe, according to the research team, and gives support to the theory that a "kit" of ready-made parts created in space and delivered to Earth by impacts from meteorites and comets assisted the origin of life. ... > full story

Environmentally friendly cleaning and washing (March 9, 2012) -- More and more everyday products are based on renewable resources, with household cleaners now containing active cleaning substances made from plant oils and sugar. These fat and dirt removers are especially environmentally friendly and effective when produced using biotechnology, with the aid of fungi and bacteria. ... > full story

Mid-Atlantic suburbs in U.S. can expect an early spring thanks to the heat of the big city (March 9, 2012) -- If you've been thinking our world is more green than frozen these days, you're right. A recent study has found that spring is in arriving earlier -- and autumn later -- in the suburbs of Baltimore and Washington, DC. The reason? The urban landscape traps heat in the summer and holds it throughout the winter, triggering leaves to turn green earlier in the spring and to stay green later into autumn. The result is an extended growing season. ... > full story

A cheap and fully optical solution for ultra-fast internet (March 9, 2012) -- Blisteringly fast Internet speeds, more robust connections and a big increase in network capacity at little extra cost, even in rural areas? It's the sort of fantasy that keeps telecommunication company executives and bandwidth-hungry Internet users awake at night... until now. Groundbreaking fibre-optic technology promises all those things and more. ... > full story

Orientation of ants: Every cue counts (March 9, 2012) -- Foraging desert ants always find their way back to the nest, even when it is only marked by a magnetic cue, vibration, or carbon dioxide. ... > full story

Mapping the Moho with GOCE (March 9, 2012) -- The first global high-resolution map of the boundary between Earth’s crust and mantle – the Moho – has been produced based on data from ESA’s GOCE gravity satellite. Understanding the Moho will offer new clues into the dynamics of Earth’s interior. Earth’s crust is the outermost solid shell of our planet. Even though it makes up less than 1% of the volume of the planet, the crust is exceptionally important not just because we live on it, but because is the place where all our geological resources like natural gas, oil and minerals come from. ... > full story

Strong Grip: Unexpected interaction between organic semiconductors (March 9, 2012) -- Physicists have discovered an unexpectedly strong bond between organic layers. Such structures are still puzzling scientists throughout the world. These structures form the basis for novel electronic components made from organic semiconductors that are now increasingly used in smart phones and television sets. ... > full story

Tracking pedestrians indoors using their smart phones (March 9, 2012) -- The next generation of smart phone could combine the data from its gyroscopes with a built-in compass to allow you to track your movements when indoors even without GPS. Such a system could be useful for shopping mall managers, factory bosses for worker safety and security and office workers hoping to manage the flow of people through buildings. It could also be used to enable location based services and to help users navigate to specific meeting points or shops. ... > full story

Scientists claim brain memory code cracked (March 9, 2012) -- Despite a century of research, memory encoding in the brain has remained mysterious. Neuronal synaptic connection strengths are involved, but synaptic components are short-lived while memories last lifetimes. This suggests synaptic information is encoded and hard-wired at a deeper, finer-grained molecular scale. ... > full story

Revisiting LSD as a treatment for alcoholism (March 8, 2012) -- Several decades ago, a number of clinics used LSD to treat alcoholism with some success. But until now, no research has pulled together the results of these trials to document exactly how effective LSD was. Now a new meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials of the drug provides evidence for a clear and consistent beneficial effect of LSD for treating alcohol dependency. ... > full story