Catherine Griffin : Science World Report

Nov 07, 2013 09:56 AM EST

RNA Controls Splicing: Implications for Origin of Life on Earth

RNA is a crucial part of life and now, scientists have discovered a little bit more about its importance. It turns out that RNA is the key functional component of spliceosomes, molecular machines that control how genes are expressed. The findings point to the hypothesis that life on Earth began in a...

Nov 07, 2013 09:25 AM EST

New Predatory 'King of Gore' Dinosaur Reveals More About its Cousin, T. Rex

Millions of years ago, a predator and fearsome dinosaur roamed the Earth. Now, archaeologists have unearthed its remains, revealing a new species of tyrannosaur that shows a little bit more about the evolutionary origins of the massive Tyrannosaurus rex.

Nov 07, 2013 09:15 AM EST

Monkeys Use Brain Power to Move Virtual Arms: New Thoughts on Prosthetics

It turns out that even monkeys can use virtual technology. These animals have learned to control the movement of both arms on an avatar using just their brain activity. The findings could help advance efforts to develop bilateral movement in brain-controlled prosthetic devices for severely paralyzed...

Nov 07, 2013 08:39 AM EST

Two Black Holes Form from One Dying Star: The Origins of Supermassive Black Holes

Black holes are usually formed during the deaths of stars and can come in various sizes--from the regular to the supermassive. Now, scientists have discovered how supermassive black holes may have formed in the early universe, revealing that one collapsed star may spawn two black holes that could po...

Nov 07, 2013 07:32 AM EST

Devastating Chelyabinsk Meteor Strike Seven Times as Likely: Russian Fireball Threat

The Russian fireball that streaked over the skies of Chelyabinsk in February before exploding has now told scientists a little bit more about the likelihood of a similar event. It turns out that the Chelyabinsk incident is far more likely to occur again, which means that we may be seeing another met...

Nov 06, 2013 12:56 PM EST

Face Recognition May be Better with a Body: Computer Identity Programs Could Benefit

Programming computers to recognize people usually means focusing exclusively on faces. Now, though, researchers have revealed that it may be beneficial to also focus on a person's body. It turns out that there is potentially more valuable information for biometrics-based identity recognition in imag...

Nov 06, 2013 12:20 PM EST

Self-Correcting Crystal May Unleash New Wave of Advanced Communications

A new, self-correcting crystal may just unleash a wave of next generation advanced communications. The nanostructured materials, a family of multilayered crystalline sandwiches, may just enable a new class of high-performance, high-efficiency components for devices such as cellular phones.

Nov 06, 2013 11:15 AM EST

New Compact Atomic Clock Uses Cold Atoms to Boost Precision and Stability

Physicists have unveiled a new atomic clock that promises to boost precision. They've created a compact atomic clock design that relies on cold rubidium atoms instead of the usual hot atoms, a switch the promises improved precision and stability.

Nov 06, 2013 10:50 AM EST

Early Bird Catches the Worm: Great Tits Scout in the Morning for a Later Meal

The early bird may catch the worm, but it doesn't eat the meal until much later. Scientists have discovered that birds such as great and blue tits scout for food in the morning but only return to eat it in the late afternoon in order to maximize their chances of evading predators while at the same t...

Nov 06, 2013 10:27 AM EST

Carbon Storage in Tropical Forests Recovers Faster Than Biodiversity: Conservation Implications

Carbon storage is a huge part of reducing emissions in our atmosphere as our climate changes. Now, scientists have discovered that when tropical forests regrow, plant biodiversity takes longer to recover than carbon storage. The findings could have important implications for conservation in the futu...

Nov 06, 2013 09:52 AM EST

The Origin of Biological Complexity: The Evolution of Single Cells

Multicellular organisms have evolved the almost universal trait of using single cells, such as eggs and sperm, to reproduce. Now, researchers have taken a closer look at this evolutionary trait and have set a big piece of that puzzle into place by applying experimental evolution to transform a singl...

Nov 06, 2013 08:20 AM EST

Brain Aging Linked to Genes: Cognitive Decline Revealed with New Study

As we age, our brain function can decline. Numerous studies have been devoted to finding out ways to either slow or halt this process. Now, though, scientists have discovered a major factor behind this decline; it turns out that it's largely influenced by genes.