Science: What Geeks are talking about from EurekAlert

Nearby supernova ashes continue to rain on Earth
Traces of 60Fe detected in space indicate that a nearby supernova occurred within the last few million years. The iron isotope 60Fe, which is very rare, is created when a massive star collapses in the form of supernova.

Cool combination produces easier carbon bonds
By combining two century-old techniques in organic chemistry, Syuzanna Harutyunyan is able to make organic compounds with greater ease and precision. Such compounds are important for drug discovery and development. Harutyunyan’s method is described in a paper that will be published by the journal Science on April 22.

Young adult survivors of childhood cancer report feeling middle-aged
Do survivors of childhood cancer return to normal health as they grow up? New research from Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health finds young adult survivors of childhood cancer , age 18-29, report health-related quality of life that resembles that of adults, 40-49, in the general population, according to a study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

The atom without properties
The microscopic world is governed by the rules of quantum mechanics, where the properties of a particle can be completely undetermined and yet strongly correlated with those of other particles. Physicists from the University of Basel have observed these so-called Bell correlations for the first time between hundreds of atoms. Their findings are published in the scientific journal Science.

The importance of resting phases in B cell development
Everyone preparing for the London Marathon likely knows that to perform their best during the event, they need to rest up now. Research at the Babraham Institute just published in the journal Science describes a new mechanism through which B cells ensure that they rest up between intensive developmental events.

A trick of the light may help diseased plants attract greenfly
The leaves of virus-infected plants reflect light differently to attract the attention of disease-spreading greenfly, new research suggests.

Mortality rates improve among kids and young adults in the US, especially in poor counties
Death rates have declined among children and young adults in the poorest counties in the United States, according to the study published in Science. Better health care, food and nutrition programs and less pollution are all potential contributors.

Leg-wing cooperation in baby birds, dinosaurs is key transition in origin of flight
New research based on high-resolution x-ray movies reveals that despite having extremely underdeveloped muscles and wings, young birds acquire a mature flight stroke early in their development, initially relying heavily on their legs and wings to work in tandem to power the strenuous movement. The new study, published today in the journal PLOS ONE, is important for understanding the development of flight in modern birds and reconstructing its origins in extinct dinosaurs.

Can we hypercharge vaccines?
Researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital report that a fatty chemical naturally found in damaged tissues can induce an unexpected kind of immune response, causing immune cells to go into a ‘hyperactive’ state that is highly effective at rallying infection-fighting T-cells. The findings, published online by Science on April 21, could enhance vaccines and make them much more effective.

New molecule-building method opens vast realm of chemistry for pharma and other industries
Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have devised a new molecule-building method likely to have a major impact on the pharmaceutical industry and other chemistry-based enterprises. The method allows construction of novel, complex and potentially valuable molecules, starting from a large class of relatively cheap and non-toxic carboxylic acids compounds.

Problems finding your way around may be earliest sign of Alzheimer’s disease
Long before Alzheimer’s disease can be diagnosed clinically, increasing difficulties building cognitive maps of new surroundings may herald the eventual clinical onset of the disorder, finds new research from Washington University in St. Louis.

Countering Islamic State requires a stronger US-coalition strategy
The current effort by the United States and its coalition partners is insufficient to achieve the lasting defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Iraq and Syria, according to a new RAND report.

Numerical simulations shed new light on early universe
Innovative multidisciplinary research in nuclear and particle physics and cosmology has led to the development of a new, more accurate computer code to study the early universe.

Volcanoes tied to shifts in Earth’s climate over millions of years
A new study in the April 22 edition of Science reveals that volcanic activity associated with the plate-tectonic movement of continents may be responsible for climatic shifts from hot to cold over tens and hundreds of millions of years throughout much of Earth’s history.

Paleontologists find North America’s oldest monkey fossil along Panama Canal
Iowa State’s Aaron Wood found a tiny, black-colored fossil tooth in 2012 when he was a postdoctoral research associate for the Florida Museum of Natural History. It turns out that find was North America’s oldest monkey fossil. The journal Nature just published a paper describing the discovery.

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