Mollusc CNS Evolved Four Times

By statistically analyzing genetic sequences of molluscs (including gastropods, cephalopods and bivalves) researchers have regrouped the Mollusca evolutionary tree and found the similar centralized nervous systems of these animals evolved independently at four separate times, a remarkable occurrence for complex structures such as these.

Ancient Antibiotic Resistance

Researchers have found antibiotic-resistant genes in samples of 30,000-year-old bacterial DNA, demonstrating that such resistance is a natural phenomenon and predates modern medical antibiotic use.

Feather Evolution in Amber

Analysis of prehistoric feathers trapped in 80-million-year-old Canadian amber deposits have provided the most comprehensive details about the evolution of feathers in dinosaurs and birds yet known.

Middle East Geolyphs

New aerial and satellite mapping technologies have provided views of giant geolyph structures of various designs constructed on the ground in the Middle East from Syria to Saudi Arabia, most largely unexcavated but believed to be at least 2000 years old.

Ocean Floor Communication

For the first time, researchers have recorded "rumbles" and frequencies beyond the range of human hearing of creatures such as mantis shrimp that live on the sea floor at depth, a largely unexplored field of benthic acoustics implying communications similar to a chorus of birds or frogs.

Premature Brains and Touch

Researchers have found that a human fetus' sense of touch develops during the last stages of pregnancy, with the premature infant's brain able to distinguish between pain and touch only within the last two weeks before birth.

Potatoes and Blood Pressure

Researchers have found that purple potatoes can reduce blood pressure in patients with high blood pressure due to natural phytochemicals with effects similar to those of prescribed ACE-inhibitor medications.

New Human Ancestor

New hominid fossils (Australopithecus sediba) discovered in a South African cave may be the common ancestor of archaic and modern humans, replacing Homo habilis as the bridge between the australopithecene and human lines.

Impossible Star Composition

Astronomers have discovered a star (SDSS J102915+172927) located in the Milky Way with a composition of almost entirely hydrogen and helium with remarkably small amounts of heavier elements, placing it within a "forbidden zone" of star formation as currently understood.

Haploid Cells Created

Researchers have created mammalian stem cells from an unfertilized egg that contain only half the normal number of chromosomes (haploid), the first such accomplishment for a mammalian species and providing a powerful new genetics research tool.

See-Through Mouse Brains

Researchers have developed a chemical named Scale (a mixture of urea, glycerol and a detergent named Triton-X) that turns body tissue transparent and does not wash away fluorescent markers, prodiving a novel new tool for medical imaging.

Tiny Molecular Motor

Researchers have produced electrically driven motion from an atom of asymmetric butyl methyl sulphide, spinning about an anchor while a needle tip supplies a current, with its 1-nm rotation making it the smallest motor ever produced.

Roman Gladiator School

The ruins of a Roman gladiator complex in Carnuntum, Austria, have been mapped by aerial radar, revealing a well-preserved 10-square-kilometer site under the modern city that rivals the scale and detail of the Ludus Magnus, the largest gladiator school in Rome.

New Species Found in Market

A species of shark new to science (Squalus formosus) was recently discovered accidentally in the Tashi Fish Market in Taiwan, most likely caught in nets prepared for other commercial fish.