http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ Top science news, featured on ScienceDaily's home page. en-us Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:05:01 EST Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:05:01 EST 60 http://www.sciencedaily.com/images/logosmall.gif http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/top_news/top_science/ For more science articles, visit ScienceDaily. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222204241.htm The more afraid a person is of a spider, the bigger that individual perceives the spider to be, new research suggests. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 20:42:42 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222204241.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222132930.htm Sparrows, blackbirds and the great tit are all birds known to sing at a higher pitch in urban environments. It was previously believed that these birds sang at higher frequencies in order to escape the lower frequencies noises of the urban environment. Now, researchers have discovered that besides noise, the physical structure of cities also plays a role in altering the birds' songs. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222132930.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222132559.htm Sudden cardiac death -- catastrophic and unexpected fatal heart stoppage -- is more likely to occur shortly after waking in the morning and in the late night. In a new study, an international consortium of researchers explains the molecular linkage between the circadian clock and the deadly heart rhythms that lead to sudden death. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222132559.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222114500.htm Astronomers using data from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have, for the first time, discovered buckyballs in a solid form in space. Prior to this discovery, the microscopic carbon spheres had been found only in gas form in the cosmos. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:45:45 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222114500.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222114358.htm Earth's clouds got a little lower -- about one percent on average -- during the first decade of this century, finds a new NASA-funded university study based on NASA satellite data. The results have potential implications for future global climate. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 11:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222114358.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222094250.htm For 50 years, scientists had searched for the secret to making tiny implantable devices that could travel through the bloodstream. Engineers have now demonstrated a wirelessly powered device that just may make the dream a reality. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:42:42 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222094250.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222093506.htm Pain? Just turn it off! It may sound like science fiction, but researchers have now succeeded in inhibiting pain-sensitive neurons on demand, in the laboratory. The crucial element in their strategy is a chemical sensor that acts as a light-sensitive switch. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:35:35 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222093506.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222092916.htm Never get stranded with a dead cell phone again. A promising new technology called Power Felt, a thermoelectric device that converts body heat into an electrical current, soon could create enough juice to make another call simply by touching it. Wed, 22 Feb 2012 09:29:29 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120222092916.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221212618.htm If you are looking for a particular object -- say a yellow pencil -- on a cluttered desk, how does your brain work to visually locate it? For the first time, neuroscientists have identified how different neural regions communicate to determine what to visually pay attention to and what to ignore. This finding is a major discovery for visual cognition and will guide future research into visual and attention deficit disorders. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:26:26 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221212618.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221212614.htm Bacteria normally found 30 kilometers above Earth have been identified as highly efficient generators of electricity. Bacillus stratosphericus -- a microbe commonly found in high concentrations in the stratosphere -- is a key component of a new 'super' biofilm that has been engineered by a team of scientists from Newcastle University. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:26:26 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221212614.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221212534.htm Not that long ago in a hot spring in Kamchatka, Russia, two groups of genetically indistinguishable microbes decided to part ways. They began evolving into different species – despite the fact that they still encountered one another in their acidic, boiling habitat and even exchanged some genes from time to time, researchers report. This is the first example of what the researchers call sympatric speciation in a microorganism. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:25:25 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221212534.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221165757.htm Researchers have developed a new injectable hydrogel that could be an effective and safe treatment for tissue damage caused by heart attacks. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 16:57:57 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221165757.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221145830.htm Astronomers have clocked the fastest wind yet discovered blowing off a disk around a stellar-mass black hole. This result has important implications for understanding how this type of black hole behaves. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 14:58:58 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221145830.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125409.htm Evolutionary biologists have shed light on the early events leading to photosynthesis, the result of the sequencing of 70 million base pair nuclear genome of the one-celled alga Cyanophora. They consider this study the final piece of the puzzle to understand the origin of photosynthesis in eukaryotes. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:54:54 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125409.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125157.htm Researchers has detected the element tellurium for the first time in three ancient stars. Tellurium is rare on Earth. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:51:51 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125157.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125020.htm Is fructose being unfairly blamed for the obesity epidemic? Or do we just eat and drink too many calories? Researchers reviewed more than 40 published studies on whether the fructose molecule itself causes weight gain. In 31 "isocaloric" trials they reviewed, participants ate a similar number of calories, but one group ate pure fructose and the other ate non-fructose carbohydrates. The fructose group did not gain weight. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125020.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125018.htm Scientists have taken a step forward toward the goal of repairing nerves in such patients more effectively. In a new study, researchers report that a surprising set of cells may hold potential for nerve transplants. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221125018.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221124823.htm A gene known to control lens development in mice and humans is also crucial for the development of neurons responsible for mechanosensory function, as neurobiologists have now discovered. They found that in mice in which they had removed the c-Maf gene in the nerve cells, touch sensation is impaired. This similarly applies to human carriers of a mutant c-Maf gene. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:48:48 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221124823.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221124711.htm A strain of the potentially deadly antibiotic-resistant bacterium known as MRSA has jumped from livestock to humans, according to a new study. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:47:47 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221124711.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221103741.htm Observations by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have come up with a new class of planet, a waterworld enshrouded by a thick, steamy atmosphere. It’s smaller than Uranus but larger than Earth. Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:37:37 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120221103741.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220211013.htm On the surface, it's simple: when night falls, our bodies get sleepy. But behind the scenes, a series of complex molecular events, controlled by our genes, is hard at work to make us groggy. Now, research suggests that a newly identified gene known as insomniac may play a role in keeping us asleep. By cloning and testing this gene in fruit flies researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism by which sleep is regulated. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 21:10:10 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220211013.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220161307.htm Pompeii-like, a 300-million-year-old tropical forest was preserved in ash when a volcano erupted in what is today northern China. Paleobotanists have reconstructed this fossilized forest, lending insight into the ecology and climate of its time. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 16:13:13 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220161307.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220135000.htm New images from NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft show the moon's crust is being stretched, forming minute valleys in a few small areas on the lunar surface. Scientists propose this geologic activity occurred less than 50 million years ago, which is considered recent compared to the moon's age of more than 4.5 billion years. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 13:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220135000.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220090610.htm Researchers have produced technology capable of accurate measurements of Planck's constant, which is a significant step towards changing the international definition of the kilogram -- currently based on a lump of platinum-iridium metal kept in Paris, France. Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:06:06 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120220090610.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219191244.htm The smallest transistor ever built -- in fact, the smallest transistor that can be built -- has been created using a single phosphorus atom by an international team of researchers. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 19:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219191244.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143325.htm Many experts think graphene could change the face of electronics -- especially if the scientific community can overcome a major challenge intrinsic to the material. Oxidation could be the answer. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:33:33 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143325.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143323.htm Unlike Earth, the moon has no active volcanoes. This is surprising as liquid magma is believed to exist deep inside the Moon. Scientists have now found that this hot, molten rock could actually be so dense that it is too heavy to rise to the surface. For this experiment, microscopic reproductions of moon rock were put at the extremely high pressures and temperatures found inside the moon and their densities measured with powerful X-rays. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:33:33 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143323.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143321.htm Researchers have provided the first experimental evidence confirming a great British mathematician's theory of how biological patterns such as tiger stripes or leopard spots are formed. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:33:33 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143321.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143319.htm Global warming has driven Yosemite's alpine chipmunks to higher ground, prompting a startling decline in the species' genetic diversity, according to a new study. The genetic erosion occurred in the relatively short span of 90 years, highlighting the rapid threat changing climate can pose to a species. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:33:33 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143319.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143317.htm New clues as to how the Earth's remote ecosystems have been influenced by the industrial revolution are locked, frozen in the ice of glaciers. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:33:33 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143317.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143222.htm Defects in a protein that functions as a dietary fat sensor may be a cause of obesity and liver disease, according to a new study. The findings highlight a promising target for new drugs to treat obesity and metabolic disorders. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143222.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143216.htm In a standard biology textbook, cells tend to look more or less the same from all sides. But in real life cells have fronts and backs, tops and bottoms, and they orient many of their structures according to this polarity explaining, for example, why yeast cells bud at one end and not the other. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143216.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143214.htm New connections between brain cells emerge in clusters in the brain as animals learn to perform a new task, according to a new study. The findings reveal details of how brain circuits are rewired during the formation of new motor memories. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:32:32 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143214.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143049.htm Researchers report that they have identified a class of proteins that detect "painful touch." Scientists have known that sensory nerves in our skin detect pressure, pain, heat, cold, and other stimuli using specialized "ion channel" proteins in their outer membranes. They have only just begun, however, to identify and characterize the specific proteins involved in each of these sensory pathways. The new work provides evidence that a family of sensory nerve proteins known as piezo proteins are ion channel proteins essential to the sensation of painful touch. Sun, 19 Feb 2012 14:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120219143049.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120218134532.htm Unexpected new findings by geochemists show that some portions of the Earth's mantle (the rocky layer between Earth's metallic core and crust) formed when the planet was much smaller than it is now, and that some of this early-formed mantle survived Earth's turbulent formation, including a collision with another planet-sized body that many scientists believe led to the creation of the moon. Sat, 18 Feb 2012 13:45:45 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120218134532.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120217115012.htm A biologist has created a sketch of what the first common ancestor of plants and algae may have looked like. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120217115012.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120217101058.htm Researchers have devised a numerical model to help explain the linkage between earthquakes and the powerful forces that cause them. Their findings hold implications for long-term forecasting of earthquakes. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:10:10 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120217101058.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120217101052.htm A new study has found significant differences in brain development starting at age 6 months in high-risk infants who later develop autism, compared to high-risk infants who did not develop autism. The study also suggests that autism does not appear suddenly in young children, but instead develops over time during infancy, raising the possibility that scientists may be able to interrupt that process with targeted intervention. Fri, 17 Feb 2012 10:10:10 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120217101052.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216185408.htm Billions of engineered nanoparticles in foods and pharmaceuticals are ingested by humans daily, and new study warns they may be more harmful to health than previously thought. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:54:54 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216185408.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216165500.htm Biologists have long been amazed by gecko feet, which allow 5-ounce lizards to produce an adhesive force equivalent to carrying 9 lbs. up a wall without slipping. Now, a team of polymer scientists and a biologist have invented “Geckskin,” an adhesive device that can hold 700 pounds on a smooth wall. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 16:55:55 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216165500.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216144238.htm A new robotic device made from DNA could potentially seek out specific cell targets and deliver important molecular instructions, such as telling cancer cells to self-destruct. Inspired by the mechanics of the body's own immune system, the technology represents a major breakthrough in the field of nanobiotechnology and might one day be used to program immune responses to treat various diseases. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:42:42 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216144238.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216144236.htm About 15 years ago, two professors had the idea to develop a programmable, wirelessly controlled microchip that would deliver drugs after implantation in a patient's body. This week, they reported that they have successfully used such a chip to administer daily doses of an osteoporosis drug normally given by injection. The results represent the first successful test of such a device. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:42:42 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216144236.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216143957.htm Scientists have created the first high-resolution virtual image of cellular structures called S1P1 receptors, which are critical in controlling the onset and progression of multiple sclerosis and other diseases. This new molecular map is already pointing researchers toward promising new paths for drug discovery and aiding them in better understanding how certain existing drugs work. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:39:39 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216143957.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134326.htm Researchers have demonstrated a new and more effective method for regrowing blood vessels in the heart and limbs -- a research advancement that could have major implications for how we treat heart disease, the leading cause of death in the Western world. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134326.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134322.htm Researchers have created a living 3-D model of a brain tumor and its surrounding blood vessels. In experiments, the scientists report that iron-oxide nanoparticles carrying the agent tumstatin were taken by blood vessels, meaning they should block blood vessel growth. The living-tissue model could be used to test the effectiveness of nanoparticles in fighting other diseases. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:43:43 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134322.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134119.htm Mobile robots have many uses. They serve as cleaners, carry out inspections and search for survivors of disasters. But often, there is no map to guide them through unknown territory. Researchers have now developed a mobile robot that can roam uncharted terrain and simultaneously map it – all thanks to an algorithm toolbox. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:41:41 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134119.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134110.htm Robots could one day navigate through constantly changing surroundings with virtually no input from humans, thanks to a system that allows them to build and continuously update a three-dimensional map of their environment using a low-cost camera such as Microsoft's Kinect. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:41:41 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216134110.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133442.htm Researchers have sequenced the genome of a contagious cancer that is threatening the Tasmanian devil, the world's largest carnivorous marsupial, with extinction. Cataloguing the mutations present in the cancer has led to clues about where the cancer came from and how it became contagious. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:34:34 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133442.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133440.htm Evolutionary biologists have documented for the first time that plants pass genes from plant to plant to fuel their evolutionary development. The researchers found enzymes key to photosynthesis had been shared among plants with only a distant ancestral relationship. The genes were incorporated into the metabolic cycle of the recipient plant, aiding adaptation. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:34:34 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133440.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133436.htm Fruit flies infected with a blood-borne parasite consume alcohol to self-medicate, a behavior that greatly increases their survival rate, a new study finds. The researchers say the results are the first to show that alcohol consumption can have a protective effect against infectious disease, and in particular against blood-borne parasites. The data raises an important question: Could other organisms, perhaps even humans, control blood-borne parasites through high doses of alcohol? Thu, 16 Feb 2012 13:34:34 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216133436.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216111227.htm Many fossilized dinosaurs have been found in a twisted posture. Scientists have long interpreted this as a sign of death spasms. Researchers have now come to the conclusion that these bizarre deformations occurred only during decomposition of dead dinosaurs. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:12:12 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216111227.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216110403.htm Two meters below the surface of the Atacama Desert there is an 'oasis' of microorganisms. Researchers have found it in hypersaline substrates thanks to SOLID, a detector for signs of life which could be used in environments similar to subsoil on Mars. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 11:04:04 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216110403.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216095032.htm The ability to change vocal sounds and develop an accent is potentially far more widespread in mammals than previously believed, according to new research on goats. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:50:50 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216095032.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216094919.htm As people seek healthier dietary regimens they often turn to things labeled "organic." Lurking in the background, however, is an ingredient that may be a hidden source of arsenic -- an element known to be both toxic and potentially carcinogenic. Organic brown rice syrup has become a preferred alternative to using high fructose corn syrup as a sweetener in food. Unfortunately, organic brown rice syrup is not without its faults. Researchers have previously called attention to the potential for consuming harmful levels of arsenic via rice, and organic brown rice syrup may be the latest culprit on the scene. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:49:49 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216094919.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216094801.htm A drastic switch to low carbon-emitting technologies, such as wind and hydroelectric power, may not yield a reduction in global warming until the latter part of this century, new research suggests. Furthermore, it states that technologies that offer only modest reductions in greenhouse gases, such as the use of natural gas and perhaps carbon capture and storage, cannot substantially reduce climate risk in the next 100 years. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:48:48 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216094801.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216094724.htm Climate change spells trouble for many tropical birds -- especially those living in mountains, coastal forests and relatively small areas -- and the damage will be compounded by other threats like habitat loss, disease and competition among species, according to a new review. Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:47:47 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120216094724.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215190018.htm Brain scans of two strains of mice imbibing significant quantities of alcohol reveal serious shrinkage in some brain regions -- but only in mice lacking a particular type of receptor for dopamine, the brain's "reward" chemical. The study provides new evidence that these dopamine receptors may play a protective role against alcohol-induced brain damage. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:00:00 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215190018.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215155309.htm A new technique inspired by elegant pop-up books and origami will soon allow clones of robotic insects to be mass-produced by the sheet. Devised by engineers, the ingenious layering and folding process enables the rapid fabrication of not just microrobots, but a broad range of electromechanical devices. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 15:53:53 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215155309.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215143116.htm Extreme summer temperatures are already occurring more frequently in the United States, and will become normal by mid-century if the world continues on a business as usual schedule of emitting greenhouse gases. By analyzing observations and results obtained from climate models, a new study has shown that previously rare high summertime (June, July and August) temperatures are already occurring more frequently in some regions of the 48 contiguous United States. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:31:31 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215143116.htm http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215143001.htm Last year, a report claiming to support the idea that the origin of language can be traced to West Africa appeared in Science. The article caused quite a stir. Now a linguist has challenged its conclusions, in a commentary just published in Science. Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:30:30 EST http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120215143001.htm