a bit of science http://abitofscience.com/ en-us Top science news story of the day selected by a computer algo Astronomer Finds Planets In Intimate Dance Around Dying Star Hundreds of extrasolar planets have been found over the past decade and a half, most of them solitary worlds orbiting their parent star in seeming isolation. With further observation, however, ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/46095/ Thu, 29 Jul 2010 06:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/46095/ Australian, South American Marsupials Share Common Ancestry All current Australian marsupials can trace their ancestry back to South America, according to a new study by German researchers from the University of Munster's Institute of Experimental Pathology."While ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45965/ Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45965/ Invention enables people with disabilities communicate and steer a wheelchair by sniffing Neurobiologists and electrical engineers have invented a new technology that lets the severely disabled communicate or steer a wheelchair by sniffing. Sniffing is a precise motor skill that ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45822/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 20:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45822/ Now that's what I call a rat Archaeological research in East Timor has unearthed the bones of the biggest rat that ever lived, with a body weight around 6 kg. The cave excavations also yielded a total of 13 species of rodents, ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45748/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 18:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45748/ First results from Large Hadron Collider announced TORONTO, ON — A group of University of Toronto high-energy physicists, along with their 3,000 ATLAS colleagues, announced they have broken world records in the search for new particles ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45778/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 16:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45778/ Big Bang investigators want new atom smasher The machine on the wish list is even bigger than the Large Hadron Collider, but would not require a circular ring. Instead, experts agree the most desirable new collider would be a linear beamline ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45742/ Mon, 26 Jul 2010 06:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45742/ Researchers discover how key enzyme repairs sun-damaged DNA Researchers have long known that humans lack a key enzyme -- one possessed by most of the animal kingdom and even plants -- that reverses severe sun damage. For the first time, researchers have ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45722/ Sun, 25 Jul 2010 14:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45722/ Gadget makers forced to look at links to Congo war Does that smart phone in your pocket contribute to rape and murder in the depths of Africa? Soon, you'll know: A new U.S. law requires companies to certify whether their products contain minerals ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45692/ Sat, 24 Jul 2010 20:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45692/ NASA telescope finds elusive buckyballs in space for first time Astronomers using NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope have discovered carbon molecules, known as "buckyballs," in space for the first time. Buckyballs are soccer-ball-shaped molecules that were first ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45536/ Thu, 22 Jul 2010 20:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45536/ Astronomers Find A 300 Solar Mass Star Sheffield, UK (SPX) Jul 22, 2010 Using a combination of instruments on ESO's Very Large Telescope, a UK-led international team of astronomers have discovered the most massive stars to date, ... http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45338/ Wed, 21 Jul 2010 08:01:02 EST http://abitofscience.com/news/cluster/45338/