A new paper in The Astrophysical Journal suggests that turbulence plays a critical role in creating ripe conditions for the birth of planets, a challenge to the prevailing theory of planet formation, gravitational instability. 

Using three-dimensional simulations of the dust and gas that orbits young stars, the study claims that turbulence is a significant obstacle to gravitational instability, which scientists have used since the 1970s to explain the early stage of planet formation. 

One of the moons in our solar system that scientists think has the potential to harbor life may have a far more dynamic ocean than previously thought.   If Europa is tilted on its axis even slightly as it orbits the giant planet Jupiter, then Jupiter's gravitational pull could be creating powerful waves in Europa's ocean, according to Robert Tyler, an oceanographer with the University of Washington's Applied Physics Laboratory and author of a letter on the subject in the Dec. 11 Nature. As those waves dissipate, they would give off significant heat energy. 

More than one in five women has a secret Santa Claus fantasy, according to  dating website  BeNaughty.com.  As you can guess by their URL, their subscribers probably were more inclined to fantasy about numerous holiday icons, so guard your turkeys at Thanksgiving.

Research by the site reveals that women find the chubby, bearded gift-giver very sexy indeed. More than 1,000 women were asked whether they fancied Santa Claus in the poll. 1 in 10 even wear a Santa costume themselves in the bedroom, though a beard and breasts probably says more about the men they are with than it does the women themselves.

Research by dating site FreeDating.co.uk found that 36% of women would end a relationship over an 'inadequate' Christmas gift.  This was particularly the case when the present was the latest in a series of disappointing let-downs within the relationship.

Examples of gifts which were deemed inadequate included cooking utensils, cleaning products, and a sticky tape dispenser.   Generally speaking, it seems common sense to think that devices meant to cook for a significant other or clean the house would be a bad idea - but that's why science studies are needed.

A team of scientists from the University of Cambridge and the University of Cukurova in Turkey have taken a major step to understanding how the brain controls the onset of puberty. 

The research, published in this week's Nature Genetics, identified the hormone Neurokinin B as a critical part of the control system that switches on the master regulator of human puberty. Although Neurokinin B was previously known to be present in the hypothalamus, the part of the brain that controls puberty, its key role was not previously appreciated.

Researchers have discovered that the ocean's chemical makeup is less stable and more greatly affected by climate change than previously believed. The researchers report in Science that during a time of climate change 13 million years ago the chemical makeup of the oceans changed dramatically. The researchers warn that the chemical composition of the ocean today could be similarly affected by climate changes now underway – with potentially far-reaching consequences for marine ecosystems.