Writing in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers is challenging the theory that the origin of life stems from a system of self-catalytic molecules capable of experiencing Darwinian evolution without the need of RNA or DNA and their replication. Through the analysis of 'compound genomes', the team argues that these chemical networks cannot be considered evolutionary units because they lose properties which are essential for evolution when they reach a critical size and greater level of complexity.

A group of marine organisms called Echinoderms, which includes starfish and sea urchin, has a significant impact on the levels of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere and that influence has been greatly underestimated by scientists, argues a new paper in Ecological Monographs.

"Climate models must take this carbon sink into account," says Mario Lebrato, lead author of the study. Globally, the seabed habitats occupy more than 300 million million square metres, from the intertidal flats and pools to the mightiest deep-sea trenches at 11,000 meters. The benthos – the animals living on and in the sediments – populate this vast ecosystem.

Neuroscientists have forged an interesting partnership with some unlikely molecular characters to accelerate their fight against diseases of the brain and nervous system. Researchers have brought together the herpes virus and a molecule known as Sleeping Beauty to improve gene therapy, a technology which aims to manipulate genes to correct for molecular flaws that cause disease.

Detailed in a paper published online in Gene Therapy, the effort has allowed scientists shuttle into brain cells a relatively large gene that can remain on for an extended period of time.

Researchers have demonstrated for the first time that calcium channels on the tongue are the targets of compounds that can enhance taste. In addition to molecules that directly trigger specific taste buds (salty, sweet etc.), there are other substances which have no flavor of their own but can enhance the flavors they are paired with (known as kokumi taste in Japanese cuisine). The results appear in the January 8 issue of the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Exploiting this enhancement could have practical uses in food modulation; for example, creating healthy foods that contain minimal sugar or salt but still elicit strong taste. At the moment, though, the mode of action for these substances is poorly understood.

 Adolescents with earlier bedtimes are significantly less likely to suffer from depression and suicidal thoughts, suggesting that earlier bedtimes could have a protective effect by increasing the likelihood of getting enough sleep, reports a new study in the journal Sleep.

The results show that adolescents with parental set bedtimes of midnight or later were 24 percent more likely to suffer from depression (odds ratio = 1.24) and 20 percent more likely to have suicidal ideation (OR=1.20) than adolescents with parental set bedtimes of 10 p.m. or earlier.  This association was appreciably attenuated by self-reported sleep duration and the perception of getting enough sleep. 

A team of radiologists publishing in Autism Research says that children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) process sound and language a fraction of a second slower than children without ASDs, and measuring magnetic signals that mark this delay may become a standardized way to diagnose autism.

The researchers used magnetoencephalography (MEG), which detects magnetic fields in the brain, similar to the way electroencephalography (EEG) detects electrical fields. Using a helmet that surrounds the child’s head, the team presents a series of recorded beeps, vowels and sentences. As the child’s brain responds to each sound, noninvasive detectors in the MEG machine analyze the brain’s changing magnetic fields.