The two hemispheres of Mars are dramatically different - more distinct from each other than any other planet in our solar system.

The northern hemisphere is non-volcanic, flat lowlands while highlands punctuated by countless volcanoes extend across the southern hemisphere. Although theories and assumptions about the origin of this so-called and often-discussed Mars dichotomy abound, there are very few definitive answers. 

Wine has gotten more than its share of Miracle Product mainstream media coverage so it's no surprise that beer has been left behind - smooth, balanced beers, the kind of thing that made large brands famous, are out of fashion and now everyone wants hoppy drinks, or something else wildly exaggerated.

But beer has always been a science favorite. Sometimes you hear of breakthroughs being celebrated with a bottle of Mogen David, though it is rare.

Balloons are common at childrens' birthday parties - we can thank Professor Michael Faraday of The Royal Institution for inventing "caoutchoucs" - but ever since the Montgolfier brothers took their lives in their hands and flew a hot air balloon over Paris in 1783, they have been common in science too.

They're affordable and they're reusable and since the 1950s, with the invention of the 'natural' shaped polyethylene balloon, there has been a surge in the quality and amount of science being performed with them. Researchers in everything from high-energy astrophysics (particle, x-ray and gamma-ray) to geospace uses them.

Visual distortions and hallucinations related to an elevated risk of psychosis are linked to self-destructive thought processes among adolescents with psychological symptoms, tells the recent study conducted at the Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Early indications of the risk of psychosis can usually be detected long before the onset of a full-blown disorder.

Patients with schizophrenia are known to generally show a higher risk of suicide. Previous research on adolescents with psychological symptoms has also shown that self-destructive thought patterns are more common among those who show a higher risk of psychosis than those who do not show such a risk.

A miniscule cluster of estrogen-producing nerve cells in the mouse brain exerts highly specific effects on aggressive behavior in both males and females, according to new research.

The cells in question, known as aromatase-expressing (aromatase+) cells, represent less than five one-hundredths of a percent of the neurons in the mouse brain, but they play crucial roles in sexual differentiation during early development and in regulating sexual and social behavior in adulthood.

Though estrogen is generally thought of as a female sex hormone, during the 1970s it was discovered that the male sex hormone testosterone can be converted to estrogen in the brain by aromatase, an enzyme also found in many other mouse and human tissues.

scientists have experimentally observed for the first time a phenomenon in ultracold, three-atom molecules predicted by Russian theoretical physicsist Vitaly Efimov in 1970. "Quantum theory makes the existence of these gigantic molecules inevitiable, provided proper--and quite challenging--conditions are created," said Efimov, of the University of Washington.

In this quantum phenomenon, called geometric scaling, the triatomic molecules fit inside one another like an infinitely large set of Russian nesting dolls.

Self-administered questionnaires sent to 364 Japanese medical journalists allowed them to describe their experiences in selecting stories, choosing angles, and performing research when creating cancer-centered news pieces.

The journalists report that they did not find pharmaceutical press releases to be helpful, preferring direct contact with physicians as their most reliable and prized sources of information. This is much different than in America, where it is assumed that the experts know the most about study results and methodology and anecdotes from doctors are less valuable.

Mitochondria produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP), commonly called the universal energy currency of the body.

The driver for this process is an electrochemical membrane potential, which is created by a series of proton pumps - positive charges and negative ones. These complex, macromolecular machines are collectively known as the respiratory chain.

The structure of the largest protein complex in the respiratory chain, that of mitochondrial complex I, has been examined by scientists from the Frankfurt "Macromolecular Complexes" cluster of excellence, working together with the University of Freiburg, by X-ray diffraction analysis.

Wise advice. Julia Wolf, CC BY-NC-SA

By Arun Vishwanath, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York

What exactly is cometary globule CG4? 

That's still a bit of a mystery. Despite the name, it has nothing to do with comets. In 1976, several elongated comet-like objects were discovered in pictures taken with the UK Schmidt Telescope in Australia. Because of their appearance, and despite any connection with comets, they became known as cometary globules. They were all located in a huge patch of glowing gas called the Gum Nebula. They had dense, dark, dusty heads and long, faint tails, which were generally pointing away from the Vela supernova remnant located at the center of the Gum Nebula. Although these objects are relatively close by, it took astronomers a long time to find them as they glow very dimly and are therefore hard to detect.