The ESO's VISTA telescope has captured a stunning new image of the Cat's Paw Nebula - NGC 6334.

The view in the infrared is strikingly different from that in visible light. With dust obscuring the view far less, astronomers can learn much more about how stars in the nebula form and develop in their first few million years of life.

NGC 6334 is one of the most active nurseries of massive stars in our galaxy and lies toward the heart of the Milky Way, 5500 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Scorpius (the Scorpion).

 A team of chemical engineers have discovered what may be the "ancestral Eve" crystal that billions of years ago gave life on Earth its curious and exclusive preference for so-called left-handed amino acids. The results are published in Crystal Growth and Design.

Researchers used mixtures of both left- and right-handed aspartic acid (an amino acid) in laboratory experiments to see how temperature and other conditions affected formation of crystals of the material.

The future effects of global warming could be significantly altered over very small distances by local air movements in complex or mountainous terrain, according to a new paper in the International Journal of Climatology.

Based on a regional temperature increase of about 5 degrees projected for western Oregon by 2100, scientists say that some locations, such as mountain ridge tops, could actually increase as much as 14 degrees at some times, while cold air pools in the valleys below them with temperature increases similar to the regional average.

Daily consumption of added sugars in the U.S. averages 3.2 ounces (15.8 percent of daily caloric intake) and has increased substantially since 1977-1978, when added sugars contributed only 10.6 percent of the calories consumed by adults, according to a new study in JAMA.

The study also points out that consuming higher amounts of added sugars is associated with lower levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and higher levels of triglycerides, which are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

A mother's shorter height is associated with a reduced growth rate and a higher death rate for her children, among 54 low- to middle-income countries, according to a study in the April 21 issue of JAMA.

Researchers say the association suggests the presence of "an intergenerational transmission from mother's own nutrition, disease, and socioeconomic circumstances during her childhood to her offspring's health and mortality in their infancy and childhood."

Listening to your iPod or mp3 player for several hours at a time could put your hearing at risk, according to the least fun science article ever written.

The editorial, published today in the British Medical Journal, points out that personal music devices such as MP3 players can generate levels of sound at the ear in excess of 120 decibels, similar in intensity to a jet engine, especially when used with earphones that insert into the ear canal.

More than 90%  of teenagers from Europe and the United States surveyed use the newfangled  contraptions. Overall, their use "has grown faster than our ability to assess their potential health consequences," says Peter Rabinowitz from Yale University School of Medicine.