My Picks From ScienceDaily

Light Pulses Can Adjust The Brain's Clock For A Longer Day, Sufficient For Adaptation To The 24.65 Hour Day Found On Mars:

Researchers from Brigham and Women's Hospital's (BWH) Division of Sleep Medicine and colleagues, have found that by giving individuals two 45 minute exposures to bright light pulses in the evening they could entrain (synchronize) a persons circadian system to function properly in days longer than the usual 24 hour light/dark cycle. The study was conducted for NASA's National Space Biomedical Research Institute and the findings can be applied to the planned year-and-a-half visit to Mars, where the Martian day is 24.65 hours long. Without the ability to reset the internal clock to endure the longer day, an individual would feel as if they were in a perpetual state of jet lag.

Childhood Environment Influences Reproductive Function:

A study led by researchers at UCL (University College London) demonstrates that female reproductive function is influenced by childhood environment. This suggests there is a critical window of time from about 0-8 years of age that determines the rate at which girls physically mature and how high their reproductive hormone levels reach as adults.

Coral Reefs May Be More Resilient Than Expected:

Coral reef bleaching, believed to be one of the detrimental effects of climate change, may receive a welcomed "buffer" through effective local management, according to new research by a team of scientists recording the long-term recovery of coral reefs in Palau and elsewhere.

Deep Sounds Scare Fish Away From Turbines That Could Kill Them:

Fish migrating downstream take quite a risk if their rivers are bordered by industries that use large amount of water for cooling or hydroelectric purposes. Water intakes generally open in the direction of the main current channel of the river, resulting in migrating fish being pulled in. Some die of asphyxiation on the filters, others by a lethal contact with turbine blades. This impact has greatly contributed to the decline of migratory species of fish, such the European eel and the Atlantic salmon, both important as fishery resources. In the particular case of the European eel, threatened worldwide, the cumulative mortality of adults migrating downstream in large rivers towards the sea can exceed 90% due to the succession of industrial water intakes.

Call Her Isoke: Louisville Zoo's Baby Pygmy Hippo Receives Her Name:

The Louisville Zoo's female baby pygmy hippo heard her name for the first time--Isoke (ee SO keh), which is African for satisfying gift.