Science caught our attention this week with a ghost island, images of actual DNA and the dark side of the Mayan Apocalypse rumours. Check these out.
11. 1st Direct DNA Photo
Fifty-nine years after James Watson and Francis Crick deduced the double-helix structure of DNA, a scientist has captured the first direct photograph of the twisted ladder that props up life.
Enzo Di Fabrizio, a physics professor at the Magna Graecia University in Catanzaro, Italy, snapped the picture using an electron microscope.
10. Stonehenge Timeline Revamped
Ancient people probably assembled the massive sandstone horseshoe at Stonehenge more than 4,600 years ago, while the smaller bluestones were imported from Wales later, a new study suggests.
The conclusion, detailed in the December issue of the journal Antiquity, challenges earlier timelines that proposed the smaller stones were raised first.
9. Water Ice Discovered on Mercury
It's time to add Mercury to the list of worlds where you can go ice-skating. Confirming decades of suspicion, a NASA spacecraft has spotted vast deposits of water ice on the planet closest to the sun.
Temperatures on Mercury can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees Celsius), but around the north pole, in areas permanently shielded from the sun's heat, NASA's Messenger spacecraft found a mix of frozen water and possible organic materials.
8. Porn Stars Have Higher Self-Esteem
Despite the stereotype that porn actresses are "damaged goods," they actually report higher self-esteem, more positive feelings and greater levels of spirituality than other women, a new study finds.
As previous research has shown, the general public tends to have a negative opinion of female porn stars, assuming that they come from desperate backgrounds and are driven to the industry by low self-respect, a history of childhood sex abuse or other psychological factors.
7. A Medium's Brain in a Trance
The supernatural experience of having the dead communicate through the living has now been analyzed with brain scans.
Their brain activity suggests those more expert at entering these otherworldly trances often experienced a drop in focus, self-awareness and consciousness, scientists said.
6. Babies' Cries Reveal Autism Risk
The pitch of babies' cries may provide clues as to whether they are at risk for autism as early as 6 months old, a new study suggests.
The researchers recorded cries from 39 6-month old infants, 21 of whom were at risk for autism because they had an older sibling with the condition. The others were healthy babies with no family history of autism.
5. Ancient Playing Cards Discovered
Call it a card player's dream. A complete set of 52 silver playing cards gilded in gold and dating back 400 years has been discovered.
Created in Germany around 1616, the cards were engraved by a man named Michael Frömmer, who created at least one other set of silver cards.
4. Dark Side of Doomsday Rumors
NASA scientists took time on Wednesday (Nov. 28) to soothe 2012 doomsday fears, warning against the dark side of Mayan apocalypse rumours - frightened children and suicidal teens who truly fear the world may come to an end Dec. 21.
These fears are based on misinterpretations of the Mayan calendar. On the 21st, the date of the winter solstice, a calendar cycle called the 13th b'ak'tun comes to an end. Although Maya scholars agree that the ancient Maya would not have seen this day as apocalyptic, rumours have spread that a cosmic event may end life on Earth on that day.
3. Tale of Google's Phantom Island
A Kiwi librarian may have discovered the origin of a non-existent island that's been outfoxing cartographers for more than a century.
Sandy Island, still visible as a Manhattan-size void in the Coral Sea on Google Earth, was officially "undiscovered" last week after a group of Australian scientists gingerly navigated their research vessel directly through the spot where it should have been.
2. Ladies Prefer Thin Over Macho
Macho features have long been touted as an evolutionary asset that heterosexual women look for in a potential mate. But new research suggests weight may be a more powerful driver of attraction.
Macho features such as a strong jaw and squinty eyes advertise that a guy possesses high testosterone, according to the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. Since high levels of this masculinizing hormone interfere with the immune system, the theory goes, macho men must be extra-fit to withstand the handicap their extra testosterone confers.
1. New Kind of Matter Created
Collisions between particles inside the Large Hadron Collider atom smasher have created what looks like a new form of matter.
The new kind of matter is called colour-glass condensate, and is a liquid-like wave of gluons, which are elementary particles related to the strong force that sticks quarks together inside protons and neutrons (hence they are like "glue").
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