Science|Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan Wins Nobel Prize in Medicine and other top stories.

• Science|Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan Wins Nobel Prize in Medicine

  

  Photo Yoshinori Ohsumi of Japan used baker’s yeast to identify genes essential for autophagy. Credit Akiko Matsushita/Kyodo News, via Associated Press Yoshinori Ohsumi, a Japanese cell biologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for his discoveries on how cells recycle their content, a process known as autophagy.Autophagy, derived from the Greek, means “self-eating.”“This concept emerged during the 1960s, when researchers first observed th..

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• New Source Of Greenhouse Gas: How Do Water Reservoirs Accelerate Global Warming?

  

  Electricity generated by dams and reservoirs may not be so "clean" after all, a new report suggests. For decades, scientists have considered hydropower as a cheap but clean source of energy, renewable yearly by rainfall and snow. It is also an alternative to coal, nuclear and gas power plants. However, hydropower isn't all it's cracked up to be: researchers in Washington have discovered that hydroelectricity is actually an "underappreciated source" of greenhouse gases. Global Carbon Emission In..

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• A forming solar system with spiral arms

  

  In 1920, two famous astronomers held what’s come to be called The Great Debate. At that time, spiral galaxies were called spiral nebulae, and no one knew if they were relatively near us or exceedingly far away. During the 1920 debate, Heber D. Curtis argued that the spiral nebulae were very distant, vast galaxies like our Milky Way, composed of stars. Harlow Shapley argued that our universe had just one galaxy – our Milky Way – and that the spiral nebulae were nearby gas clouds, perhaps formin..

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• India ratifies Paris climate agreement

  

  NEW DELHI, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- India -- the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world -- ratified the landmark Paris climate agreement Sunday. Prime Minister Narendra Modi signed the pact on the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the country's independence from Britain. With India's signature, 62 countries have signed the pact. It will come into force legally after it is ratified by at least 55 countries between those that produce at least 55 percent of global carbon emissions. ..

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• Rare Tree Frog Species Likely Extinct After Last Known Living Member Dies At Atlanta Botanical Garden

  

  A rare species of tree frog may now be extinct following the death of its last known living member that lived in captivity. The frog called Toughie died in its enclosure at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The male amphibian, which is believed to be about 12 years old, was found dead during a routine daily inspection conducted on Sept. 29. "It's a sad day here at the Garden as we mourn the loss of our beloved Rabbs' fringe-limbed tree frog, " the Atlanta Botanical Garden posted on its Facebook pag..

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• Humans did inherit violence, but civilization made us less murderous

  

  If you think of all those news reports on violent killings, you’d probably think humans are the most murderous species around. And while humans are indeed quite violent, as inherited from our ancestors, we were much more so hundreds of years ago, and have civilization to thank for our mellowing down. Researchers analyzed more than a thousand species of mammals and calculated the rate in which they kill their own kind, and observed that the most violent species tended to be related to each ot..

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• Bonding through butterflies

  

  For the last two years, Batesville Primary School second-graders have used two great online programs to heighten their fascination with a certain butterfly, reports teacher Vickie Heil."These programs allow the students to learn about monarchs, understand the problems facing monarchs and how to help monarchs. They also allow the students to work together with schools in Mexico," allowing a global connection.Now they are taking part in the 21st annual Symbolic Monarch Butterfly Migration (Journe..

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• How Soon Could Elon Musk Send People to Mars?

  

  This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article. Mars is the future. It’s after all NASA’s current overarching goal to send humans to the Red Planet. But even as early as the 1950s, aerospace engineer Wernher von Braun, had published his vision of a mission to Mars in his book The Mars Project. We’ve also heard visions of settling the Red Planet under the leadership of a private organisation before. So why does Elon Musk get so much attention? And how feasib..

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