Washington, June 11 : A new research has shown that people with tune deafness, an auditory processing disorder in which a person with normal hearing has trouble distinguishing notes in a melody, may actually be able to recognize an incorrect note unconsciously.

The researchers at the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), part of the National Institutes of Health, say that this study may help scientists use the tools of genetic research for a better understanding of the differences between conscious and unconscious thought.

Washington, June 11: An archaeologist at the University of Manchester says that the Greater Stonehenge Cursus may have been there since about 3,500 years BC, making the structure 500 years older than the circle itself.

Professor Julian Thomas and his colleagues could pinpoint the age of the ancient monument after finding an antler pick used to dig the Cursus, which they say is the most significant find since English antiquarian William Stukeley discovered it in 1723.

He says that upon performing carbon dating on the pick, the results pointed to an age that was much older than previously thought, between 3600 and 3300 BC.

Washington, June 11 : Symptoms associated with jet lag, shifts in work schedules, seasonal changes in day lengths, and disorders like insomnia and depression may become treatable with a pill if an Indian-origin researcher at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies has his way.

Dr. Satchidananda Panda says that this objective may be accomplished by understanding how the elimination of melanopsin, a photopigment in the eyes that measures the intensity of incoming light, makes the body clock blind to light without having any adverse effect on normal vision.

Washington, June 11 : A new research has determined that a new complete evolutionary ‘family tree’ showing how all British bird species are related to each other may provide clues about which ones are at risk of population decline and are endangered.

Comparing the new family tree with existing lists of endangered bird species, author Dr Gavin Thomas from the NERC Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College London found that British birds currently suffering population decline were clustered close together on the same branches of the family tree.

Because of this, the family tree, or ‘phylogeny’, could be used to predict which species are at risk of decline in the future.

Washington, June 11 : A new study has determined that the rate of climate warming and permafrost thaw over northern Alaska, Canada, and Russia could more than triple during periods of rapid sea ice loss.

Conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the study raises concerns about the thawing of permafrost, or permanently frozen soil, and the potential consequences for sensitive ecosystems, human infrastructure, and the release of additional greenhouse gases.

“Our study suggests that, if sea-ice continues to contract rapidly over the next several years, Arctic land warming and permafrost thaw are likely to accelerate,” said lead author David Lawrence of NCAR.

Washington, June 11 : Physicists have uncovered new secrets about the properties of graphene—a form of pure carbon that may one day replace the silicon in computers, televisions, mobile phones and other common electronic devices.

Graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycombed lattice, has a number of advantages over silicon.

Because it is an optically transparent conductor of electricity, graphene could be used to replace current liquid crystal displays that employ thin metal-oxide films based on indium, a rare metal that is becoming increasingly expensive and likely to be in short supply within a decade.