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Frontiers in Plant Science (FiPS) is off to Brazil from October 25 – 29 for the triennial International Plant Molecular Biology meeting, held this year at Iguazú Falls. If you’re attending the 11th International Congress of Plant Molecular Biology (IPMB 2015) in Brazil this month, we’d love to see you at the Frontiers booth. Stop by to learn more about Frontiers in Plant Science — the third-largest journal overall in plant science, and ranked first for volume and impact factor among Open Access titles — or to meet the chief editors of the Plant Evolution and Development, Plant Metabolism and Chemodiversity, and Plant Systems and Synthetic Biology sections....

When it comes to mathematics, girls rate their abilities markedly lower than boys, even when there is no observable difference between the two, according to Florida State University researchers. Boys are significantly more confident in challenging mathematics contexts than otherwise identically talented girls, finds a new study “The argument continues to be made that gender differences in the ‘hard’ sciences is all about ability,” said Lara Perez-Felkner, assistant professor of higher education and sociology in the College of Education....

Are you busy on an average day? Do you often have too many things to do to get them all done? Do you often have so many things to do that you go to bed later than your regular bedtime? If you are over 50 and the answer to these questions is a weary yes, here is some good news: older adults with a busy daily lifestyle tend to do better on tests of cognitive function than their less busy peers, shows a new study in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience....

Genuine concern for others’ pain plays a causal role when judging moral dilemmas, shows a study in Frontiers in Psychology Neural resonance in the brain’s inferior frontal cortex more active in those with aversion to harming others — By the University of California, Los Angeles It is wartime. You and your fellow refugees are hiding from enemy soldiers, when a baby begins to cry. You cover her mouth to block the sound....

Revolutionary new technique for studying lake sediments can reveal when prehistoric insect swarms occurred: Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution Revolutionary new technique for studying lake sediments can reveal when prehistoric insect swarms occurred – improving our knowledge of their impact, predictability and links to climate change – By Tania FitzGeorge-Balfour Moth scales, preserved in the mud of a coniferous forest lake, have been used to identify outbreaks of these insects over the past 10,000 years....

By Colm Gorey, Science Communications Manager Each month, Frontiers shines a spotlight on some of the leading research across a wide range of topics. Here are just some of the highlights that resonated strongly with readers on our news site in the month of January. Likely energy source behind first life on Earth found ‘hiding in plain sight’ Life on Earth arose roughly 4bn years ago. How it arose, and from what energy source is of interest to everyone because we humans like to know where we come from....

by Emily Barker, Frontiersin.org In the Bay of Biscay, the anchovy catches went from 90,000 tons to less than 10,000 tons in the early 2000s. After intervention from scientists and the European Union, the population recovered and is now at its highest level since the 1980s. Anchovies are an important resource for people living on the coast, and just one of the stories, which show that by linking science and policy – we have helped restore the world’s oceans....

Study is proof-of-principle that background music can improve road safety: Frontiers in Psychology By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Scientists show for the first time with a VR simulation and neurophysiology measurements that playback of slow music inside road tunnels keeps drivers alert, relaxed, and focused on safety. For maximal vigilance, alarm sounds like sirens should be played at the tunnel’s entry and exit, where the risk of accidents is greatest....

By Mischa Dijkstra, Frontiers science writer Researchers show that the notes within duets between female and male Gursky’s spectral tarsiers on Sulawesi are taxing for the singers, presumably due to physiological constraints. An individual’s ‘virtuosity’ in singing these demanding notes could thus signal fitness to conspecifics, similarly to the costly tail of peacocks. Opera arias are typically rich in coloratura, for example fast, high notes that stretch over a wide frequency range....

El Pilar, an ancient Maya site in Belize In our Frontier Scientists series, we talk to Dr Anabel Ford, a leading researcher on the ancient Maya, about her career and research interests. Ford recently published a study in Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution in which she stressed the importance of the traditional milpa land use system for the Maya civilization, not only in the Classical Period, but also today. Dr Anabel Ford is a US archeologist who specializes in the ancient Maya of Central America....

Genes linked to hormone signaling and immune function are altered in females, whereas genes related to nerve signaling are affected in males: Frontiers in Genetics Genes linked to hormone signaling and immune function are altered by binge alcohol drinking in females, whereas genes related to nerve signaling are affected in males. — By Tania Fitzgeorge-Balfour, science writer Gene expression in an area of the brain linked to addiction is affected differently by repeated binge drinking in males and females, finds a new study published in Frontiers in Genetics....

By Brian Boyle Magnetic fields are everywhere. Every electric circuit creates one. They are utilized in such diverse applications as real time brain imaging (fMRI), and in developing future means of transport (MAGLEV trains). The earth itself, with its north and south poles, emits a magnetic field which protects us from dangerous solar radiation – and radiation from further afield. The magnetospheres interaction with this radiation is revealed, at least indirectly, in the beauty of the aurora borealis....

Get the Frontiers’ Editorial Office picks of top research published in Frontiers in Materials Stay up-to-date with top research across the field of Materials Science Take a look the following trending research in Frontiers in Materials Featured Article Don’t miss the review on Pressure-Induced Densification of Oxide Glasses at the Glass Transition. This paper is part of the article collection on Ultrastrong Glasses, guest edited by one of our Chief Editors Lothar Wondraczek....

Frontiers was honored to be named a finalist in the 19th annual Ernst and Young (EY) Swiss Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Since 1998, EY has offered a unique platform to celebrate entrepreneurs around the world, and this year was no exception. Frontiers was proud to be listed as one of three finalists in the category of Industry / High-Tech / Life Sciences. “It was an honor to have Frontiers recognized in this category for the EY Awards....

Frontiers in Materials is proud to announce the launch of its newest section – Functional Ceramics. Led by Specialty Chief Editor Sheikh Akbar, professor at the Ohio State University, the section aims to publish high quality articles on the processing, structure and properties of ceramic materials and will encompass the whole spectrum of dimensionalities from nanoparticles to bulk ceramic materials. Functional Ceramics will cover ground-breaking advances in design, theory and simulation, and multifunctional performance, as well as multidisciplinary and unique processing, and characterization techniques of ceramic materials....

Loop, the Frontiers research network, has revamped and launched new “Author Impact Metrics”, which provide researchers with aggregated impact metrics across all of their publications, at a unified author level. The new enhancement to the impact pages is an inclusive approach that aggregates content from a number of external sources including Scopus, CrossRef, PubMed and PlosOne; and together with data from Frontiers and Loop, provide researchers a far more accurate measurement of their academic impact at an international scale....

Philipps University Marburg has formed an institutional membership agreement for open access publishing with Frontiers. This institutional agreement means that eligible researchers of Philipps University Marburg may benefit from 10 % membership discount. To check your eligibility, for information on how much of the APCs can be covered by the Open Access Publishing Fund or if you require any further details, please visit the libraries Open Access Publishing page or contact openaccess@ub....

By Ian Salter, Frontiers Science Writer The use of robotic tutors in primary school classrooms is one step closer according to research recently published in the open access journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience. Dr Imbernòn Cuadrado and his co-workers at the Department of Artificial Intelligence in Madrid have developed an integrated computational architecture (ARTIE) for use with software applications in schools. “The main goal of our work was to design a system that can detect the emotional state of primary school children interacting with educational software and make pedagogic interventions with a robot tutor that can ultimately improve the learning experience,” says Luis Imbernòn Cuadrado....

Below is a list of Frontiers eBooks published in November 2016. All Frontiers eBooks are free to download, share and distribute. The psychology of magic is a nascent field of research that examines the underlying mechanisms that conjurers use to achieve enchanting phenomena. Science: Perception, Action, and Cognition, hosted by Snehlata Jaswal Fetal Therapies and Maternal-Fetal Tolerance, hosted by Graça Almeida-Porada and Tippi MacKenzie The Neuronal Functions of EF-hand Ca(2+)-binding Proteins 2nd Edition, hosted by Michael R....

Study shows vocal communication in mice is affected by the same gene needed for speech in humans By Marcus Banks, Science Writer Our current understanding is that mice have either no — or extremely limited — neural circuitry and genes similar to those that regulate human speech. According to a recent study published in Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, this understanding may be incorrect. Dr. Jonathan Chabout is the lead author of the paper, whose principal investigator is Dr....