Today's Science News
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Featured Research
from universities, journals, and other organizations
Science and Art Bring Back to Life 300-Million-Year-Old Specimens of a Primitive Reptile-Like Vertebrate
July 21, 2014 — Paleontologists have recreated the cranial structure of a 308-million-year-old lizard-like vertebrate that could be the earliest example of a reptile and explain the origin of all vertebrates that ... full story
Mysterious Dance of Dwarf Galaxies May Force a Cosmic Rethink
July 21, 2014 — The discovery that many small galaxies throughout the universe do not 'swarm' around larger ones like bees do but 'dance' in orderly disc-shaped orbits is a challenge to our ... full story
Marmoset Sequence Sheds New Light on Primate Biology and Evolution
July 20, 2014 — Scientists have completed the genome sequence of the common marmoset -- the first sequence of a New World Monkey -- providing new information about the marmoset's unique rapid reproductive ... full story
Scientists Experimentally Re-Create Conditions Deep Inside Giant Planets, Such as Jupiter and Many Exo-Planets
July 17, 2014 — Using the largest laser in the world, scientists for the first time have experimentally re-created the conditions that exist deep inside giant planets, such as Jupiter, Uranus and many of the planets ... full story
Earth-Like Soils on Mars? Ancient Fossilized Soils Potentially Found Deep Inside Impact Crater Suggest Microbial Life
July 17, 2014 — Soil deep in a crater dating to some 3.7 billion years ago contains evidence that Mars was once much warmer and wetter, says a geologist based on images and data captured by the rover ... full story
Mammoth and Mastodon Behavior Was Less Roam, More Stay at Home
July 21, 2014 — Their scruffy beards weren't ironic, but there are reasons mammoths and mastodons could have been the hipsters of the Ice Age. According to new research, the famously fuzzy relatives of ... full story
Transiting Exoplanet With Longest Known Year: 704 Earth Days
July 21, 2014 — Astronomers have discovered a transiting exoplanet with the longest known year. Kepler-421b circles its star once every 704 days. In comparison, Mars orbits our Sun once every 780 days. Most of the ... full story
More Than Glitter: How Gold Nanoparticles Easily Penetrate Cells, Making Them Useful for Delivering Drugs
July 21, 2014 — A special class of tiny gold particles can easily slip through cell membranes, making them good candidates to deliver drugs directly to target cells. Scientists can now explain how gold nanoparticles ... full story
Sea Level Rising in Western Tropical Pacific Anthropogenic as Result of Human Activity, Study Concludes
July 20, 2014 — Sea levels likely will continue to rise in the tropical Pacific Ocean off the coasts of the Philippines and northeastern Australia as humans continue to alter the climate, a study concludes. The ... full story
Children as Young as Three Recognize 'Cuteness' in Faces of People, Animals
July 21, 2014 — Children as young as three are able to recognize the same ‘cute’ infantile facial features in humans and animals which encourage caregiving behavior in adults, new research has shown. A study ... full story
Genetic Risk for Autism Stems Mostly from Common Genes
July 20, 2014 — Using new statistical tools, scientists have discovered that most of the genetic risk for autism comes from versions of genes that are common in the population rather than from rare variants or ... full story
Size and Age of Plants Impact Their Productivity More Than Climate
July 20, 2014 — The size and age of plants has more of an impact on their productivity than temperature and precipitation, according to a landmark study. They show that variation in terrestrial ecosystems is ... full story
New Technique Maps Life's Effects on Our DNA: Powerful Single-Cell Technique to Study Environmental Effects on DNA
July 20, 2014 — Researchers have developed a powerful new single-cell technique to help investigate how the environment affects our development and the traits we inherit from our ... full story
A Noble Gas Cage: New Material Traps Gases from Nuclear Fuel Better and Uses Less Energy Than Currently Available Options
July 20, 2014 — A new material called CC3 effectively traps xenon, krypton, and radon. These gases are used in industries such as lighting or medicine and, in the case of radon, one that can be hazardous when it ... full story
Scientists Map One of Most Important Proteins in Life -- And Cancer
July 20, 2014 — Scientists reveal the structure of one of the most important and complicated proteins in cell division -- a fundamental process in life and the development of cancer -- in a new research article. ... full story
- 300-Million-Year-Old Reptile-Like Vertebrate
- Rethinking Mysterious Dance of Dwarf Galaxies
- Marmoset Sequenced: First of New World Monkey
- Conditions Deep Inside Giant Planets Re-Created
- Earth-Like Soils On Mars Suggest Microbial Life
- Mammoths and Mastodons Liked to Stay Home
- Transiting Exoplanet With Longest Known Year
- Cell-Penetrating Nanoparticles for Drug Delivery
- Sea Rising in Western Pacific: Human Activity
- 'Cute' Recognized as Young as Three Years Old
- Autism Risk Stems Mostly from Common Genes
- Plant Productivity: Size, Age Trump Climate
- New Technique Maps Life's Effects On Our DNA
- New Material Traps Potentially Harmful Gases
- Mapped: Protein Vital for Life -- And Cancer
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last updated on 2014-07-22 at 3:43 am EDT
Epigenetic Tie to Neuropsychiatric Disorders Found
July 21, 2014 — Dysfunction in dopamine signaling profoundly changes the activity level of about 2,000 genes in the brain's prefrontal cortex and may be an underlying cause of certain complex neuropsychiatric ... full story
Parents Rank Their Obese Children as 'Very Healthy'
July 21, 2014 — Parents of obese children often do not recognize the potentially serious health consequences of childhood weight gain or the importance of daily physical activity in helping their child reach a ... full story
Stem Cells Aid Muscle Repair, Strengthening After Resistance Exercise
July 21, 2014 — By injecting mesenchymal stem cells into mouse leg muscles prior to several bouts of eccentric exercise (similar to the lengthening contractions performed during resistance training in humans), ... full story
New Research Links Bad Diet to Loss of Smell
July 21, 2014 — Could stuffing yourself full of high-fat foods cause you to lose your sense of smell? A new study by neuroscientists says so, and it has researchers taking a closer look at how our diets could impact ... full story
Process to Purify Water Using Seed Extracts Now Simplified
July 21, 2014 — Researchers have streamlined and simplified a process that uses extracts from seeds of Moringa oleifa trees to purify water, reducing levels of harmful bacteria by 90 percent to 99 percent. The hardy ... full story
Genes That Contribute to Radiation Resistance Identified
July 21, 2014 — Forty-six genes in Escherichia coli have been discovered that are necessary for its survival at exceptionally high levels of radiation, researchers report in a new article. "The research has revealed ... full story
Diagnostic Criteria for Christianson Syndrome
July 21, 2014 — A new study provides the most definitive characterization of the autism-like intellectual disability disorder Christianson Syndrome and provides the first diagnostic criteria to help doctors and ... full story
Missing Sleep May Hurt Your Memory
July 21, 2014 — Lack of sleep, already considered a public health epidemic, can also lead to errors in memory, finds a new study that found participants deprived of a night’s sleep were more likely to flub the ... full story
Human Platelets Successfully Generated Using Next-Generation Bioreactor
July 21, 2014 — A scalable, next-generation platelet bioreactor has been created to generate fully functional human platelets in vitro. The work is a major biomedical advancement that will help address blood ... full story
Age-Related Macular Degeneration Occurs Much Earlier Than Previously Assumed
July 21, 2014 — Even individuals under the age of 50 years can suffer early forms of age-related macular degeneration, researchers say. With the help of their findings, the researchers were also able to gain ... full story
- Epigenetic Tie to Neuropsychiatric Disorders
- Parents Rank Own Obese Kids as 'Very Healthy'
- Stem Cells Aid Muscle Repair After Exercise
- New Research Links Bad Diet to Loss of Smell
- Simplified: Purifying Water Using Seed Extracts
- Genes That Contribute to Radiation Resistance
- Diagnostic Criteria for Christianson Syndrome
- Missing Sleep May Hurt Your Memory
- Human Platelets Generated Using Bioreactor
- Macular Degeneration Occurs Earlier Than Thought
Try, Try Again? Study Says No: Trying Harder Makes It More Difficult to Learn Some Aspects of Language, Neuroscientists Find
July 21, 2014 — Neuroscientists find that trying harder makes it more difficult to learn some aspects of language. When it comes to learning languages, adults and children have different strengths. Adults excel at ... full story
Philosopher Uses Game Theory to Understand How Words, Actions Acquire Meaning
July 21, 2014 — Why does the word "dog" have meaning? If you say "dog" to a friend, why does your friend understand you? A philosopher aims to address these types of questions in his latest research, which focuses ... full story
Brain Waves Show Learning to Read Does Not End in 4th Grade, Contrary to Popular Theory
July 21, 2014 — Teachers-in-training have long been taught that fourth grade is when students stop learning to read and start reading to learn. But a new study tested the theory by analyzing brain waves and found ... full story
Large Twin Study Suggests That Language Delay Due More to Nature Than Nurture
July 21, 2014 — A study of 473 sets of twins followed since birth found twins have twice the rate of language delay as do single-born children. Moreover, identical twins have greater rates of language delay than do ... full story
Enzyme Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease
July 21, 2014 — Unclogging the body’s protein disposal system may improve memory in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, according to ... full story
Researchers Identify Brain Network With Mapping Technique
July 18, 2014 — A new image-based strategy has been used to identify and measure placebo effects in randomized clinical trials for brain disorders. The researchers used a network mapping technique to identify ... full story
Antipsychotic Drugs Linked to Slight Decrease in Brain Volume
July 18, 2014 — A new study has confirmed a link between antipsychotic medication and a slight, but measureable, decrease in brain volume in patients with schizophrenia. For the first time, researchers have been ... full story
Experts Urge New Discipline Combining Benefits of Neuroscience, Psychology Treatments
July 18, 2014 — For some conditions, such as bipolar disorder, psychological treatments are not effective or are in their infancy. A 'culture gap' between neuroscientists and clinical scientists is hindering mental ... full story
New Clues to Brain's Wiring Found by Scientists
July 18, 2014 — New research provides an intriguing glimpse into the processes that establish connections between nerve cells in the brain. These connections, or synapses, allow nerve cells to transmit and process ... full story
New Cellular Garbage Control Pathway With Relevance for Human Neurodegenerative Diseases
July 18, 2014 — Several human neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and Huntington's disease, are linked to an accumulation of abnormal and aggregated proteins in cells. Cellular 'garbage' ... full story
- Try, Try Again? Neuroscientists Say No
- Game Theory: How Words, Actions Acquire Meaning
- Learning to Read Does Not End in 4th Grade
- Language Delay Due More to Nature Than Nurture
- Enzyme Linked to Alzheimer’s Disease
- Brain Network Identified With Mapping Technique
- Antipsychotics: Slight Decrease in Brain Size
- New Discipline? Neuroscience Plus Psychology
- New Clues to Brain's Wiring Found by Scientists
- Cellular Garbage Linked to Neuro Diseases
New Trigger for Ovulation Could Make IVF Safer
July 18, 2014 — A new and potentially safer method to stimulate ovulation in women undergoing IVF treatment has been developed by researchers. Twelve babies have been born after their mothers were given an injection ... full story
Negative HPV Test May Predict Lower Cervical Cancer Risk Than a Negative Pap
July 18, 2014 — In the US, cotesting for human papilloma virus and Pap testing for cervical cancer every 5 years for women aged 30-65 years is now recommended. However, human papilloma virus testing alone may ... full story
Choosing Cheese: Research Identifies Microbial Communities in Cheese
July 17, 2014 — After studying 137 varieties of cheese collected in 10 different countries, researchers have been able to identify three general types of microbial communities that live on cheese, opening the door ... full story
Losing Sleep Over Your Divorce? Your Blood Pressure Could Suffer
July 17, 2014 — It's normal for people to experience trouble sleeping after a divorce, but if sleep problems last too long, they can lead to potentially harmful increases in blood pressure, a new study finds. The ... full story
Adolescent Alcohol Abuse Disrupts Transitions Into Early Adulthood
July 17, 2014 — Adolescent alcohol abuse is known to be associated with adverse outcomes in early adulthood. It is unclear how much of this association is due to the influence of differences in familial background ... full story
Fish Oil May Benefit Alcohol Abusers
July 17, 2014 — Omega-3 fish oil might help protect against alcohol-related neurodamage and the risk of eventual dementia, according to a study. Many human studies have shown that long-term alcohol abuse causes ... full story
Obese Women May Have Learning Deficit Specific to Food
July 17, 2014 — Obese women have a deficit in reward-based learning, but only when food is involved. Importantly, say researchers, those same women have no trouble at all forming accurate associations when the ... full story
Eye Movements Reveal Difference Between Love and Lust
July 17, 2014 — A new study suggests the difference between love and lust might be in the eyes. Specifically, where your date looks at you could indicate whether love or lust is in the cards. The new study found ... full story
Preventing Foodborne Illness Naturally: With Cinnamon
July 17, 2014 — Cinnamomum cassia oil was shown to be effective as a natural antibacterial agent against several strains of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli, known to the US Centers for Disease Control and ... full story
Investing in Sexual, Reproductive Health of 10 to 14 Year Olds Yields Lifetime Benefits
July 17, 2014 — Globally there are over half a billion 10 to 14 year olds. Researchers report these years provide a unique narrow window of opportunity to facilitate transition into healthy teenage and adulthood and ... full story
- New Trigger for Ovulation Could Make IVF Safer
- Negative HPV Test Result Versus Negative Pap
- Microbial Communities Living in Cheese
- Losing Sleep Over Divorce: Blood Pressure Impact
- Teen Alcohol Abuse Harms Transition to Adulthood
- Fish Oil May Benefit Alcohol Abusers
- Obese Women: Learning Deficit Specific to Food?
- Love or Lust? Eye Movements Reveal Truth
- Prevent Foodborne Illness With Cinnamon
- Benefits from Investing in Sexual Health of Youth
Understanding Graphene's Electrical Properties on an Atomic Level
July 21, 2014 — For the first time, researchers have used a cutting-edge microscope to study the relationship between the atomic geometry of a ribbon of graphene and its electrical ... full story
Chemists Eye Improved Thin Films With Metal Substitution
July 21, 2014 — The yield so far is small, but chemists have developed a low-energy, solution-based mineral substitution process to make a precursor to transparent thin films that could find use in electronics and ... full story
Carbyne Morphs When Stretched: Calculations Show Carbon-Atom Chain Would Go Metal to Semiconductor
July 21, 2014 — Applying just the right amount of tension to a chain of carbon atoms can turn it from a metallic conductor to an insulator. The research has implications for mechanically activated nanoscale ... full story
Replacing Coal, Oil With Natural Gas Will Not Help Fight Global Warming, Expert Argues
July 21, 2014 — Both shale gas and conventional natural gas have a larger greenhouse gas footprint than do coal or oil, especially for the primary uses of residential and commercial heating. "While emissions of ... full story
Seals Forage at Offshore Wind Farms
July 21, 2014 — By using sophisticated GPS tracking to monitor seals' every movement, researchers have shown for the first time that some individual seals are repeatedly drawn to offshore wind farms and pipelines. ... full story
Tiny Laser Sensor Heightens Bomb Detection Sensitivity
July 20, 2014 — Researchers have created a plasmon laser detector that can sniff out tiny traces of airborne molecules of explosives. The sensor detected both DNT and ammonium nitrate at concentrations below one ... full story
Astronauts to Test Free-Flying 'Housekeeper' Robots
July 20, 2014 — Inspired by science fiction, three bowling ball-size free-flying Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites (SPHERES) have been flying inside the International Space ... full story
Highly Charged Ions: Multiply Ionized Atoms for Clocks, Qubits, and Constants
July 18, 2014 — Why can't neodymium be more like tin? Well it can, if you ionize it enough. Why strip atoms of a dozen or more electrons? To make them more amenable for use in atomic clocks and quantum ... full story
Universal Three-Body Relation: Physicists Succeed in Revealing the Scaling Behavior of Exotic Giant Molecules
July 18, 2014 — When a two-body relation becomes a three-body relation, the behavior of the system changes and typically becomes more complex. While the basic physics of two interacting particles is well understood, ... full story
New Material Puts a Twist in Light
July 18, 2014 — Scientists have uncovered the secret to twisting light at will. It is the latest step in the development of photonics, the faster, more compact and less carbon-hungry successor to electronics. A ... full story
- Graphene's Electrical Properties: Atomic Level
- Better Thin Films With Metal Substitution
- Conductor to Insulator: Stretched Carbyne Morphs
- Global Warming: Natural Gas Not the Answer?
- Seals Forage at Offshore Wind Farms
- Tiny Laser Sensor Improves Bomb Detection
- Testing Free-Flying Housekeeper Robots in Space
- Multiply Ionized Atoms for Clocks, Qubits
- Scaling Behavior of Exotic Giant Molecules
- New Material Puts a Twist in Light
Oceans Vital for Possibility for Alien Life
July 20, 2014 — Researchers have made an important step in the race to discover whether other planets could develop and sustain life. New research shows the vital role of oceans in moderating climate on Earth-like ... full story
Rosetta Spacecraft Approaching Twofold Comet
July 18, 2014 — As the European Space Agency's spacecraft Rosetta is slowly approaching its destination, comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, the comet is again proving to be full of surprises. New images obtained by ... full story
Lunar Pits Could Shelter Astronauts, Reveal Details of How 'Man in the Moon' Formed
July 17, 2014 — While the moon's surface is battered by millions of craters, it also has over 200 holes -- steep-walled pits that in some cases might lead to caves that future astronauts could explore and use for ... full story
Is the Universe a Bubble? Let's Check: Making the Multiverse Hypothesis Testable
July 17, 2014 — Scientists are working to bring the multiverse hypothesis, which to some sounds like a fanciful tale, firmly into the realm of testable science. Never mind the Big Bang; in the beginning was the ... full story
Sharpest Map of Mars Surface Properties
July 16, 2014 — A heat-sensing camera has provided data to create the most detailed global map yet made of Martian surface properties. Surface properties tell geologists about the physical nature of a planet or ... full story
Asteroid Vesta to Reshape Theories of Planet Formation
July 16, 2014 — Researchers have a better understanding of the asteroid Vesta and its internal structure, thanks to numerical simulations and data from the space mission Dawn. Their findings question contemporary ... full story
NASA's Van Allen Probes Show How to Accelerate Electrons
July 15, 2014 — One of the great, unanswered questions for space weather scientists is just what creates two gigantic donuts of radiation surrounding Earth, called the Van Allen radiation belts. Recent data from the ... full story
Every Full Moon, Landsat Looks to the Moon
July 13, 2014 — Every full moon, Landsat 8 turns its back on Earth. As the satellite's orbit takes it to the nighttime side of the planet, Landsat 8 pivots to point at the moon. It scans the distant lunar surface ... full story
Out of an Hours-Long Explosion, a Stand-in for the First Stars
July 11, 2014 — Astronomers analyzing a long-lasting blast of high-energy light observed in 2013 report finding features strikingly similar to those expected from an explosion from the universe's earliest stars. If ... full story
Hi-Ho! Astronomers Discover Seven Dwarf Galaxies With New Telescope
July 10, 2014 — Meet the seven new dwarf galaxies. Astronomers, using a new type of telescope made by stitching together telephoto lenses, recently discovered seven celestial surprises while probing a nearby spiral ... full story
- Oceans Vital for Possibility for Alien Life
- Rosetta Spacecraft Approaching Twofold Comet
- Moon Camping? Lunar Pits to Shelter Astronauts
- Is the Universe a Bubble? Multiverse Hypothesis
- Sharpest Map of Mars Surface Properties
- Asteroid Vesta: New Planet Formation Theories
- Van Allen Belts: How to Accelerate Electrons
- Every Full Moon, Landsat Looks to the Moon
- Universe's First Stars: Hours-Long Explosion
- Hi-Ho! Astronomers Find Seven Dwarf Galaxies
Mixing It Up: Study Provides New Insight Into Southern Ocean Behavior
July 20, 2014 — Turbulent mixing in the deep waters of the Southern Ocean, which has a profound effect on global ocean circulation and climate, varies with the strength of surface eddies -- the ocean equivalent of ... full story
Speedy Computation Enables Scientists to Reconstruct an Animal's Development Cell by Cell
July 20, 2014 — Researchers have developed a new computational method that can rapidly track the three-dimensional movements of cells in such data-rich images. Using the method, scientists can essentially automate ... full story
Getting a Grip on Robotic Grasp: New Wrist-Mounted Device Augments the Human Hand With Two Robotic Fingers
July 18, 2014 — Twisting a screwdriver, removing a bottle cap, and peeling a banana are just a few simple tasks that are tricky to pull off single-handedly. Now a new wrist-mounted robot can provide a helping hand ... full story
Big Data Used to Guide Conservation Efforts
July 18, 2014 — Genetic studies have given us detailed information about the evolutionary relationships embodied in the Tree of Life, while newly digitized museum collections contain a wealth of information about ... full story
Revealed: The Mystery Behind Starling Flocks
July 18, 2014 — The mystery behind the movements of flocking starlings could be explained by the areas of light and dark created as they fly, new research suggests. The research found that flocking starlings aim to ... full story
Random Nature of Metastasis Revealed by Physicists
July 17, 2014 — The spreading of a cancerous tumor from one part of the body to another may occur through pure chance instead of key genetic mutations, a new study has shown. Physicists have used a statistical model ... full story
'Nanocamera' Takes Pictures at Distances Smaller Than Light's Own Wavelength
July 17, 2014 — Researchers have demonstrated that an array of novel gold, pillar-bowtie nanoantennas can be used like traditional photographic film to record light for distances that are much smaller than the ... full story
Future Electronics May Depend on Lasers, Not Quartz
July 17, 2014 — Nearly all electronics require devices called oscillators that create precise frequencies -- frequencies used to keep time in wristwatches or to transmit reliable signals to radios. For nearly a ... full story
Birdsongs Automatically Decoded by Computer Scientists
July 17, 2014 — Scientists have found a successful way of identifying bird sounds from large audio collections, which could be useful for expert and amateur bird-watchers ... full story
Math Can Make the Internet 5-10 Times Faster
July 17, 2014 — Mathematical equations can make Internet communication via computer, mobile phone or satellite many times faster and more secure than today. A new study uses a four minute long mobile video as an ... full story
- New Clues to Southern Ocean Behavior, Climate
- Reconstructing Animal's Development Cell by Cell
- Extra Robotic Fingers Augment the Human Hand
- Big Data Used to Guide Conservation Efforts
- Revealed: The Mystery Behind Starling Flocks
- Random Nature of Metastasis Shown by Physicists
- 'Nanocamera' Takes Pictures of Tiniest Things
- Future Electronics: Lasers, Not Quartz?
- Birdsongs Decoded by Computer Scientists
- Math Can Make the Internet 5-10 Times Faster
Real Price of Steak: Comparing Environmental Costs of Livestock-Based Foods
July 21, 2014 — New research reveals the comparative environmental costs of livestock-based foods. While we are told that eating beef is bad for the environment, do we know its real cost? Are the other animal or ... full story
Climate: Meat Turns Up the Heat as Livestock Emit Greenhouse Gases
July 21, 2014 — Eating meat contributes to climate change, due to greenhouse gasses emitted by livestock. New research finds that livestock emissions are on the rise and that beef cattle are responsible for far more ... full story
Mammals Metabolize Some Pesticides to Limit Their Biomagnification
July 21, 2014 — The concentrations of many historically used, and now widely banned, pesticides and other toxic chemicals -- called legacy contaminants -- can become magnified in an animal that eats contaminated ... full story
Technology Tracks the Elusive Nightjar
July 21, 2014 — Bioacoustic recorders could provide us with vital additional information to help us protect rare and endangered birds such as the European nightjar, new research has shown. The study found that newly ... full story
Fecal Transplants Let Packrats Eat Poison
July 21, 2014 — Woodrats lost their ability to eat toxic creosote bushes after antibiotics killed their gut microbes. Woodrats that never ate the plants were able to do so after receiving fecal transplants with ... full story
When Temperatures Get Cold, Newly-Discovered Process Helps Fruit Flies Cope
July 21, 2014 — Cold-blooded animals cannot regulate their body temperature, so their cells are stressed when facing temperature extremes. Worse still, even at slightly colder temperatures, some biological processes ... full story
Healing the Heart With Fat? 18-HEPE Might Help, Study Suggests
July 21, 2014 — Too much dietary fat is bad for the heart, but the right kind of fat keeps the heart healthy, according to a new paper. Scientists in Japan have shown that mice engineered to produce their own EPA ... full story
Effect on Pregnancy of Receiving Antiretroviral Therapy for Prevention of HIV
July 19, 2014 — Among heterosexual African couples in which the male was HIV positive and the female was not, receipt of antiretroviral pre-exposure preventive (PrEP) therapy did not result in significant ... full story
Microplastics Worse for Crabs and Other Marine Life Than Previously Thought: Enter Through Gills
July 18, 2014 — The tiny plastic particles polluting our seas are not only orally ingested by marine creatures, but also enter their systems through their gills, according to a new study. When microplastics are ... full story
Four New Species of Tuco-Tucos Identified from Bolivia
July 18, 2014 — Four new species of Ctenomys, a genus of gopher-like mammals found throughout much of South America, have been identified by researchers. The burrowing rodents are commonly called tuco-tucos. The ... full story
- Environmental Costs of Livestock-Based Foods
- Climate Change: Livestock Emit Greenhouse Gases
- Pesticides Metabolized by Some Mammals
- Technology Tracks the Elusive Nightjar
- Fecal Transplants Let Packrats Eat Poison
- Process Helps Fruit Flies Cope With Cold Temps
- Healing the Heart With Fat?
- Does HIV Antiretroviral Usage Affect Pregnancy?
- Microplastics Harm Crabs and Other Marine Life
- Four New Species of Tuco-Tucos from Bolivia
Global Warming 'Pause' Since 1998 Reflects Natural Fluctuation
July 21, 2014 — Statistical analysis of average global temperatures between 1998 and 2013 shows that the slowdown in global warming during this period is consistent with natural variations in temperature, according ... full story
New Meteorological Insight Into Mid-Level Clouds
July 21, 2014 — At medium altitudes ranging from 6,000 feet to 20,000 feet above mean sea level, water droplets in altocumulus clouds can remain in a supercooled liquid phase that cannot be reasonably resolved in ... full story
The Bend in the Appalachian Mountain Chain Is Finally Explained
July 18, 2014 — The 1,500-mile Appalachian mountain chain runs along a nearly straight line from Alabama to Newfoundland -- except for a curious bend in Pennsylvania and New York State. Researchers now know what ... full story
A 10-Year Endeavor: NASA's Aura and Climate Change
July 18, 2014 — Celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, NASA's Aura satellite and its four onboard instruments measure some of the climate agents in the atmosphere, including greenhouse gases, clouds and dust ... full story
Catastrophic Debris Avalanches: A Second Volcanic Hazard
July 18, 2014 — Volcanic hazards aren't limited to eruptions. Debris avalanche landslides can also cause a great deal of damage and loss of life. Stratovolcanoes, with their steep, conical shapes made up of lava and ... full story
Tiniest Catch: Scientists' Fishing Expedition Reveals Viral Diversity in Sea
July 17, 2014 — Using bacteria as bait, scientists caught wild ocean viruses and then deciphered their genomes. They learned that the genetic lines between virus types in nature are less blurred than previously ... full story
Atlantic Salmon Show Capacity to Adapt to Warmer Waters
July 17, 2014 — Populations of Atlantic salmon have a surprisingly good capacity to adjust to warmer temperatures that are being seen with climate change, a group of scientists has discovered. The finding about ... full story
Untangling Spider's Webs: Largest-Ever Study of Spider Genetics Shows Orb Weaver Spiders Do Not Share Common Origins
July 17, 2014 — The largest-ever phylogenetic study of spiders shows that, contrary to long-held popular opinion, the two groups of spiders that weave orb-shaped webs do not share a single ... full story
How Existing Cropland Could Feed Billions More
July 17, 2014 — Feeding a growing human population without increasing stresses on Earth's strained land and water resources may seem like an impossible challenge. But according to a new report focusing efforts to ... full story
Chromosome-Based Draft of the Wheat Genome Completed
July 17, 2014 — Scientists have completed a chromosome-based draft sequence of the bread wheat genome as well as the first reference sequence of chromosome 3B, the largest chromosome in ... full story
- Global Warming 'Pause' Is Natural Fluctuation
- Meteorological Insight Into Mid-Level Clouds
- Bend in Appalachian Mountain Chain Explained
- 10-Year Endeavor: NASA's Aura and Climate Change
- Debris Avalanches: Second Volcanic Hazard
- Fishing Expedition: Viral Diversity in Sea
- Atlantic Salmon Adapt to Warmer Waters: Study
- Spider Origins: Spinners of Orb-Shaped Webs
- How Existing Cropland Could Feed Billions More
- Chromosome-Based Draft of Wheat Genome
Tooth Plaque Provides Unique Insights Into Our Prehistoric Ancestors' Diet
July 16, 2014 — An international team of researchers has found new evidence that our prehistoric ancestors had a detailed understanding of plants long before the development of agriculture. By extracting chemical ... full story
Brain of World's First Known Predators Discovered
July 16, 2014 — Scientists have found the fossilized remains of the brain of the world's earliest known predators, from a time when life teemed in the oceans but had not yet colonized the land. The discovery reveals ... full story
Animal Foraging Tactics Unchanged for 50 Million Years
July 15, 2014 — Animals have used the same technique to search for food that's in short supply for at least 50 million years, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed fossilized sea urchin trails from northern ... full story
Dodos and Spotted Green Pigeons Are Descendants of an Island Hopping Bird
July 15, 2014 — The mysterious spotted green pigeon was a relative of the dodo, according to scientists who have examined its genetic make-up. The authors say their results support a theory that both birds are ... full story
New Feathered Predatory Fossil Sheds Light on Dinosaur Flight
July 15, 2014 — A new raptorial dinosaur fossil with exceptionally long feathers has provided exciting insights into dinosaur flight. A new article asserts that the fossil has a long feathered tail that scientists ... full story
Little Too Late: Pathogenic Bacterium in 700-Year-Old Skeleton Identified
July 15, 2014 — Researchers have recovered a genome of the bacterium Brucella melitensis from a 700-year-old skeleton found in the ruins of a Medieval Italian village. Researchers used a technique called shotgun ... full story
Ötzi's Non-Human DNA: Opportunistic Pathogen Discovered in Iceman Tissue Biopsy
July 15, 2014 — Ötzi’s human genome was decoded from a hip bone sample taken from the 5,300 year old mummy. However the tiny sample weighing no more than 0.1 g provides so much more information. A team of ... full story
Bones of Elephant Ancestor Unearthed: Meet the Gomphothere
July 14, 2014 — An ancient ancestor of the elephant, once believed to have disappeared from North America before humans ever arrived there, might actually have roamed the continent longer than previously thought. ... full story
Running for Life: How Speed Restricts Evolutionary Change of the Vertebral Column
July 14, 2014 — One of the riddles of mammal evolution is explained: the conservation of the number of trunk vertebrae. Dutch and American researchers have shown that this conservation is due to the role of speed in ... full story
Serendipity at the Smithsonian: The 107-Year 'Journey' of the Beetle Rhipidocyrtus Muiri
July 14, 2014 — Serendipity leads scientists to the discovery and description of Rhipidocyrtus muiri -- a 107 year old, lost in collections specimen, which turned out to represent a new genus and species. The long ... full story
- Tooth Plaque Shows Prehistoric Ancestors' Diet
- Brain of World's First Known Predators
- Foraging Tactics Unchanged for 50 Million Years
- Green Pigeons, Dodos: From Island Hopping Bird
- Dinosaur Flight: New Feathered Predatory Fossil
- Pathogenic Bacterium in 700-Year-Old Skeleton
- Pathogen on Iceman: Ötzi's Non-Human DNA
- Bones of Elephant Ancestor Unearthed
- How Speed Limits Evolution of Vertebral Column
- 107-Year 'Journey' of a Beetle
Rate of HIV Diagnosis in U.S. Examined in Study
July 19, 2014 — The annual HIV diagnosis rate in the U.S. decreased more than 30 percent from 2002-2011, with declines observed in several key populations, although increases were found among certain age groups of ... full story
Forty Percent of Ontario Female Prisoners Enter Correctional System With a Traumatic Brain Injury
July 17, 2014 — Almost 40 per cent of Ontario female prisoners have a history of traumatic brain injury (TBI), a study has shown. Unlike the men participating in the study, half of these women sustained a TBI before ... full story
Anti-Tank Missile Detector Joins Fight Against Malaria
July 17, 2014 — State-of-the-art military hardware could soon fight malaria, one of the most deadly diseases on the planet. Researchers have used an anti-tank Javelin missile detector, more commonly used in warfare ... full story
How Does Working Part-Time Versus Working Full-Time Affect Breastfeeding Goals?
July 17, 2014 — While many women intend to breastfeed despite returning to work, a new study finds that mothers who plan to breastfeed for at least three months but return to work full-time are less likely to meet ... full story
Cooperation: Preteens, Teens Most Fickle, Older People Most Cooperative
July 15, 2014 — A new experimental study analyzed how cooperative attitudes evolve in different age ranges. Researchers found that young people between the ages of ten and sixteen demonstrate more fickle behavior ... full story
Socio-Economic Change More of a Problem for Nomads Than Climate Change
July 15, 2014 — Socio-economic change could have a much bigger impact than climate change on grazing lands in the world’s arid regions. This is the conclusion reached by scientists who simulated ecological and ... full story
Rethinking Fish Farming to Offset Its Public Health and Environmental Risks
July 14, 2014 — As government agencies recommend greater consumption of seafood for its health benefits, a new analysis urges medical and public health professionals to consider the environmental and health impact ... full story
Sierra Leone Samples: Ebola Evidence in West Africa in 2006
July 14, 2014 — Analysis of clinical samples from suspected Lassa fever cases in Sierra Leone showed that about two-thirds of the patients had been exposed to other emerging diseases, and nearly nine percent tested ... full story
Belize's Lobster, Conch, and Fish Populations Rebuild in No-Take Zones
July 13, 2014 — A new report shows that no-take zones in Belize can not only help economically valuable species such as lobster, conch, and fish recover from overfishing, but may also help re-colonize nearby reef ... full story
Australia Drying Caused by Greenhouse Gases, Study Shows
July 13, 2014 — A new high-resolution climate model has been developed that shows southwestern Australia's long-term decline in fall and winter rainfall is caused by increases in human-made greenhouse gas emissions ... full story
- Rate of HIV Diagnosis in U.S. Examined in Study
- Female Prisoners Entering Corrections With TBI
- Anti-Tank Missile Detector Fights Malaria
- How Is Breastfeeding Affected by Working Hours?
- Cooperation: Preteens, Teens Most Fickle
- Nomads: Socio-Economic Change Worse Than Warming
- Rethinking Fish Farming to Offset Risks
- West Africa Ebola Evidence from Before Outbreak
- Belize's Lobster and Fish Populations Rebuild
- Australia Drying Caused by Greenhouse Gases
Powerful New Source of Up-to-Date Information on Economic Activity
July 10, 2014 — Researchers have developed a new data infrastructure for measuring economic activity. The infrastructure uses aggregated and de-identified data on transactions and account balances from Check, a ... full story
Computer Security: 'Melbourne Shuffle' Secures Data in the Cloud
July 10, 2014 — Encryption might not be enough for all that data stored in the cloud. Usage patterns -- which files are accessed and when -- can give away secrets as well. Computer scientists have developed an ... full story
Neuroeconomists Confirm Warren Buffett's Wisdom: Brain Research Suggests an Early Warning Signal Tips Off Smart Traders
July 7, 2014 — Investment magnate Warren Buffett has famously suggested that investors should try to 'be fearful when others are greedy and be greedy only when others are fearful.' That turns out to be excellent ... full story
Putting a Price Tag on the 2 Degree Celsius Climate Target
July 2, 2014 — Addressing climate change will require substantial new investment in low-carbon energy and energy efficiency -- but no more than what is currently spent on today's fossil-dominated energy system, ... full story
Oil Palm Plantations Threaten Water Quality, Scientists Say
June 30, 2014 — Indonesia pays a price for a lucrative crop used in many household products. Palm plantations damage freshwater streams that supply drinking water to millions of people. Found in thousands of ... full story
Are You Seen as a Jerk at Work? Many People Are Oblivious to How They Come Across to Counterparts and Colleagues
June 30, 2014 — New research shows that many people seen by others as under-assertive or over-assertive think they're appropriately assertive. The study also reveals that people seen as getting assertiveness right ... full story
Back Away, Please: Humans Tend to Fear Things Approaching, Even If Non-Threatening
June 23, 2014 — We still have negative feelings about things that approach us -- even if they objectively are not threatening, according to new research. Though we modern humans don't really consider such fear, it ... full story
New Research Proves Gender Bias Extraordinarily Prevalent in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math Fields
June 23, 2014 — With everyone from the federal government to corporate America working to encourage more women to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math fields, you would think the doors would ... full story
Android Security Weaknesses Caused by Performance Design Identified
June 19, 2014 — Researchers have identified a weakness in one of Android’s security features. The research identifies an Android performance feature that weakens a software protection called Address Space Layout ... full story
Crucial Security Problem in Google Play: Thousands of Secret Keys Found in Android Apps
June 18, 2014 — Researchers have discovered a crucial security problem in Google Play, the official Android app store. The study is the first to make a large-scale measurement of the huge marketplace, using ... full story
- New Source of Information On Economic Activity
- 'Melbourne Shuffle' Secures Data in the Cloud
- Neuroeconomists Confirm Warren Buffett's Wisdom
- Putting a Price Tag On Climate Target
- Oil Palm Plantations Threaten Water Quality
- Are You Seen as a Jerk at Work?
- Humans Tend to Fear Things Approaching
- Huge Gender Bias in STEM Careers
- Android Security Weaknesses Identified
- Thousands of Secret Keys Found in Android Apps
Months Before Their First Words, Babies' Brains Rehearse Speech Mechanics
July 14, 2014 — New research in 7- and 11-month-old infants shows that speech sounds stimulate areas of the brain that coordinate and plan motor movements for speech. The study suggests that baby brains start laying ... full story
Want a Higher GPA in College? Join a Gym
July 10, 2014 — For those students looking to bump up their grade point averages during college, the answer may not be spending more time in a library or study hall, but in a gym. New research shows that students ... full story
Same Genes Drive Mathematics and Reading Ability
July 8, 2014 — About half of the genes that influence how well a child can read also play a role in their mathematics ability, say scientists who led a study into the genetic basis of cognitive traits. While ... full story
Working Memory Is Key to Early Academic Achievement
July 8, 2014 — Working memory in children is linked strongly to reading and academic achievement, a new study has shown. Moreover, this finding holds true regardless of socio-economic status. This suggests that ... full story
3-D Printer to Aid the Visually Impaired Students in Their Educational Endeavors
July 2, 2014 — New technology has been developed to make tactile objects with ease thanks to the convergence technology of 3-D printing and 3-D thermal reflow treatment, which can be denoted as the revolution in ... full story
Learn Dutch in Your Sleep: Listening to Lessons While Sleeping Reinforces Memory
June 30, 2014 — When you have learned words in another language, it may be worth listening to them again in your sleep. A study has now shown that this method reinforces memory. "Our method is easy to use in daily ... full story
The Secrets of Children's Chatter: Research Shows Boys and Girls Learn Language Differently
June 27, 2014 — Experts believe language uses both a mental dictionary and a mental grammar. The mental ‘dictionary’ stores sounds, words and common phrases, while mental ‘grammar’ involves the real-time ... full story
Increased Nearsightedness Linked to Higher Education Levels and More Years Spent in School
June 26, 2014 — Researchers have found strong evidence that attaining a higher level of education and spending more years in school are two factors associated with a greater prevalence and severity of ... full story
First Year University Students Struggle to Remember Basic Concepts Learned the Year Before
June 25, 2014 — University freshers struggle to remember basic concepts from their A-level studies according to new U.K. research. A new report shows that even grade-A students could only remember 40 percent of ... full story
Learning by Repetition Impairs Recall of Details, Study Shows
June 23, 2014 — While repetition enhances the factual content of memories, it can reduce the amount of detail stored with those memories, neurobiologists report following a recent study. This means that with ... full story
- Before First Words, Babies' Brains Rehearse
- Want a Higher GPA in College? Join a Gym
- Same Genes Drive Maths and Reading Ability
- Working Memory Is Key to Early Achievement
- 3-D Printer to Aid Visually Impaired Students
- Learn Dutch in Your Sleep
- Boys and Girls Learn Language Differently
- Increased Nearsightedness Linked to Education
- Basic Concepts from High School Lost in a Year
- Learning by Repetition Impairs Recall of Details
