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Top Science News

December 29, 2015

Mathematical Model for Animal Stripes

Exceptionally Strong and Lightweight New Metal

Wild Crows Fashion Special Hook Tools

Gullies On Mars Not Sculpted by Liquid Water

Dec. 23, 2015 — The back of a tiger could have been a blank canvas. Instead, nature painted the big cat with parallel stripes, evenly spaced and perpendicular to the spine. Scientists don't know exactly how stripes ... read more

Dec. 23, 2015 — A team led by researchers has created a super-strong yet light structural metal with extremely high specific strength and modulus, or stiffness-to-weight ratio. To create the super-strong but ... read more

Dec. 23, 2015 — Scientists have been given an extraordinary glimpse into how wild New Caledonian crows make and use 'hooked stick tools' to hunt for insect prey. Biologists have captured first recordings documenting ... read more

Dec. 22, 2015 — Mars's gullies may be formed by dry ice processes rather than flowing liquid water, as previously thought. Scientists show that, during late winter and spring, underneath the seasonal CO2 ice layer ... read more

Latest Top Headlines

updated 8:13pm EST

Blocking Fat Transport Linked to Longevity

Dec. 22, 2015 — Everybody knows that a buildup of the wrong kind of fats can cause cardiovascular disease. A new study in nematode worms and mice also finds that a protein that transports fats around the body can hinder protective processes in cells and affect ... read more

Empathy With Strangers Can Be Learned

Dec. 21, 2015 — We can learn to empathize with strangers. Surprisingly, positive experiences with people from another group trigger a learning effect in the brain, which increases empathy, researchers reveal. They add that only a handful of positive learning experiences already suffice for a person to become ... read more

Mazes and Brains: When Preconception Trumps Logic

Dec. 22, 2015 — Rhe regions of the brain responsible for preconception have been found by researchers who have decoded what scenes people picture in their minds. The discovery helps researchers to reconstruct what we see in our minds when we navigate -- and explain how we get ... read more

How the Brain Wakes You Up

Dec. 21, 2015 — A mechanism that is responsible for the rapid arousal from sleep and anesthesia in the brain has been discovered by researchers. The results of their study suggest new strategies for the medical treatment of sleep disorders and recovery of consciousness in ... read more

Surface Physics: How Water Learns to Dance

Dec. 21, 2015 — From pole dancing to square dance: Water molecules on perovskite surfaces show interesting patterns of motion. Surface scientists have now managed to image the dance of ... read more

Giant Comets Could Pose Danger to Life on Earth

Dec. 22, 2015 — The discovery of hundreds of giant comets in the outer planetary system over the last two decades means that these objects pose a much greater hazard to life than asteroids, a team of ... read more

Scientists Blueprint Tiny Cellular 'Nanomachine'

Dec. 18, 2015 — Scientists have drawn up molecular blueprints of a tiny cellular 'nanomachine,' whose evolution is an extraordinary feat of nature, by using one of the brightest X-ray sources ... read more

New Mars Rover Findings Revealed

Dec. 17, 2015 — NASA's Mars Curiosity rover has found much higher concentrations of silica at some sites the rover has investigated in the past seven months than anywhere else it has visited since landing on Mars 40 months ago. Silica makes up nine-tenths of the composition of some of ... read more

Arms Race Between Ebola Virus and Bats, Waged for Millions of Years

Dec. 23, 2015 — Ebola virus and bats have been waging a molecular battle for survival that may have started 25 million years ago, according to a new study. The findings shed light on the biological factors that determine which bat species may harbor the virus between outbreaks in humans and how bats may transmit ... read more

Same Growth Rate Shown for Farming, Non-Farming Prehistoric People

Dec. 21, 2015 — Prehistoric human populations of hunter-gatherers in a region of North America grew at the same rate as farming societies in Europe, according to a new radiocarbon analysis. The findings challenge the commonly held view that the advent of agriculture 10,000-12,000 years ago accelerated human ... read more

Wild Bee Decline Threatens US Crop Production

Dec. 21, 2015 — The first national study to map US wild bees suggests they're disappearing in many of the country's most important farmlands. If losses of these pollinators continue, the new nationwide assessment indicates that farmers will face increasing costs -- and that the problem may even destabilize the ... read more

Mammal Diversity Exploded Immediately After Dinosaur Extinction

Dec. 21, 2015 — The diversity of mammals on Earth exploded straight after the dinosaur extinction event, according to new research. New analysis of the fossil record shows that placental mammals, the group that today includes nearly 5,000 species including humans, became more varied in anatomy during the Paleocene ... read more

Researchers Use WiFi To See Through Walls

Study: As Many As 90 Percent Of Cancer Cases Are Caused By Lifestyle

The Fight To Save Darwin's Finches From A Blood-Sucking Threat

Extraterrestrial Life May Only Be 14 Light Years Away

Material Purchases Can Bring Happiness

Understanding the Sense of Smell in Cells

Treating Heart Disease Through the Gut?

Stroke Recovery in Mice Improved by Ambien

Dec. 21, 2015 — Researchers have shown that material purchases, from sweaters to skateboards, provide more frequent happiness over time, whereas experiential purchases, like a trip to the zoo, provide more intense ... read more

Dec. 21, 2015 — Cells have an infallible sense of smell that tells them which direction to grow in to move closer to the source of a scent. Now, researchers have now learned how this sense of smell ... read more

Dec. 17, 2015 — Researchers have demonstrated -- for the first time -- that targeting microbes in the gut may prevent heart disease brought on by nutrients contained ... read more

Dec. 18, 2015 — Mice that had strokes rebounded significantly faster if they received low doses of a popular sleeping aid, according to researchers. Zolpidem, better known by the trade name Ambien, has long been ... read more

Latest Health Headlines

updated 8:13pm EST

Absence of Serotonin Alters Development, Function of Brain Circuits

Dec. 23, 2015 — The first complete model to describe the role that serotonin plays in brain development and structure has been created by researchers. Serotonin is an important neuromodulator of brain development and the structure and function of neuronal (nerve cell) ... read more

Innovation Sheds Light on How Genetic Information Travels from Cell's Nucleus

Dec. 23, 2015 — A new research discovery is opening a window on cell biology rarely seen before. The work has revealed a real-time look at how genetic information travels within a living cell. The discovery, observed through a specially designed high-powered ... read more

Kidney Injury Common Following Vascular Surgery

Dec. 23, 2015 — Both acute kidney injury and chronic kidney disease were common in patients undergoing major vascular surgical procedures and were associated with an increase in long-term cardiovascular-specific death compared with patients with no kidney disease, according to a ... read more

High Drowsy Driving Crash Risk on Daytime Commute After Night Work

Dec. 21, 2015 — Those who commute home after working the night shift may be at high risk for drowsy driving crashes because of disruption to their sleep-wake cycles and insufficient sleep during the ... read more

The Link Between Imagery and Performance

Dec. 23, 2015 — Imagine standing on a basketball court, throwing the basketball and watching it arc into the net. Chances are you’ll make that shot without a problem if you’ve been practicing, according to ... read more

Circadian Rhythm of Genes in Brain Changes With Aging, Research Shows

Dec. 21, 2015 — Examination of thousands of genes from nearly 150 human brains shows the circadian rhythm of brain gene activity changes with aging, according to a first-of-its-kind ... read more

Low Blood Flow in Back of Brain Increases Risk of Recurrent Stroke

Dec. 21, 2015 — Patients who have had a stroke in the back of the brain are at greater risk of having another within two years if blood flow to the region is diminished, according to results of a ... read more

Activity Trackers Are Better at Counting Steps Than Measuring Sleep

Dec. 21, 2015 — Wearable activity trackers that promise to monitor physical activity, sleep and more are becoming increasingly popular with health-conscious consumers. A recent study has found that the trackers are better at measuring some metrics than ... read more

For Low-Risk Pregnancies Home Births Do Not Increase Risk of Complications, Study Shows

Dec. 21, 2015 — For women with low-risk pregnancies who plan to give birth at home with the help of a midwife, there is no increased risk of harm to the baby, compared with a planned hospital visit, according to new research in Canadian Medical Association ... read more

Drawing the Line on Tanning Bed Use by Teens

Dec. 21, 2015 — The FDA recently proposed a ban on tanning bed use by those under 18. Now a behavioral scientist, whose research aims to understand why young people frequently engage in indoor tanning, shares some insight into the ... read more

Parent Touch, Play and Support in Childhood Vital to Well-Being as an Adult

Dec. 21, 2015 — Did you receive affection, play freely and feel supported in childhood? Childhood experiences like these appear to have a lot to do with well-being and moral capacities in ... read more

Are You Facebook Dependent?

Dec. 22, 2015 — What can create a dependency on Facebook? In a new study, researchers learned the more a person uses Facebook to fulfill goals, the more dependent on the social media platform they may become. A Facebook dependency is not equivalent to an addiction. Rather, the reasons why people use Facebook determine the level of dependency they have on the social network. 301 Facebook users between the ages of ... read more

The US Teen Birth Rate Dropped 61 Percent Since 1991

Helping People Walk With 3D Printing

Colombia Legalizes Medical Marijuana

NFL Won't Listen To Neurologist's Findings On CTE — Sound Familiar?

Black Holes: As Large as 50 Billion Suns

The Force Awakens in a Newborn Star

Cosmic Clumpy Doughnut Around Black Hole

New Metamaterial Manipulates Sound

Dec. 18, 2015 — Black holes at the heart of galaxies could swell to 50 billion times the mass of the sun before losing the discs of gas they rely on to sustain ... read more

Dec. 17, 2015 — Just in time for the release of the movie "Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens," NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has photographed what looks like a cosmic, double-bladed ... read more

Dec. 17, 2015 — The most massive black holes in the universe are often encircled by thick, doughnut-shaped disks of gas and dust. This deep-space doughnut material ultimately feeds and nourishes the growing black ... read more

Dec. 16, 2015 — Researchers have developed a metamaterial made of paper and aluminum that can manipulate acoustic waves to more than double the resolution of acoustic imaging, focus acoustic waves, and control the ... read more

Latest Physical/Tech Headlines

updated 8:13pm EST

New Technology Enables Us to 'Chart' All Cells in Brain

Dec. 21, 2015 — The human brain is made up of hundreds of millions of cells. Many of these cells and their functions are as yet unknown. This is about to change with a new technology that is being used for the first time in Europe. By combining traditional methods of identifying cells under a microscope and so-called "single-cell RNA sequencing", it is possible to identify every building block of any given ... read more

Metabolic Pathway in Cyanobacteria Could Yield Better Biofuels, Bioproducts from Photosynthesis

Dec. 22, 2015 — A metabolic pathway previously only suggested to be functional in photosynthetic organisms is actually a major pathway and can enable efficient conversion of carbon dioxide to organic compounds, scientists have ... read more

Hydrogen Production Efforts Advanced by Research

Dec. 22, 2015 — Advances have been made toward affordable photoelectrochemical production of hydrogen. This work shows that molecular catalysts can be as highly active as the precious metal-based ... read more

A More Durable Protein Hydrogel Based on Elastic Silk-Like Protein

Dec. 18, 2015 — Researchers examined the behavior of sea anemone to create a mechanically durable hydrogel. Their creation of an aneroin hydrogel provides significantly stronger properties than those of collagen, gelatin, and elastin. The mechanically durable and biologically favorable aneroin hydrogel shows clear advantages and could be used in various biomedical applications, especially for cell-containing ... read more

U.S. Demonstrates Production of Fuel for Missions to the Solar System and Beyond

Dec. 23, 2015 — The first U.S. production in nearly 30 years of a specialized fuel to power future deep space missions has been completed by researchers at the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) ... read more

NASA Suspends 2016 Launch of InSight Mission to Mars

Dec. 23, 2015 — After thorough examination, NASA managers have decided to suspend the planned March 2016 launch of the Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) mission. The decision follows unsuccessful attempts to repair a leak in a section of the prime instrument in ... read more

Lowdown on Ceres: Images from Dawn's Closest Orbit

Dec. 22, 2015 — NASA's Dawn spacecraft, cruising in its lowest and final orbit at dwarf planet Ceres, has delivered the first images from its best-ever viewpoint. The new images showcase details of the cratered and fractured surface. 3-D versions of two of these views are ... read more

Twisted Magnetic Fields Give New Insights on Star Formation

Dec. 21, 2015 — Highly detailed images from the Very Large Array show that magnetic field lines are twisted into new alignments as they are dragged inward toward forming ... read more

'Robot Locust' Can Traverse Rocky Terrain, Assist in Search and Rescue

Dec. 17, 2015 — A new miniature robot is poised to make a major contribution to the field of advanced robotics. Researchers believe that the new locust-inspired robot will perform well in search-and-rescue missions and in reconnaissance operations in rough ... read more

Snake Bellies Help Scientists Get a Grip

Dec. 17, 2015 — A new study sheds light on how snakes' sharp-edged belly keels improve climbing abilities, which could lead to bio-inspired robotic designs and new methods to prevent snake ... read more

Email Between Patients, Physicians Improves Health, Survey Shows

Dec. 21, 2015 — A third of patients with chronic conditions who exchanged secure emails with their doctors said that these communications improved their overall health, according to a new ... read more

Oceanographers Use Super-Computers to Help Farmers in Bangladesh

Dec. 17, 2015 — A computer model that aims to provide physical information on the Bangladesh delta to policy makers there, has received the ‘impact’ award from the national super-computing facility, ARCHER. This is the first model to link the open ocean with the limit of tidal interaction in Bangladesh. This model predicts changes in tidal water level and salinity in the delta region, and could be used to ... read more

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Environment News

December 29, 2015

Cool Roofs Have Benefits During Heat Waves

New Kind of Hydrothermal Vent System Found

Life Exploded On Earth After Slow Rise of Oxygen

Widespread Tree Death in Southwest Forests?

Dec. 22, 2015 — It is well established that white roofs can mitigate the urban heat island effect, reflecting the sun's energy back into space and reducing a city's temperature. In a new study of Guangzhou, China, ... read more

Dec. 22, 2015 — Researchers have identified hydrothermal vents in the deep sea of the Caribbean which are unlike any found before. They are unusual in their structure, formed largely of talc, rather than the more ... read more

Dec. 18, 2015 — It took 100 million years for oxygen levels in the oceans and atmosphere to increase to the level that allowed the explosion of animal life on Earth about 600 million years ago, according to a ... read more

Dec. 21, 2015 — In a broad analysis of climate change scenarios, researchers see a grim future for evergreen forests in the Southwest region of the United States. Using field reports, validated regional predictions ... read more

Latest Environment Headlines

updated 8:13pm EST

Rivers, Lakes Impact Ability of Forests to Store Carbon

Dec. 21, 2015 — Forests help remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by storing it in trees, but a sizeable amount of the greenhouse gas actually escapes through the soil and into rivers and streams, report ... read more

Evolutionary Advantage of Genetic Recombination in the Genome Measured for First Time

Dec. 21, 2015 — Researchers have quantified one of the most important and hard-to-measure phenomena in molecular evolution: the effect of genetic recombination on a species' capacity of ... read more

Normal Weather Drives Salt Marsh Erosion

Dec. 21, 2015 — Coastal wetlands are in retreat in many locations around the globe -- raising deep concerns about damage to the wildlife that the marshes nourish and the loss of their ability to protect against violent storms. The biggest cause of their erosion is waves driven by moderate storms, not occasional ... read more

Targeted Fisheries Management Needed to Promote Healthy Coral Reefs

Dec. 21, 2015 — The designation of marine protected areas in the coral reefs of East Africa may not be the only solution to overfishing. A scientist says that's because broad protections like the establishment of no-fishing zones often do not target the species critical for promoting healthy ... read more

Dating Historic Activity at Oso Site Shows Recurring Major Landslides

Dec. 23, 2015 — Radiocarbon dating of landslides near the deadly March 2014 mudslide in Oso, Washington show that this is a geologically active region, with other large slides in the relatively ... read more

Salty Sea Spray Affects Lifetimes of Clouds, Researchers Find

Dec. 21, 2015 — Ice particles from sea spray affect the phase structure of clouds and their radiative impacts, a new study reveals. Researchers now say that sea spray is a unique, underappreciated source of what are called ice nucleating particles -- microscopic bits that make their way into clouds and initiate ... read more

102 New Species Described by the California Academy of Sciences in 2015

Dec. 17, 2015 — From unknown African frogs to electric rays and animal viruses, spanning five continents and three oceans, the Academy's 102 new species discoveries add to Earth's tree ... read more

Closest Relatives of Baltic Sea Plankton Are Found in Brackish North American Waters

Dec. 22, 2015 — The first large-scale mapping of genomes of bacterial plankton in the Baltic Sea shows that the bacterias' closest relatives are not found in oceans or freshwater lakes, but in other brackish environments. The genomes may not yet answer where these ... read more

Religion and Politics Led to Social Tension and Conflict, Then and Now

Dec. 21, 2015 — Humans haven't learned much in more than 2,000 years when it comes to religion and politics. Religion has led to social tension and conflict, not just in today's society, but dating back to 700 B.C. according to a ... read more

Turn-Taking in Communication May Be More Ancient Than Language

Dec. 18, 2015 — New research on turn-taking in conversation focuses on its implications for how languages are structured and for how language and communication ... read more

‘Smoke Detector’ Enables Fungal Partnership That Allowed Plants to First Survive on Land

Dec. 17, 2015 — A protein that detects hormones in smoke has a much wider and more ancient role in the plant kingdom – detecting microscopic soil fungi which colonise plants and feed nutrients to their cells. This ancient symbiosis with soil fungi is thought to ... read more

Preserved Embryos Illustrate Seed Dormancy in Early Angiosperms

Dec. 16, 2015 — The discovery of exceptionally well-preserved, tiny fossil seeds dating back to the Early Cretaceous corroborates that flowering plants were small opportunistic colonizers at that time, according to a new ... read more

Northern England Faces Unprecedented Flooding

"Worst Flooding in York Since 2000"

Raw: Rare Snowstorm Blankets Northern Mexico

Texas Tornado Raises Storm Death Toll

Scientists Peg Anthropocene to First Farmers

Water Pipes Crawl With Millions of Bacteria

US: Poverty Dampens Genetic Influence On IQ

Right Whales: Fishing Gear Entanglements

Dec. 17, 2015 — A new analysis of the fossil record shows that a deep pattern in the structure of plant and animal communities remained the same for 300 million years. Then, 6,000 years ago, the pattern was ... read more

Dec. 16, 2015 — Our drinking water is to a large extent purified by millions of "good bacteria" found in water pipes and purification plants, Swedish researchers have found. So far, the knowledge about them has been ... read more

Dec. 16, 2015 — The influence of genes on intelligence varies according to people's social class in the US, but not in Western Europe or Australia, an analysis of data gathered from 14 independent studies ... read more

Dec. 9, 2015 — For the first time, researchers have quantified the amount of drag on entangled whales that is created by towing fishing gear, such as rope, buoys, ... read more

Latest Society/Education Headlines

updated 8:13pm EST

Infectious Disease Spread Is Fueled by International Trade

Dec. 22, 2015 — International trade and travel has literally opened up new vistas for humans, ranging from travel to exotic places to enjoying the products and services of those distant lands. But along with international trade and travel comes the risk of spreading infectious diseases, a growing problem in today's global economy, says a ... read more

South Africa's Child Mortality Reduction Deemed 'a Successful Failure'

Dec. 22, 2015 — As the 25-year period for the UN Millennium Development Goals concludes on Dec. 31, 2015, to be replaced by the Sustainable Development Goals, a deeper analysis of factors outside defined goals is necessary to learn why some countries failed, ... read more

Less Financial Burden for Cancer Patients With Paid Sick Leave, Study Finds

Dec. 22, 2015 — In a survey of more than 1,300 patients with stage 3 colorectal cancer, researchers found that only 55 percent who were employed at the time of diagnosis retained their jobs after treatment. Patients who had paid sick leave were nearly twice as likely to retain their jobs as those without paid sick ... read more

Pediatric Medication Poisonings More Likely in Poor, Rural Areas

Dec. 22, 2015 — Children younger than 5 who live in economically disadvantaged areas had a greater risk of medication poisoning that resulted in referral to a health care facility, according to scientists. These areas were rural and experienced high unemployment, along with lower rates of high school graduation ... read more

Children's ADHD Symptoms and Peer Relationships Influence Each Other Over Time

Dec. 16, 2015 — A study of 962 Norwegian children at ages 4, 6, and 8, investigated the bidirectional relationship between the development of ADHD symptoms in young children and rejection by ... read more

Helping Children at High Risk for Aggressive Behavior Found to Have Long-Term Benefits

Dec. 16, 2015 — A new longitudinal study examines an intervention for children at high risk of developing behavior problems. It found that teaching soft skills, such as self control, prevented criminal and delinquent problems later in ... read more

Swiss Students Are Not Fond of Brain-Doping

Dec. 11, 2015 — Switzerland has honest students: The vast majority of the students that were questioned were against pharmacological cognitive enhancement. Yet the topic should be addressed more actively by the universities, according to new ... read more

Public and Private Investments in Ph.D. Research Programs Pay Economic Development Dividends

Dec. 10, 2015 — Research-funded Ph.D. recipients earn high wages after graduation, participate in national and international labor markets, and make an important impact on local economic development, according to a ... read more

Preventing Diabetes at the Office

Dec. 11, 2015 — For people who already have high blood sugar, preventing diabetes could amount to just another day at the office. Employees enrolled in a workplace intervention program as a group lost more weight, showed greater reductions in fasting blood sugar and ate less fat than employees who received only written health guidelines for diabetes prevention, researchers ... read more

Unhealthy Choices Cost Company Health Care Plans Billions of Dollars

Dec. 10, 2015 — One out of every four dollars employers pay for health care is tied to unhealthy lifestyle choices or conditions like smoking, stress and obesity, despite the fact that most large employers have workplace wellness ... read more

Global Growth in Carbon Dioxide Emissions Stagnates

Nov. 25, 2015 — After a decade of rapid growth in global carbon dioxide emissions, which increased at an average annual rate of 4%, much smaller increases were registered in 2012 (0.8%), 2013 (1.5%) and 2014 (0.5%). In 2014, when the emissions growth was almost at a standstill, the world's economy continued to ... read more

Grow Your Own Way: Trade May Not Help a Warming Planet Fight Its Farming Failures

Nov. 20, 2015 — A new study co-authored by an economist suggests that international trade will do little to alleviate climate-induced farming problems. Instead, the report indicates that countries will have to alter their own patterns of crop production to lessen farming problems -- and even then, there will be significant net losses in production under the basic ... read more

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