Top Science News
September 26, 2016
Sep. 26, 2016 — Space is filled with types of light we can't see -- from infrared signals released by hot stars and galaxies, to the cosmic microwave background. Some of this invisible light that fills space takes ... read more
Sep. 25, 2016 — The rise of eukaryotic organisms (organisms with complex cells, or a single cell with a complex structure) is still a mystery, but researchers have ... read more
Sep. 24, 2016 — Ever since NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew by Pluto last year, evidence has been mounting that the dwarf planet may have a liquid ocean beneath its icy shell. Now, by modeling the impact dynamics ... read more
Sep. 23, 2016 — The copper used to make Ötzi's axe blade did not come from the Alpine region as had previously been supposed, but from ore mined in southern Tuscany. Ötzi was probably not involved in working the ... read more
Latest Top Headlines
updated 1:13pm EDT

What Happens When the Brain Is Artificially Stimulated?

Sep. 26, 2016 — Stimulating the brain via electricity or other means may help ease symptoms of various neurological and psychiatric disorders, with the method already used to treat conditions from epilepsy to depression. But what really happens when doctors zap ... read more
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How Cancer’s 'Invisibility Cloak' Works

Sep. 26, 2016 — Researchers have discovered how cancer cells become invisible to the body's immune system, a crucial step that allows tumors to metastasize and spread throughout ... read more
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Landmark Map Reveals the Genetic Wiring of Cellular Life

Sep. 23, 2016 — A new map breaks away from the old way of studying genes one at a time, showing how genes interact in groups to shed light on the genetic roots ... read more
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Multifaceted Genetic Impact of Training

Sep. 23, 2016 — Endurance training changes the activity of thousands of genes and give rise to a multitude of altered DNA-copies, RNA, researchers report. The study also nuances the concept of ... read more
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New Low-Mass Objects Could Help Refine Planetary Evolution

Sep. 26, 2016 — When a star is young, it is often still surrounded by a primordial rotating disk of gas and dust, from which planets can form. Astronomers like to find such disks because they might be able to catch the star partway through the planet formation process, but it's highly unusual to find such disks ... read more
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How to Merge Two Black Holes in a Simple Way

Sep. 26, 2016 — The merger of two black holes, such as the one that produced the gravitational waves discovered by the LIGO Observatory, is considered an extremely complex process that can only be simulated by the world's most powerful supercomputers. However, two theoretical physicists have demonstrated that what ... read more
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ALMA Explores the Hubble Ultra Deep Field: Deepest Ever Millimeter Observations of Early Universe

Sep. 22, 2016 — International teams of astronomers have used the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) to explore the distant corner of the Universe first revealed in the iconic images of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field (HUDF). These new ALMA observations ... read more
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Hubble Finds Planet Orbiting Pair of Stars

Sep. 22, 2016 — Astronomers using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, and a trick of nature, have confirmed the existence of a planet orbiting two stars in the system OGLE-2007-BLG-349, located 8,000 light-years away towards the center of our galaxy. The Hubble observations represent the first time such a three-body ... read more
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In Bird Feathers, Scientists Find Hints About Color of Extinct Animals

Sep. 23, 2016 — In order to discover the true colors of ancient animals, scientists are using X-rays to closely examine the chemical details of modern bird feathers. The researchers were able to map elements that make up pigments responsible for red and black colors in feathers. They hope to use this information ... read more
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Acidity in Atmosphere Minimized to Preindustrial Levels

Sep. 24, 2016 — New research shows that human pollution of the atmosphere with acid is now almost back to the level that it was before the pollution started with industrialization in the 1930s. The results come from studies of the Greenland ... read more
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How Natural Selection Acted on One Penguin Species Over the Past Quarter Century

Sep. 24, 2016 — Biologists combed through 28 years' worth of data on Magellanic penguins to search for signs that natural selection -- one of the main drivers of evolution -- may be acting on certain ... read more
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Resonance in Rainbow Bridge

Sep. 22, 2016 — Utah's iconic Rainbow Bridge hums with natural and human-made vibrations, according to a new study. The study characterizes the different ways the bridge vibrates and what frequencies and energy sources cause the rock structure to resonate. The vibrations are small, according to a geology and ... read more
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Health News
September 26, 2016
Sep. 22, 2016 — A temporary tattoo to help control a chronic disease might someday be possible, according to scientists who tested newly created antioxidant ... read more
Sep. 22, 2016 — One of the biggest challenges in cancer therapy is being able to sufficiently deliver chemotherapy drugs to tumors without exposing healthy tissues to their toxic effects. Magnetic bacteria are a ... read more
Sep. 22, 2016 — With the help of two young patients with a unique neurological disorder, scientists have discovered that a gene called PIEZO2 controls specific aspects of human touch and proprioception, a "sixth ... read more
Sep. 22, 2016 — The DNA of young people is regulated to express the right genes at the right time. With the passing of years, the regulation of the DNA gradually gets disrupted, which is an important cause of aging. ... read more
Latest Health Headlines
updated 1:13pm EDT

Exercise Can Increase Levels of Hunger-Promoting Endocannabinoids Even If You Are Sleep-Deprived

Sep. 26, 2016 — A research group has investigated how levels of endocannabinoids -- which target the same receptors as cannabis -- are affected by short sleep duration, and whether acute exercise can modulate this ... read more
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UTI Testing Technology Cuts Screening Time to Four Hours

Sep. 26, 2016 — Researchers using DNA sequencing to profile antibiotic resistance in infection have achieved a turnaround time from 'sample to answer' of less than four hours for urinary tract infections ... read more
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Custom-Tailored Strategy Against Glioblastomas

Sep. 26, 2016 — Glioblastomas are incurable malignant brain tumors. Usually the patients affected survive for only a few months. In addition, every tumor is quite different, which makes treatment very difficult. Researchers have now developed a completely new method as the basis for creating custom-tailored, ... read more
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Women With Hearing Loss More Likely to Have Preterm or Low Birth Weight Babies

Sep. 26, 2016 — The first study of birth outcomes in women with hearing loss finds significant differences when compared to women without hearing loss, scientists ... read more
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Having a Happy Spouse Could Be Good for Your Health

Sep. 26, 2016 — New research finds that having a happy spouse may be related to better health, at least among middle-aged and older ... read more
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Birth of Politics in Children: The Case of Dominance

Sep. 26, 2016 — As they grow up, do children become young Robin Hoods? Depending on their age, they do not allocate resources in the same way between dominant and subordinate individuals. Thus a tendency towards egalitarianism develops and becomes even stronger between the ages of 5 and 8 years. These findings provide a clearer understanding of how the notion of equality develops in human beings, and of their ... read more
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Ouch! Avoiding Failure Leads to Missed Opportunities for Children With ADHD

Sep. 23, 2016 — Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are potentially more exposed to reproaches than typically developing children, explain researchers. A behavioral experiment on reward and punishment highlights the cumulative effect of punishment in children with ... read more
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Immune and Targeted Therapies With Radiation Therapy Improves Outcomes for Melanoma Brain Metastases Patients, Say Researchers

Sep. 21, 2016 — Researchers have sought to determine if patients with melanoma brain metastases treated with immune and targeted therapies had improved outcomes over patients treated with conventional chemotherapy. They retrospectively analyzed data from 96 patients with melanoma brain metastases who were treated with stereotactic radiation therapy within 3 ... read more
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Does Physical Activity Lower the Risk of Bacterial Infections?

Sep. 24, 2016 — The risk of viral infections is known to be affected by physical activity, but little information is available regarding the more serious infections caused by bacteria. In a new study, investigators examined the relationship between leisure-time physical activity and suspected bacterial infections during a one-year follow ... read more
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Vitamin B Levels During Pregnancy Linked to Eczema Risk in Child

Sep. 23, 2016 — Infants whose mothers had a higher level of a particular type of vitamin B during pregnancy have a lower risk of eczema at age 12 months, new research has shown. The study is the first to link maternal serum levels of nicotinamide, a naturally occurring vitamin, and related metabolites to the risk of atopic eczema in the ... read more
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Sweet News: Sucralose Is Not Linked to Cancer, Study Finds

Sep. 22, 2016 — In a society where obesity is increasingly recognized as a risk factor for disease, low- and no-calorie ingredients are logical choices for those wishing to manage their weight.  However, some people have concerns that sucralose, a no-calorie sweetener, may be linked to cancer.  A new article may finally put those fears to rest; a comprehensive review of studies testing the safety and ... read more
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Cesarean Section Carries Increased Risk for Postpartum Venous Thromboembolism (VTE)

Sep. 22, 2016 — Women are four times more likely to suffer a VTE after a cesarean-section compared to a vaginal birth, according to a new study. Roughly one-third of all births in Europe and North America now occur via cesarean ... read more
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Physical/Tech News
September 26, 2016
Sep. 22, 2016 — The universe is expanding uniformly. Space isn't stretching in a preferred direction or ... read more
Sep. 21, 2016 — Two particle jets shoot out from the heart of active galaxy NGC 1052 at the speed of light, apparently originating in the vicinity of a massive black hole. Researchers have now measured the magnetic ... read more
Sep. 21, 2016 — Elementary school science teaches us that in the sun, dark colors get hot while white stays cool. Now new research has found an exception: scientists ... read more
Sep. 21, 2016 — Sound can now be structured in three dimensions. Researchers have found a way of generating acoustic holograms, which could improve ultrasound diagnostics and material testing. The holograms can also ... read more
Latest Physical/Tech Headlines
updated 1:13pm EDT

Single Photon Light Emitting Diodes for on-Chip Integration

Sep. 26, 2016 — Researchers have used layered materials to create an all-electrical quantum light emitting diodes (LED) with single-photon emission. These LEDs have potential as on-chip photon sources in quantum ... read more
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Breakthrough in Our Understanding of How Things Deform

Sep. 21, 2016 — Every material can bend and break. Through nearly a century's worth of research, scientists have had a pretty good understanding of how and why. But, according to new findings by materials science and engineering researchers, our understanding of how layered materials succumb to stresses and ... read more
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Engineers Create Room-Temperature Multiferroic Material

Sep. 23, 2016 — Multiferroics -- materials that exhibit both magnetic and electric order -- are of interest for next-generation computing but difficult to create because the conditions conducive to each of those states are usually mutually exclusive. And in most multiferroics found to date, their respective properties emerge only at extremely low temperatures. Now researchers have combined two non-multiferroic ... read more
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Chains of Nanogold, Forged With Atomic Precision

Sep. 22, 2016 — Short chains and rings of gold nanoparticles have now been produced with unprecedented precision. They used a special kind of nanoparticles with a well-defined structure and linked them together with molecular bridges. These structures – being practically huge molecules – allow extremely accurate studies of light–matter interaction in metallic nanostructures and ... read more
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Colorful Demise of a Sun-Like Star

Sep. 23, 2016 — Our sun will eventually burn out and shroud itself with stellar debris, but not for another 5 ... read more
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The Death of a Planet Nursery?

Sep. 21, 2016 — The dusty disk surrounding the star TW Hydrae exhibits circular features that may signal the formation of protoplanets. Astrophysicist argue, however, that the innermost actually points to the impending dispersal of ... read more
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In Rotating Galaxies, Distribution of Normal Matter Precisely Determines Gravitational Acceleration

Sep. 21, 2016 — Researchers have found a significant new relationship in spiral and irregular galaxies: the acceleration observed in rotation curves tightly correlates with the gravitational acceleration expected from the visible mass only. The discovery may alter the understanding of dark matter and the internal dynamics of ... read more
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NASA Scientists Find 'Impossible' Cloud on Titan -- Again

Sep. 21, 2016 — The puzzling appearance of an ice cloud seemingly out of thin air has prompted NASA scientists to suggest that a different process than previously thought -- possibly similar to one seen over Earth's poles -- could be forming clouds on Saturn's ... read more
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Next Generation of Statistical Tools to Be Developed for the Big Data Age

Sep. 21, 2016 — Statisticians are developing new ways to interpret the unprecedented amounts of data being generated continuously all around us. Whether it is smart phones packed full of sensors measuring your health, location and the weather, or connected cars driving past roadside monitors measuring traffic volumes or air quality, or even thousands of sensors on individual oil wells, in the world of the ... read more
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Automated Screening for Childhood Communication Disorders

Sep. 23, 2016 — For children with speech and language disorders, early-childhood intervention can make a great difference in their later academic and social success. But many such children -- one study estimates 60 percent -- go undiagnosed until kindergarten or ... read more
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With Great Power Comes Great Laser Science

Sep. 22, 2016 — Scientists have found a way to compress ultrashort laser pulses, increasing its peak power to half a terawatt – which is equivalent to the output of hundreds of ... read more
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New Model Could Point Way to Microbiome Forecasting in the Ocean

Sep. 22, 2016 — A new mathematical model integrates environmental and molecular sequence information to better explain how microbial networks drive nutrient and energy cycling in ... read more
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Environment News
September 26, 2016
Sep. 23, 2016 — A new study on the Greenland Ice Sheet provides valuable insight on climate change, using unique research methods to establish new estimates of ice loss for both modern and ancient times, says ... read more
Sep. 23, 2016 — In the 1980s, people living on houseboats in the San Francisco Bay were puzzled by a droning hum of unknown origin that started abruptly in the late evening and stopped suddenly in the morning. A ... read more
Sep. 23, 2016 — It has long puzzled scientists why, after 3 billion years of nothing more complex than algae, complex animals suddenly started to appear on Earth. ... read more
Sep. 22, 2016 — Trophy hunters can play an important role in lion conservation, researchers have shown. These findings may surprise the public, but most lion conservationists think trophy hunting could play a key ... read more
Latest Environment Headlines
updated 1:13pm EDT

How Plants Grow New Lateral Roots: New Method Uses 3D Live Imaging

Sep. 26, 2016 — Researchers have used 3D live imaging to observe the formation process of lateral roots in plants, and clarified part of the mechanism that creates new meristematic tissue. If the root formation mechanism in plants is revealed further, this could potentially be used to control plant growth by ... read more
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Ancestor of Arthropods Had the Mouth of a Penis Worm

Sep. 26, 2016 — Imagine a meter long worm with 12 stubby legs and matching sets of flaps running down the body. On the head is a large pair of spiny appendages used for grasping prey that transport victims into a circular mouth with several rows of teeth. For years, scientists have disagreed over whether this ... read more
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Peeling Back the Layers: Scientists Use New Techniques to Uncover Hidden Secrets of Plant Stem Development

Sep. 22, 2016 — Innovative new cell imaging techniques have now been pioneered to shed light on cells hidden deep inside the meristem. This new development has made it possible to explore further below the outer surface of plants and has uncovered how a key gene ... read more
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Ocean Fronts Attract Ocean Wanderers

Sep. 21, 2016 — Foraging seabirds use oceanic fronts as an efficient means to forage for food, according to an international study that could help safeguard the future of protected ... read more
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Soil Modeling to Help Curb Climate Change

Sep. 26, 2016 — Soil is a major carbon pool, whose impact on climate change is still not fully understood. According to a recent study, however, soil carbon stocks and could be modeled more accurately by factoring in the impacts of both soil nutrient status and soil composition. Determining the volume of carbon dioxide efflux from soil is important to enabling better choices in forest management with respect to ... read more
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Hunt for the Truest North

Sep. 21, 2016 — If you chop a magnet in half, you end up with two smaller magnets. Both the original and the new magnets have “north” and “south” poles. But what if single north and south poles exist, just like positive and negative electric charges? These hypothetical beasts, known as “magnetic monopoles,” are an important prediction in several ... read more
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Fate of Turtles, Tortoises Affected More by Habitat Than Temperature

Sep. 20, 2016 — Habitat degradation poses a greater risk to the survival of turtles and tortoises than rising global temperatures, according to new research. More than 60 per cent are listed as vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered, because they are being traded, collected for food and medicine and their habitats are being degraded. Understanding the additional impact of global warming and changes in ... read more
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Environmental DNA Provides Early Detection of Invasive Crayfish

Sep. 20, 2016 — Every plant and animal has a unique genetic composition, which makes a lake like a bowl of DNA soup—every spoonful contains the combined DNA of the lake’s inhabitants. Scientists have only recently begun using this environmental DNA, or eDNA, to identify the presence of organisms like amphibians and fish. A researcher and his colleagues analyzed eDNA to successfully detect the presence of the ... read more
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Bizarre New Species of Extinct Reptile Shows Dinosaurs Copied Body, Skull Shapes of Distant Relatives

Sep. 22, 2016 — Iconic dinosaur shapes were present for at least a hundred million years on our planet in animals before those dinosaurs themselves ... read more
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The Scroll from En-Gedi: A High-Tech Recovery Mission

Sep. 22, 2016 — Archeologists have further unlocked writings in the ancient En-Gedi scroll -- the first severely damaged, ink-based scroll to be unrolled and identified noninvasively. Through virtual unwrapping, they have revealed it to be the earliest copy of a Pentateuchal book -- Leviticus -- ever found in a ... read more
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All Non-Africans Alive Today Likely Descend from People Within a Single Migration out of Africa

Sep. 21, 2016 — A study of hundreds of new genomes from across the globe has yielded insights into modern genetic diversity and ancient population dynamics, including compelling evidence that essentially all non-Africans today descend from a single migration out ... read more
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Genetic ‘trace’ in Papuan Genomes Suggests Two Expansions out of Africa

Sep. 21, 2016 — A new study of human genomic diversity suggests there may have in fact been two successful dispersals out of Africa, and that a “trace” of the earlier of these two expansion events has lingered in the genetics of modern Papuans. ... read more
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Society/Education News
September 26, 2016
Sep. 20, 2016 — Beginning in 2008, Volkswagen installed software to circumvent emissions testing by turning off the nitrogen oxides (NOx) emissions control system in ... read more
Sep. 18, 2016 — A new survey of internet users suggests that people who use the internet excessively may have more mental health problems. Using two scales to ... read more
Sep. 14, 2016 — About half of the children whose parents were surveyed in the United States spend time in homes that have firearms, a study of shows. However, few ... read more
Sep. 8, 2016 — A large earthquake on one fault can trigger large aftershocks on separate faults within just a few minutes. These findings have important implications for earthquake hazard prone regions like ... read more
Latest Society/Education Headlines
updated 1:13pm EDT

Science Can Shape Healthy City Planning

Sep. 23, 2016 — The health gains achieved if cities were designed so that shops, facilities, work and public transportation were within walking distance of most residents have now been quantified by researchers. In a series of articles, researchers tackle how to implement timely research into city design, planning and policy to improve the health of a city’s ... read more
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Marriage Made in Sunlight: Invention Merges Solar With Liquid Battery

Sep. 22, 2016 — As solar cells produce a greater proportion of total electric power, a fundamental limitation remains: the dark of night when solar cells go to sleep. Lithium-ion batteries are too expensive a solution to use on something as massive as the electric grid. A professor of chemistry has a better ... read more
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New Comprehensive Approach to Inland Fisheries Management

Sep. 20, 2016 — Managing inland fisheries in the 21st century presents several obstacles including the need to view fisheries from multiple scales, which usually involves populations and resources spanning sociopolitical boundaries, say ... read more
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Popeye Was Right: There’s Energy in That Spinach

Sep. 22, 2016 — Using a simple membrane extract from spinach leaves, researchers have developed a cell that produces electricity and hydrogen from water using sunlight. Based on photosynthesis, and technology paves the way for clean fuels from renewable ... read more
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Research Shows That How Students Engage With Feedback Is as Important as Its Content

Sep. 21, 2016 — A new research review takes a novel approach to feedback by focusing not on how it is delivered, but how students engage with and use it. The key message from the study is that effective feedback needs to be a dialogue – not a one-way ... read more
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Health Benefits of Evening Classes Revealed

Sep. 20, 2016 — Those with a taste for adult education classes have long known it, but now scientists have confirmed that taking part in the weekly sessions can boost wellbeing -- regardless of the ... read more
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Video Games Can Have Lasting Impact on Learning

Sep. 20, 2016 — A computer-based brain training program helps improve student performance in reading and math — in some cases even more than individualized tutoring, according to a new ... read more
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Let's Talk About More Than Sex: Parents in Favor of Expanding Health Education

Sep. 19, 2016 — Teaching kids about drugs, alcohol and sex appears to be less controversial than ever before but parents want to see health education classes cover ... read more
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Rushing to Complete Work on Deadline Could Mean More Mistakes

Sep. 19, 2016 — When deadlines are in place, workers tend to complete their tasks at the last minute, often leading to lower quality outcomes, shows a new ... read more
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'Sleeper Effect' Accounts for Durability of Weak Messages from Credible Sources

Sep. 13, 2016 — The least convincing arguments can reverberate in the public consciousness over time -- provided they're delivered by a credible source, explains new ... read more
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Group Work Can Harm Memory

Sep. 13, 2016 — Collaborating in a group to remember information is harmful, new research suggests. The research statistically analysed 64 earlier collaborative remembering studies and found that groups recall less than their individual members would if working ... read more
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Women Do Ask for Pay Rises but Don’t Get Them

Sep. 5, 2016 — New research shows that women ask for wage rises just as often as men, but men are 25 per cent more likely to get a raise when they ... read more
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