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Top Science News

October 2, 2018

Key Building Blocks for Life from Deep Space?

South Africa's New Jurassic Giant

Persistent Killer of Killer Whales: PCBs

DEET Bug Spray Confuses Countless Critters

Sep. 28, 2018 — All living beings need cells and energy to replicate. Without these fundamental building blocks, living organisms could not exist. Little was known about a key element in the building blocks, ... read more

Sep. 27, 2018 — A new species of a giant dinosaur has been found in South Africa's Free State Province. The plant-eating dinosaur, named Ledumahadi mafube, weighed 12 tons and stood about four meters high at the ... read more

Sep. 27, 2018 — A new study shows that more than 40 years after the first initiatives were taken to ban the use of PCBs, the chemical pollutants remain a deadly threat to animals at the top of the food ... read more

Sep. 26, 2018 — DEET, a chemical in bug sprays, affects the behavior of highly diverse organisms -- but how it works remains unclear. New research in C. elegans shows that the compound exploits unique receptors and ... read more

Latest Top Headlines

updated 8:05am EDT

2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine

Oct. 1, 2018 — The 2018 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is being awarded jointly to James P. Allison and Tasuku Honjo for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative ... read more

When Neglected Children Become Adolescents

Sep. 27, 2018 — Many migrant children separated from their parents at the U.S. border, some of them very young, have landed in shelters where they often experience stress, neglect and minimal social and cognitive stimulation. The latest findings tell a cautionary tale about the psychiatric and social risks of ... read more

Combination Antibody Therapy Results in Long-Term Viral Suppression in HIV Infection

Sep. 27, 2018 — A new generation of broadly neutralizing antibodies provides a novel approach to treating ... read more

A Self-Powered Heart Monitor Taped to the Skin

Sep. 26, 2018 — Scientists have developed a human-friendly, ultra-flexible organic sensor powered by sunlight, which acts as a self-powered heart monitor. In this study, they directly integrated a sensory device, called an organic electrochemical transistor -- a type of electronic device that can be used to ... read more

Nearly the Entire Sky in the Early Universe Is Glowing With Lyman-Alpha Emission

Oct. 1, 2018 — Deep observations made with the MUSE spectrograph on ESO's Very Large Telescope have uncovered vast cosmic reservoirs of atomic hydrogen surrounding distant galaxies. The exquisite sensitivity of MUSE allowed for direct observations of dim clouds of ... read more

3-D Bioprinting of Living Structures With Built-in Chemical Sensors

Oct. 1, 2018 — A new method enables non-invasive monitoring of oxygen metabolism in cells that are 3-D-bioprinted into complex living structures. This has great implications for studies of cell growth and interactions e.g. under tissue-like conditions, as well as for the design of 3-D printed constructs ... read more

Eco-Friendly Nanoparticles for Artificial Photosynthesis

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers have developed a nanoparticle type for novel use in artificial photosynthesis by adding zinc sulfide on the surface of indium-based quantum dots. These quantum dots produce clean hydrogen fuel from water and sunlight -- a sustainable source of energy. They introduce new eco-friendly and ... read more

Engineers Study Hovering Bats and Hummingbirds in Costa Rica

Sep. 26, 2018 — Engineers carted their extremely sensitive lab equipment to the forests of Costa Rica, where they teamed up with ecologists to meticulously record over 100 different bats and hummingbirds to learn more about ... read more

'Spacesuits' Protect Microbes Destined to Live in Space

Oct. 1, 2018 — Scientists have created a unique system that pairs light-absorbing semiconductors with anaerobic bacteria to capture light and fix carbon dioxide: an artificial leaf. The bacteria turn carbon dioxide into chemicals useful in space colonies. One problem is that the process generates reactive oxygen ... read more

130-Year-Old Brain Coral Reveals Encouraging News for Open Ocean

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers studied nitrogen levels in the skeleton of a 130-year-old brain coral living 620 miles from the North American mainland and found that the nitrogen from human sources was less than had ... read more

Dog Intelligence 'Not Exceptional'

Oct. 1, 2018 — People who think dogs are exceptionally intelligent are barking up the wrong tree, new ... read more

New, Highly Stable Catalyst May Help Turn Water Into Fuel

Sep. 28, 2018 — Breaking the bonds between oxygen and hydrogen in water could be a key to the creation of hydrogen in a sustainable manner, but finding an economically viable technique for this has proved difficult. Researchers report a new hydrogen-generating catalyst that clears many of the obstacles -- ... read more

Sugar-Powered Sensor to Detect, Prevent Disease

Nose Bacteria Linked to Severity of a Cold

Smartphone System to Test for Lead in Water

How the Brain Encodes Speech

Sep. 27, 2018 — Researchers have developed an implantable, biofuel-powered sensor that runs on sugar and can monitor a body's biological signals to detect, prevent and diagnose ... read more

Sep. 26, 2018 — The bacteria in study participants' noses fell into six different patterns of nasal microbiomes. The different patterns were associated with differences in symptom severity. The compositions also ... read more

Sep. 26, 2018 — Researchers have created an inexpensive system using a smartphone and a lens made with an inkjet printer that can detect lead in tap water at levels commonly accepted as ... read more

Sep. 26, 2018 — People like the late Stephen Hawking are unable to speak because their muscles are paralyzed. Scientists want to help these individuals communicate by developing a brain machine interface to decode ... read more

Latest Health Headlines

updated 8:05am EDT

Stress Reduces Fertility in Women

Oct. 1, 2018 — In North America, 20 to 25 percent of women and 18 to 21 percent of men of reproductive age report daily psychological stress. Although previous research has suggested that stress can decrease the odds of conception, few studies have examined this association among couples from the general population. Now, a new study finds higher levels of stress are associated with lower odds of conception for ... read more

Facebook 'Viable Method' for Implementing Critical Care Ultrasound Curriculum

Oct. 1, 2018 — Critical care ultrasound (CCUS) is an important skill for all critical care physicians to understand. However, currently there is no standard approach to how to teach CCUS. Researchers aimed to investigate the feasibility of implementing a CCUS curriculum via a social platform in order to evaluate the impact it has on fellow's self-perceived ... read more

Providers Often Fail to Consider Ehrlichia When Treating Tick-Borne Infections

Oct. 1, 2018 — When patients present to providers in North Carolina for a possible tick bite, clinicians are not testing them for Ehrlichia, a tick-borne illness that occurs more frequently than Lyme disease and as frequently as Rocky Mountain Spotted ... read more

Molecule Flight Speed Is the New Key for Detecting Drugs

Oct. 1, 2018 — Scientists are developing an analytical methodology able to quickly differentiate cannabinoids in plant material and in waste remaining after being ... read more

Scientists Uncover Why You Can't Decide What to Order for Lunch

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers explore the choice overload effect, a phenomenon that hampers the brain's ability to make a decision when there are too many ... read more

Asking Questions, Testing Improves Student Learning of New Material

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers know memory retrieval is beneficial for learning, but their new meta-analysis found there are limits. The research shows the frequency and difficulty of questions can reverse the effect and be detrimental to learning. It also is not enough to simply ask a question; students must respond ... read more

Insufficient Sleep Associated With Risky Behavior in Teens

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers examined a national data sample of risk-taking behaviors and sleep duration self-reported by high school students over eight years and found an association between sleep duration and personal safety ... read more

How Can We Reduce Concussions in Football? Change Kickoffs, Experts Say

Oct. 1, 2018 — A new study points to one way to make American football safer: move the kickoff ... read more

Virtual Reality Can Reduce Pain and Increase Performance During Exercise

Oct. 1, 2018 — Using Virtual Reality (VR) headsets while exercising can reduce pain and increase how long someone can sustain an activity, according to ... read more

Artificial Sweeteners Have Toxic Effects on Gut Microbes

Oct. 1, 2018 — The collaborative study indicated relative toxicity of six artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, saccharine, neotame, advantame, and acesulfame potassium-k) and 10 sport supplements containing these artificial sweeteners. The bacteria found in the digestive system became toxic when exposed to concentrations of only one mg./ml. of the artificial ... read more

Scientists Use AI to Develop Better Predictions of Why Children Struggle at School

Sep. 30, 2018 — Scientists using machine learning -- a type of artificial intelligence -- with data from hundreds of children who struggle at school, identified clusters of learning difficulties which did not match the previous diagnosis the children had been given. The researchers from the Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit at the ... read more

Limiting Children's Recreational Screen Time to Less Than Two Hours a Day Linked to Better Cognition, Study Finds

Sep. 26, 2018 — Limiting recreational screen time to less than two hours a day, and having sufficient sleep and physical activity is associated with improved cognition, compared with not meeting any recommendations, according to an observational study of more than ... read more

The Cart Before the Horse

Ultrafast Electro-Optic Laser Pulses

Nanomachines for Better Efficiency of Any Machine

Decoding Multiple Frames from Scattered Exposure

Sep. 28, 2018 — Natural little scientists, human babies love letting go of things and watching them fall. Baby's first experiment teaches them about more than the force of gravity. It establishes the concept of ... read more

Sep. 27, 2018 — Physicists have used common electronics to build a laser that pulses 100 times more often than conventional ultrafast lasers. The advance could extend the benefits of ultrafast science to new ... read more

Sep. 27, 2018 — All machines convert one form of energy into another form - for example a car engine turns the energy stored in fuel into motion energy. Those processes of energy conversion, described by the theory ... read more

Sep. 27, 2018 — Engineers have developed a way to extract a sequence of images from light scattered through a mostly opaque material -- or even off a wall -- from one long photographic exposure. The technique has ... read more

Latest Physical/Tech Headlines

updated 8:05am EDT

Chemists Develop Highly Porous Material, More Precious Than Diamonds

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers broke a world record: DUT-60 is a new crystalline framework with the world's highest specific surface and the highest specific pore volume measured so far among all known crystalline ... read more

Microresonators Offer a Simpler Approach to Sensing With Light Pulses

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers have found a way to implement an optical sensing system by using spatial multiplexing, a technique originally developed in optical-fiber communication. The method, which produces three independent streams of ultrashort optical pulses using a single continuous-wave laser and a single ... read more

Super-Resolution Microscopy Builds Multicolor 3-D from 2-D

Oct. 1, 2018 — A new technique overcomes the noise and color limitations of super-resolution microscopy by creating three-dimensional reconstructions from single-color two-dimensional images of ... read more

Attosecond Pulse Leads to Highest Molecular Level Probe Resolution

Oct. 1, 2018 — Devising a source of ultra-fast X-ray pulsating in the attosecond range is no mean feat. It enables physicists to probe dynamic processes in matter with unprecedented time resolution. Now, a team of physicists has exploited an optical phenomenon, opening the door to creating high-order oscillations in existing light sources and a beam source pulsating in an ultra-fast manner to reach the ... read more

Experimental Martian Dirt: $20 a Kilogram, Plus Shipping

Sep. 28, 2018 — A team of astrophysicists has developed a scientifically based, standardized method for creating Martian and asteroid soil known ... read more

Where Are They? Cosmologists Search Andromeda for Signs of Alien Life

Sep. 27, 2018 — 'Are we alone in the universe?' The question has fascinated, tantalized and even disconcerted humans for as long as we can ... read more

Software Finds the Best Way to Stick a Mars Landing

Sep. 27, 2018 — Researchers have developed a software tool for computer-aided discovery that could help mission planners make these decisions. It automatically produces maps of favorable landing sites, using the available data on Mars' geology and terrain, as well as a list of scientific priorities and engineering ... read more

Simulations Uncover Why Some Supernova Explosions Produce So Much Manganese and Nickel

Sep. 27, 2018 — Researchers have found white dwarf stars with masses close to the maximum stable mass are likely to produce large amounts of manganese, iron, and nickel after it orbits another star ... read more

Defects Promise Quantum Communication Through Standard Optical Fiber

Oct. 1, 2018 — An international team of scientists has identified a way to create quantum bits that emit photons that describe their state at wavelengths close to those used by telecom providers. These qubits are based on silicon carbide in which molybdenum impurities create ... read more

Machine Learning Helps Improve Photonic Applications

Sep. 28, 2018 — Photonic nanostructures can be used for many applications, not just in solar cells, but also in optical sensors for cancer markers or other biomolecules, for example. Researchers using computer simulations and machine learning have now shown how the design of such nanostructures can be ... read more

Photonic Chips Harness Sound Waves to Speed Up Local Networks

Sep. 26, 2018 — It used to be known as the information superhighway - the fibre-optic infrastructure on which our gigabytes and petabytes of data whizz around the world at (nearly) the speed ... read more

New Mechanism for Developing Electronic Devices

Sep. 26, 2018 — Scientists have demonstrated a new mechanism that may help develop electronic devices ... read more

more top physical/tech stories

Environment News

October 2, 2018

Plate Tectonics Active On Earth Since Beginning?

Polymer Coating Cools Down Buildings

N. Korea's 2017 Bomb Test Set Off Later Quakes

Taller Plants Moving Into Arctic: Climate Change

Sep. 26, 2018 — A new study suggests that plate tectonics -- a scientific theory that divides the earth into large chunks of crust that move slowly over hot viscous mantle rock -- could have been active from the ... read more

Sep. 27, 2018 — Engineers have invented a high-performance exterior PDRC polymer coating with nano-to-microscale air voids that acts as a spontaneous air cooler and can be fabricated, dyed, and applied like paint on ... read more

Sep. 24, 2018 — Using newly refined analysis methods, scientists have discovered that a North Korean nuclear bomb test last fall set off aftershocks over a period of eight months. The shocks, which occurred on a ... read more

Sep. 26, 2018 — The effects of climate change are behind an increase in plant height across the Arctic tundra over the past 30 ... read more

Latest Environment Headlines

updated 8:05am EDT

Finding Middle Ground on the Range

Oct. 1, 2018 — Cattle ranching and conservation may seem an unusual pair in the American West, but new research reveals a clear link between the economic health of ranches and the ability to maintain habitat for an iconic wild bird that for years has been at the center of public land policy debate: the greater sage ... read more

Like a Butterfly, Immune Protein 'Flutters' in Search of Viruses

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers have identified an important step in the process that allows our bodies to fight viruses. Their work also explains how mutations that derail this process cause autoimmune disorders. This research provides the framework to develop new treatments for viral ... read more

'Turbocharging' Photosynthesis in Corn Hikes Yield

Oct. 1, 2018 — Scientists have boosted a carbon-craving enzyme called RuBisCO to turbocharge photosynthesis in corn. The discovery promises to be a key step in improving agricultural efficiency and yield, according to new ... read more

Decline in Native Fish Species: Invasive Species on the Increase

Oct. 1, 2018 — The majority of Bavaria's watercourses are in poor ecological condition. A team has now conducted the first systematic analysis of long-term data on fish stocks in the Upper Danube, Elbe and Main rivers. The team concluded that native fish species are on the verge of extinction, while the ... read more

Experiencing Extreme Weather Is Not Enough to Convince Climate Change Skeptics

Oct. 1, 2018 — Experiencing extreme weather is not enough to convince climate change skeptics than humans are damaging the environment, a new study ... read more

New Weather Model Could Increase Tornado-Warning Times

Oct. 1, 2018 — Researchers have obtained data from recent next-generation satellites in a numerical weather-prediction model used to provide guidance for tornadic thunderstorm ... read more

Designing a More Productive Corn Able to Cope With Future Climates

Oct. 1, 2018 — An international research team has found they can increase corn productivity by targeting the enzyme in charge of capturing CO2 from the ... read more

High Carbon Dioxide Levels Cause Plants to Thicken Their Leaves, Could Worsen Climate Change Effects

Oct. 1, 2018 — When levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rise, most plants do something unusual: They thicken their leaves. Now scientists have shown that this reaction by plants will actually worsen climate change by making the global 'carbon sink' ... read more

Where Did Broadleaved Evergreen Trees Survive During the Last Glacial Period in Japan?

Oct. 1, 2018 — Scientists have modeled the phylogeographic relationships and demographic changes of Castanopsis sieboldii, which is a dominant tree of the broadleaved evergreen forests of Japan, dating back to about 100,000 years ago. The model strongly suggested ... read more

How Sacred Ibis Mummies Provided the First Test of Evolution

Sep. 28, 2018 — A debate over mummified birds brought to France after Napoleon's conquest of Egypt played a central role in delaying acceptance of evolutionary theory; an episode in the history of ... read more

Observing the Development of a Deep-Sea Greenhouse Gas Filter

Sep. 28, 2018 — In a long-term study, marine scientists for the first time observed the colonization of a deep-sea mud volcano after its eruption. Only slowly, rich life develops around the crater. The first settlers are tiny organisms that eat methane escaping from the volcano. Thereby, they keep this greenhouse ... read more

Ancient Past of a Body Plan Code Probed

Sep. 27, 2018 — Researchers have opened a window on another piece of evolutionary biology. They have found that Hox genes, which are key regulators of the way the bodies of bilaterally symmetrical animals form, also play a role in controlling the radially symmetric body plan of the starlet sea anemone, ... read more

The Dark Core of Personality

Tax Credits for Carbon-Capture Network

Climate Woes for US, India and Saudi Arabia

EU Cars: Diesel Emissions Greatly Exceed Tests

Sep. 26, 2018 — Egoism, Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, spitefulness are all traits that stand for the malevolent dark sides of human personality. Results from a recent project show, these traits ... read more

Sep. 25, 2018 — Researchers have proposed a US pipeline network that would capture, transport and store underground up to 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide ... read more

Sep. 24, 2018 — For the first time, researchers have developed a data set quantifying what the social cost of carbon -- the measure of the economic harm from carbon ... read more

Sep. 21, 2018 — A new study reports finds that in Europe, 10 major auto manufacturers produced diesel cars, sold between 2000 and 2015, that generate up to 16 times ... read more

Latest Society/Education Headlines

updated 8:05am EDT

Now Is the Time to Answer Questions About Climate Engineering Disease Impacts

Sep. 28, 2018 — Radical solutions to climate change might save lives, but a new commentary calls for caution because geoengineering still lacks a 'clean bill of ... read more

Teens Who've Tried Marijuana Have Used It in More Than One Form

Sep. 28, 2018 — Most teens who've tried marijuana used it in more than one form, according to a new study, raising concerns about adolescent health amid a booming cannabis ... read more

Women Much Less Likely to Ask Questions in Academic Seminars Than Men

Sep. 27, 2018 — A new study reveals a stark disparity between male and female participation in departmental seminars which helps to explain the 'leaky pipeline' of female representation in academic careers. The observational study of 250 events at 35 institutions found that women are 2.5 times less likely to ask a question in seminars than men. The researchers argue this reflects significant differences in ... read more

Regional Seismic Data Help Locate September 2017 North Korean Nuclear Test

Sep. 27, 2018 — The epicenter of the Sept. 3, 2017, nuclear test explosion in North Korea occurred about 3.6 kilometers northwest of the country's first nuclear test in October 2006, according to a new high-precision analysis of the explosion and its ... read more

Educating the Next Generation of Medical Professionals With Machine Learning Is Essential

Sep. 27, 2018 — Artificial intelligence (AI) driven by machine learning (ML) algorithms is a branch in the field of computer science that is rapidly gaining popularity within the healthcare sector. However, graduate medical education and other teaching programs within academic teaching hospitals across the US and around the world have not yet come to grips with ... read more

Bridging the Gap Between Psychology and Gamification

Sep. 26, 2018 — A multi-disciplinary research team is bridging the gap between psychology and gamification that could significantly impact learning efforts in user experience design, healthcare, and ... read more

Schoolyard Tree Cover Predicts Math Performance in High-Poverty Urban Schools

Sep. 25, 2018 — What if improving academic performance in some of the nation's most disadvantaged and lowest-achieving schools was as easy as planting trees in the schoolyard? It's not that simple, of course, but a new study suggests school greening could be part ... read more

Unprecedented Study Finds US Ranks 27th Among Nations Investing in Education, Health Care

Sep. 24, 2018 — The United States ranks 27th in the world for its investments in education and health care as measurements of its commitment to economic growth, according to the first-ever scientific study ranking countries for their levels of ... read more

Why Do People Share? It's Contagious, Six-Year Study of Hadza People Shows

Sep. 20, 2018 — In the modern world, people cooperate with other people including strangers all the time. We give blood, tip providers of various services, and donate to charity even though there is seemingly nothing in it for us. Now, researchers who've studied Hadza hunter-gatherer people in Tanzania over a ... read more

Capitalizing on Sleep-Wake Cycle Can Drastically Increase Digital Ad Profits from Social Media

Sep. 18, 2018 — New research shows digital content platforms can increase traffic to their websites from social media and boost digital ad profits by at least 8 percent, simply by aligning their posting schedules with target audiences' sleep-wake ... read more

Is Email Evil? Bosses Are Getting Boxed in by Their Inbox

Sep. 18, 2018 — New research shows that bosses struggle, like the rest of us, to keep up with email demands. What makes managers unique is that email traffic prevents them from being effective leaders and threatens employee ... read more

You Can't Tell Whether an Online Restaurant Review Is Fake -- But This AI Can

Sep. 17, 2018 — Researchers find AI-generated reviews and comments pose a significant threat to consumers, but machine learning can help detect ... read more

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