Top Science News

August 20, 2016

Rewriting the Genome of Living Bacteria

Paleontologists Discover Major T. Rex Fossil

Twins, Especially Identical Twins, Live Longer

Recording Analog Memories in Human Cells

Latest Headlines

updated 11:50am EDT

Europe's Oldest Known Living Inhabitant

Aug. 19, 2016 — A Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) growing in the highlands of northern Greece has been dendrocronologically dated to be more than 1,075 years old. This makes it currently ... read more

NASA Monitors the 'New Normal' of Sea Ice

Aug. 19, 2016 — This year's melt season in the Arctic Ocean and surrounding seas started with a bang, with a record low maximum extent in March and relatively rapid ice loss through May. One ... read more

Tool or Weapon? Research Throws Light on Stone Artifacts' Use as Ancient Projectiles

Aug. 19, 2016 — Scientists contend that ancient stones discovered at an archeological site nearly 30 years ago served not as tools, as ... read more

Maternal Language Shapes Infants' Cry Melodies

Aug. 19, 2016 — The very first cry of neonates is marked by their maternal language. This seems to be especially apparent in tonal languages, where pitch and pitch fluctuation determine the ... read more

Pacific Sea Level Predicts Global Temperature Changes

Aug. 18, 2016 — Sea level changes in the Pacific Ocean can be used to estimate future global surface temperatures, according to a new paper. Scientists knew both the rate at which global ... read more

More Evidence That 'Healthy Obesity' May Be a Myth

Aug. 18, 2016 — The term 'healthy obesity' has gained traction over the past 15 years, but scientists have recently questioned its very existence. A new study provides further evidence ... read more

Neural Stem Cells Control Their Own Fate

Aug. 18, 2016 — To date, it has been assumed that the differentiation of stem cells depends on the environment they are embedded in. A research group now describes for the first time a ... read more

Genes Responsible for Cardiometabolic Disease Risk Identified

Aug. 18, 2016 — A profound new level of complexity and interaction among genes within specific tissues responsible for mediating the inherited risk for cardiometabolic diseases have been ... read more

Fluoride Consumption Linked to Diabetes Using Mathematical Models

Aug. 17, 2016 — A recent study examined links between water fluoridation ... read more

A New Way to Display the 3-D Structure of Molecules

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers have developed nanoscale display cases that enables new atomic-scale views of hard-to-study chemical and ... read more

World-Class Runners Literally Don't Have Time To Go Any Faster

Rising Temperatures Make Most Cities Unfit to Host Summer Olympics Within 70 Years

NASA Set to Launch Mission for Asteroid Sample

Viruses Might Be More Likely To Get You Sick In The Morning

Born Prepared for Global Warming... Thanks to Their Parents' Songs

Aug. 18, 2016 — By calling to their eggs, zebra finch parents may be helping their young prepare for a hotter world brought on by climate ... read more

Zika Infection May Affect Adult Brain Cells

Aug. 18, 2016 — A new study shows for the first time that the Zika virus can infect the mouse adult brain in regions that are vital to learning and memory. The researchers observed that infection correlated with ... read more

Natural Scale Caterpillar Soft Robot Is Powered and Controlled With Light

Aug. 18, 2016 — Researchers, using the liquid crystal elastomer technology have demonstrated a bioinspired micro-robot capable of mimicking caterpillar gaits in natural scale. The 15-millimeter long soft robot ... read more

Venus-Like Exoplanet Might Have Oxygen Atmosphere, but Not Life

Aug. 18, 2016 — The distant planet GJ 1132b intrigued astronomers when it was discovered last year. Located just 39 light-years from Earth, it might have an atmosphere despite being baked to a temperature of around ... read more

Common Cold Viruses Originated in Camels, Just Like MERS

Aug. 18, 2016 — There are four globally endemic human coronaviruses which, together with the better known rhinoviruses, are responsible for causing common colds. Usually, infections with these viruses are harmless ... read more

Most Island Vertebrate Extinctions Could Be Averted, Concludes New Study

Aug. 18, 2016 — Eight of every ten species extinctions has occurred on islands, and invasive mammals are the leading reason for those losses. Currently, 40 percent of species at risk of global extinction are island ... read more

Why Females Care More, Theoretically Speaking

Aug. 18, 2016 — Across the animal kingdom there is a strong trend for females to be more caring parents. Why? Researchers have now expanded upon previous theories to better explain why mothers and fathers differ in ... read more

Unhealthy Diet During Pregnancy Could Be Linked to ADHD

Aug. 18, 2016 — A high-fat, high-sugar diet during pregnancy may be linked to symptoms of ADHD in children who show conduct problems early in life, new research ... read more

NASA Prepares to Launch First U.S. Asteroid Sample Return Mission

Aug. 17, 2016 — NASA is preparing to launch its first mission to return a sample of an asteroid to Earth. The mission will help scientists investigate how planets formed and how life began, as well as improve our ... read more

Recent Connection Between North and South America Reaffirmed

Aug. 17, 2016 — Long ago, one great ocean flowed between North and South America. When the Isthmus of Panama joined the continents, it also separated the Atlantic from the Pacific Ocean. If this took place much ... read more

Safer Opioid Painkiller Made from Scratch

Aug. 17, 2016 — Researchers have developed a new opioid drug candidate that blocks pain without triggering the dangerous side effects of current prescription painkillers. Their secret? Starting from scratch -- with ... read more

New Techniques Boost Understanding of How Fish Fins Became Fingers

Aug. 17, 2016 — The cells that make fin rays in fish play a central role in forming the fingers and toes of four-legged creatures, one of the great transformations required for the descendants of fish to become ... read more

Two Barbados Bird Species Enter the Select Club of String-Pullers

Aug. 17, 2016 — The Barbados bullfinch and Carib grackle can pass the popular animal cognition test of string-pulling, but this ability may be unrelated to performance on six other cognitive tests, according a ... read more

Pre-Hispanic Mexican Civilization May Have Bred and Managed Rabbits and Hares

Aug. 17, 2016 — Humans living in the pre-Hispanic Mexican city of Teotihuacan may have bred rabbits and hares for food, fur and bone tools, according to a new ... read more

Small Population Size? It Doesn't Have to Mean That Species Can't Adapt to Environmental Change

Aug. 17, 2016 — Worldwide, there are 16,938 endangered species. From the white rhino to the blue whale, numbers are dwindling in the face of poaching, habitat destruction and climate change. Although the situation ... read more

Reinterpreting the Fossil Record on Jaws

Aug. 17, 2016 — Scientists use the fossil record to make judgments on the physiology and behavior of species. But are those interpretations correct? New research puts into question how we interpret the behavior of ... read more

Babies' Spatial Reasoning Predicts Later Math Skills

Aug. 17, 2016 — Spatial reasoning measured in infancy predicts how children do at math at four years of age, finds a new study. It provides the earliest documented evidence for a relationship between spatial ... read more

Modeling Mood Swings: New Data Science Research Shows How We Manage Our Long-Term Happiness

Aug. 17, 2016 — Scientists have developed a smart phone app to collect large-scale data about human behavior and demonstrate how humans routinely sacrifice their short-term happiness for their long-term ... read more

Researchers Discover a Special Power in Wheat

Aug. 17, 2016 — A new photosynthesis discovery may help breed faster-growing wheat crops that are better adapted to hotter, drier climates. A research team has published a paper showing that photosynthesis occurs in ... read more

How We Escaped the Big Bang: New Theory on Moving Through Time

Aug. 17, 2016 — A physicist is challenging the conventional view of space and time to show how the world advances through time. In her new research, she argues that T violation, or a violation of time reversal (T) ... read more

Thursday, August 18, 2016

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Monday, August 15, 2016

Friday, August 12, 2016

Thursday, August 11, 2016

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Tuesday, August 9, 2016

Unsafe levels of toxic chemicals found in drinking water for six million Americans

Wednesday, August 10, 2016

Study provides details of possible link between Zika, severe joint condition at birth

Tuesday, August 9, 2016