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Top Science News

December 25, 2016

Giant Cell Blob Can Learn and Teach

Dinosaur Discovery And Why Birds Are Toothless

Supercluster of Galaxies Near Milky Way

Why Big Brains Are Rare

Dec. 21, 2016 — It isn't an animal, a plant, or a fungus. The slime mold (Physarum polycephalum) is a strange, creeping, bloblike organism made up of one giant cell. Though it has no brain, it can learn from ... read more

Dec. 22, 2016 — Researchers have discovered that a species of dinosaur, Limusaurus inextricabilis, lost its teeth in adolescence and did not grow another set as ... read more

Dec. 21, 2016 — Astronomers have found one of the Universe's biggest superclusters of galaxies near the Milky Way. The Vela supercluster, which had previously gone undetected as it was hidden by stars and dust in ... read more

Dec. 21, 2016 — Do big-brained creatures steal energy for them from other organs or eat more to supply this expensive tissue? New work in large-brained fish suggests skimping elsewhere is not enough to meet the ... read more

Latest Top Headlines

updated 7:13am EST

Hard-Wired: The Brain's Circuitry for Political Belief

Dec. 23, 2016 — When people's political beliefs are challenged, their brains become active in areas that govern personal identity and emotional responses to threats, neuroscientists ... read more

Thinking With Our Hands Can Help Find New Ways of Solving Problems, Research Reveals

Dec. 22, 2016 — New research by two cognitive psychology experts is demonstrating how our decision making is heavily influenced by the world around us, challenging the traditional idea that thinking takes place strictly in ... read more

Multi-Social Millennials More Likely Depressed Than Social(media)ly Conservative Peers

Dec. 20, 2016 — Compared with the total time spent on social media, use of multiple platforms is more strongly associated with depression and anxiety among young adults, researchers have found in a national survey. People who report using seven to 11 social media ... read more

The Way You Move: Tumor Cells Move Differently Than Normal Ones

Dec. 20, 2016 — Tumor cells can't move the same way that normal cells do to get through tight squeezes in the body, opening up the potential for future, targeted therapies, new ... read more

One Step Closer to Reality: Devices That Convert Heat Into Electricity

Dec. 22, 2016 — The same researchers who pioneered the use of a quantum mechanical effect to convert heat into electricity have figured out how to make their technique work in a form more suitable ... read more

Coffee-Ring Phenomenon Explained in New Theory

Dec. 20, 2016 — The formation of a simple coffee stain has been the subject of complex study for decades, though it turns out that there remain some stones still to be turned. Researchers have modeled how a colloidal droplet evaporates and found a previously overlooked mechanism that more accurately determines the ... read more

Live Cell Imaging Using a Smartphone

Dec. 21, 2016 — A recent study shows how smartphones can be used to make movies of living cells, without the need for expensive equipment. The study makes it possible for laboratories around the world to do the ... read more

New Ultrasound Technique Is First to Image Inside Live Cells

Dec. 21, 2016 — Researchers have developed a breakthrough technique that uses sound rather than light to see inside live cells, with potential application in stem-cell transplants and ... read more

First Movie of Energy Transfer in Photosynthesis Solves Decades-Old Debate

Dec. 23, 2016 — Using ultrafast imaging of moving energy in photosynthesis, scientists have determined the speed of crucial processes for the first time. This should help scientists understand how nature has perfected the process of photosynthesis, and how this might be copied to produce fuels by ... read more

Temperature Drives Biodiversity

Dec. 22, 2016 — Why is the diversity of animals and plants so unevenly distributed on our planet? An international research team of researchers has provided new data on this core issue of ecology. They found biodiversity to be driven ... read more

Sunlight Offers Surprise Benefit: It Energizes Infection Fighting T Cells

Dec. 20, 2016 — Sunlight, through a mechanism separate than vitamin D production, energizes T cells that play a central role in human immunity, researchers have found. The findings suggest how the skin, the body’s largest organ, stays alert to the many microbes that can ... read more

Global Climate Target Could Net Additional Six Million Tons of Fish Annually

Dec. 22, 2016 — If countries abide by the Paris Agreement global warming target of 1.5 degrees Celsius, potential fish catches could increase by six million metric tons per year, according to a ... read more

Understanding Sexual Transmission of Zika

BPS, Hidden in Plastics, Affects Mouse Brains

People Who Care for Others Live Longer

Brain Generates Replacement Cells After Stroke

Dec. 20, 2016 — Aedes aegypti mosquitoes harboring parasitic Zika virus (ZIKV) are the primary transmitters of virus to humans, potentially causing catastrophic congenital microcephaly in babies born to women bitten ... read more

Dec. 22, 2016 — In the first study of its kind, environmental health scientists and neuroscientists examined the effects of the compound bisphenol S (BPS) on ... read more

Dec. 22, 2016 — Older people who help and support others live longer, a new study has concluded. The results of these findings show that this kind of caregiving can have a positive effect on the mortality of the ... read more

Dec. 20, 2016 — Researchers have shown that the brain can be repaired — and brain function can be recovered — after a stroke in animals. The discovery could have important implications for treating a ... read more

Latest Health Headlines

updated 7:13am EST

Devastating Elephantiasis Disease Facing Elimination

Dec. 22, 2016 — The elimination of elephantiasis disease lymphatic filariasis is nearing closer, report investigators. About one billion people in 54 countries live with threat of disease, which disables victims. The researchers' mathematical model works out the potential impact of treating and preventing disease with three ... read more

Genomic Sequencing Illuminates Recent Shigella Outbreaks in California

Dec. 23, 2016 — In a study that could have significant impact on how disease outbreaks are managed, researchers have sequenced and analyzed genomes from Shigella sonnei (S. sonnei) bacteria associated with major shigellosis outbreaks in California in 2014 and ... read more

Capsule for Severe Bleeding Disorder Moves Closer to Reality

Dec. 23, 2016 — Researchers are working to develop a pill to treat this serious inherited bleeding disorder. Oral delivery of the treatment--clotting factor IX--would allow individuals with type B hemophilia to swallow a pill rather than be subjected to several weekly injections of factor IX to control potentially ... read more

What Makes a Skin Cell Destined to Be Hairy or Sweaty

Dec. 22, 2016 — Researchers have identified the signals and exact timing during embryonic development that dictate the fate of skin cells to be sweaty or hairy. Unlike other mammals that must pant or seek shade when overheated, humans are able to self-cool ... read more

Close Friendships Between Children Can Influence Responses to Fear

Dec. 24, 2016 — Close friends may influence how school-aged children think about danger, new research has ... read more

Why Chess Masters Win

Dec. 23, 2016 — Chess is one of the oldest – and most popular – board games. Yet what is the secret of successful chess players? Cognitive scientists have been investigating this question for the past year in the project “Ceege” by recording players’ eye movements and facial expressions. Now, the ... read more

Study Identifies Key Indicators Linking Violence and Mental Illness

Dec. 22, 2016 — New research finds a host of factors that are associated with subsequent risk of adults with mental illness becoming victims or perpetrators of violence. The work highlights the importance of interventions to treat mental-health problems in order to reduce community ... read more

Direct-to-Brain Chemo Better Than Systemic Drugs When Immunotherapy Is to Follow

Dec. 22, 2016 — In experiments on mice with a form of aggressive brain cancer, researchers have shown that localized chemotherapy delivered directly to the brain rather than given systemically may be the best way to keep the immune system intact and strong when immunotherapy is also part of the ... read more

Reducing the Duration of Antibiotics Does More Harm Than Good When Treating Ear Infections in Young Children

Dec. 22, 2016 — In a landmark trial, researchers have demonstrated that when treating children between 9 and 23 months of age with antibiotics for ear infections, a shortened course has worse clinical outcomes without reducing the risk of antibiotic resistance or adverse ... read more

Want to Improve Your Memory? Go to the Gym

Dec. 13, 2016 — Exercise improves your short-term memory, new research concludes. In two experiments, healthy and active participants were given lists of words to learn and recall either after or before exercise, or before or after a period of rest. Exercise consisted of 30 minutes of moderate intensity ... read more

Burning More Fat, Less Glucose Could Lead to Diabetes, Mouse Models Indicate

Dec. 23, 2016 — Making muscles burn more fat and less glucose can increase exercise endurance, but could simultaneously cause diabetes, says a team of ... read more

Heart-Related Deaths Spike at Christmas

Dec. 22, 2016 — Heart-related deaths spike during Christmas, but the effect may have nothing to do with the cold winter season, according to new ... read more

Atomic Clock: Synthetic Magnetic State

Small, Bacteria-Powered Battery Created

First Look at Birthplaces of Most Current Stars

Festive Nebulae Light Up Milky Way Satellite

Dec. 21, 2016 — Physicists have caused atoms in a gas to behave as if they possess unusual magnetic properties long sought in harder-to-study solid ... read more

Dec. 21, 2016 — Researchers have created a bacteria-powered battery on a single sheet of paper that can power disposable electronics. The manufacturing technique reduces fabrication time and cost, and the design ... read more

Dec. 20, 2016 — Distant galaxies can be seen as they were when most of today's stars were being born, report scientists, answering longstanding questions about mechanisms of star formation billions of years ... read more

Dec. 20, 2016 — The sheer observing power of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is rarely better illustrated than in an image such as this. This glowing pink nebula, named NGC 248, is located in the Small ... read more

Latest Physical/Tech Headlines

updated 7:13am EST

The Hidden Inferno Inside Your Laser Pointer

Dec. 23, 2016 — Two physicists have discovered that basic concepts such as 'hot' or 'cold' apply to any system, even those far from equilibrium. Challenging established wisdom, the findings could possibly inform the design of future microelectronic devices and help bring some order around fundamental concepts ... read more

Scientists Develop Solvent-, Catalyst-Free Way to Produce Alkali Metal Hydrides

Dec. 20, 2016 — Researchers have found a way to create alkali metal hydrides without the use of solvents or catalysts. The process, using room temperature mechanical ball milling, provides a lower cost method to produce these alkali metals which are widely used in ... read more

Sensor Sensation: Novel Sensor Capable of Measuring Both Charge, Mass of Biomolecules

Dec. 22, 2016 — A novel sensor capable of measuring both charge and mass of biomolecules with potential applications in healthcare diagnostics has been created by ... read more

Bionic Pancreas System Successfully Controls Blood Sugar Without Risk of Hypoglycemia

Dec. 20, 2016 — A bionic pancreas system has proven better than either conventional or sensor-augmented insulin pump therapy at managing blood sugar levels in patients with type 1 diabetes living at home, with no restrictions, in a clinical ... read more

Space Cucumbers Reveal Secrets of Plant Survival

Dec. 24, 2016 — Researchers have examined cucumber seedlings germinated under the very weak gravity - or microgravity - conditions of the International ... read more

New Antimatter Breakthrough to Help Illuminate Mysteries of the Big Bang

Dec. 20, 2016 — Physicists have conducted the first precision study of antihydrogen, the antimatter equivalent ... read more

Feeding the Ravenous Black Hole at the Center of Our Galaxy

Dec. 22, 2016 — An improved method for simulating collisionless accretion disk around the supermassive Sagittarius A* at center of the Milky Way has been described in a ... read more

Searching a Sea of 'Noise' to Find Exoplanets, Using Only Data as a Guide

Dec. 20, 2016 — Researchers have found a data-driven way to detect distant planets and refine the search for worlds similar to Earth. The new approach relies on mathematical methods that have their foundations in physics research, rather than trying to filter out ... read more

Researchers Use Mathematical Modeling to Explain Evolutionary Phenomenon That Leads to Treatment Resistance

Dec. 22, 2016 — Reserachers are using mathematical models to explain how bacteria and cancer cells exploit an evolutionary process known as bet-hedging to resist medical ... read more

Predicting Future Sports Rankings from Evolving Performance

Dec. 20, 2016 — Competitive sports and games are all about the performance of players and teams, which results in performance-based hierarchies. Because such performance is measurable and is the result of varied rules, sports and games are considered a suitable model to help understand unrelated social or economic systems characterized by similar rules-based complexity. These findings enhance our ability to ... read more

Linking Human Genome Sequences to Health Data Will Change Clinical Medicine, Says Expert

Dec. 22, 2016 — The value of intersecting the sequencing of individuals' exomes (all expressed genes) or full genomes to find rare genetic variants -- on a large scale -- with their detailed electronic health record (EHR) information may have big benefits for medicine, reports a new ... read more

Tool to Understand Spread of Fake News Launched

Dec. 21, 2016 — The Observatory on Social Media at Indiana University has launched a powerful new tool in the fight against fake news. The tool, called Hoaxy, visualizes how claims in the news -- and fact checks of those claims -- spread online through ... read more

more top physical/tech stories

Environment News

December 25, 2016

Mass Insect Migrations in UK Skies

Amazing New Species Described in 2016

Sex Evolved to Help Generations Fight Parasites

A Fertilizer Dearth Foiled Evolution for Eons?

Dec. 22, 2016 — A decade of monitoring aerial insect migration reveals that trillions of individuals travel above us each year. Migration contributes greatly to seasonal exchanges of biomass and nutrients across the ... read more

Dec. 21, 2016 — In 2016, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added new plant and animal species to our family tree. The new species include one bee fly, 43 ants, 36 beetles, one sand wasp, four ... read more

Dec. 20, 2016 — Why does sex exist when organisms that clone themselves use less time and energy, and do not need a mate to produce offspring? Researchers aiming to answer this age-old question have discovered that ... read more

Dec. 21, 2016 — Earth was inhospitable to complex life for billions of years, practically suffocating evolution in a nearly oxygen-free environment. Then came a shift in phosphorus concentrations to ocean shallows, ... read more

Latest Environment Headlines

updated 7:13am EST

Fungus-Infecting Virus Could Help Track Spread of White-Nose Syndrome in Bats

Dec. 23, 2016 — A newly discovered virus infecting the fungus that causes white-nose syndrome in bats could help scientists and wildlife agencies track the spread of the disease that is decimating bat populations in the United States, a new ... read more

False Killer Whale’s Encounter With Longline

Dec. 22, 2016 — A team of researchers and fishermen used video and audio recordings to observe false killer whales removing fish from a longline fishing hook, a behavior known ... read more

Firefly Gift-Giving: Composition of 'Nuptial Gifts' Revealed, Shedding Light on Postmating Sexual Selection

Dec. 22, 2016 — New research reveals the molecular composition of firefly "nuptial gifts", offering the first peek into the content of these special packages and shedding new light on post-mating sexual ... read more

Hawaii's Newest Species Named in Honor of President Obama

Dec. 21, 2016 — Scientists have published a description of a new species of coral-reef fish that they named in honor of President Barack Obama. The fish, formally named Tosanoides obama, was discovered during a June 2016 NOAA expedition to the remote Northwestern ... read more

New Tag Revolutionizes Whale Research, and Makes Them Partners in Science

Dec. 23, 2016 — A sophisticated new type of 'tag' on whales that can record data every second for hours, days and weeks at a time provides a view of whale behavior, biology and travels never before possible, scientists reported today in a new study. The data are also making whales partners in the study of ... read more

Scientists Identify a New Approach to Recycle Greenhouse Gas

Dec. 22, 2016 — Using a novel approach involving a key enzyme that helps regulate global nitrogen, molecular biologists have discovered an effective way to convert carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide that can be adapted for commercial applications like ... read more

Closely Related Yet So Different

Dec. 22, 2016 — Southeast Asia is home to numerous felids, including the Asian golden cat and the bay cat. The two cat species are closely related sister species which split from each other 3.16 million years ago. Yet, their more recent history was quite different. Scientists could now show that, after a massive ... read more

Good News and Bad News About Forest Fragmentation

Dec. 20, 2016 — New England forests may be more sensitive to climate change than previously ... read more

New Ancient Tombs Discovered in Egypt

Dec. 22, 2016 — Archaeologists have found “compelling evidence” of new pharaonic tombs at Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan, Egypt’s Ministry of Antiquities has ... read more

Biologists Follow 'Fossilizable' Clues to Pinpoint When Mammal, Bird and Dinosaur Ancestors Became Athletes

Dec. 22, 2016 — A new study is the first to draw a link between RBC size and microscopic traces of blood vessels and bone cells inside bones. They found that extinct mammal and bird relatives had smaller RBCs and were likely better athletes than earlier terrestrial ... read more

Researchers Find Paw of Dutch Bear

Dec. 20, 2016 — A fossilised paw of one of the last Dutch brown bears has been found by researchers. They made their discovery in the water supply system in the dunes near to ... read more

Computer Models Find Ancient Solutions to Modern Climate Problems

Dec. 20, 2016 — Archaeologists are at the helm of new research using sophisticated computer technology to learn how past societies responded to climate change. Their work, which links ancient climate and archaeological data, could help modern communities identify new crops and other adaptive strategies when threatened by drought, extreme weather and other environmental ... read more

Distinctive Brain Pattern May Underlie Dyslexia

Newly Discovered Octopod at Risk from Mining

Freezing? You May Doubt Global Warming

'Western' Maternal Diet: Obesity Risk in Young

Dec. 21, 2016 — Neuroscientists have discovered that a basic mechanism underlying sensory perception is deficient in individuals with dyslexia, according to new study. The brain typically adapts rapidly to sensory ... read more

Dec. 19, 2016 — Last spring, researchers made headlines with the discovery of what was surely a new species of octopod, crawling along the seafloor at a record-breaking ocean depth of more than 4,000 meters off of ... read more

Dec. 19, 2016 — Researchers from Utah State University, Boston University, The George Washington University and the University of Oxford report findings from analysis of experiential basis for skepticism about ... read more

Dec. 13, 2016 — Diet composition around the time of pregnancy may influence whether offspring become obese, according to a new study using animal ... read more

Latest Society/Education Headlines

updated 7:13am EST

Final Trial Results Confirm Ebola Vaccine Provides High Protection Against Disease

Dec. 22, 2016 — An experimental Ebola vaccine was highly protective against the deadly virus in a major trial in Guinea, according to results of a new study. The vaccine is the first to prevent infection from one of the most lethal known pathogens, and the findings add weight to early trial results published last ... read more

Violence Spreads Like a Disease Among Adolescents, Study Finds

Dec. 20, 2016 — A new study of U.S. adolescents provides some of the best evidence to date of how violence spreads like a contagious disease. Researchers found that adolescents were up to 183 percent more likely to carry out some acts of violence if one of their friends had also committed the same ... read more

Rare Look at Youth Post Detention Is Bleak

Dec. 19, 2016 — A new study offers a bleak assessment in a rare look at the outcomes of delinquent youth five and 12 years after juvenile detention. Central to poor outcomes for the youth post detention are stark and persistent racial, ethnic and gender disparities, according to the massive study that began in the ... read more

Advertisers Depict Unsafe Sleeping Environments for Infants, Study Shows

Dec. 19, 2016 — Contrary to advertisements, bumper pads and stuffed animals are not part of a safe sleep environment for infants, say authors of a new ... read more

Internet Use in Class Tied to Lower Test Scores

Dec. 16, 2016 — Warning: Surfing the internet in class is now linked to poorer test scores, even among the most intelligent and motivated of ... read more

Heart Attack Risk Doubled for People With Less Education

Dec. 16, 2016 — People who leave school without a school certificate are more than twice as likely to have a heart attack as those with a university degree, according to groundbreaking new research from the largest ongoing study of healthy aging in the ... read more

STEM Enrichment Activities Have No Impact on Exam Results

Dec. 15, 2016 — Enrichment activities to encourage pupils to study science and technology subjects have made no difference to their performance in mathematics exams, new ... read more

Gesturing Can Boost Children's Creative Thinking

Dec. 14, 2016 — Encouraging children to use gestures as they think can help them come up with more creative ideas, according to new ... read more

Technology Communication: Worries Through Information?

Dec. 14, 2016 — In democratic societies, it is considered an obligation of researchers and politicians to inform the public about modern technologies and their potential risks. Researchers recently found that information about technologies and their risks may have undesired side effects. It may also cause worries ... read more

Bullying Makes Men Leave the Labor Market

Dec. 12, 2016 — Men and women are almost at an equal risk of being bullied in the workplace, but whereas bullying often causes women to go on prolonged sick leave or use antidepressants, men often choose to leave the labor market altogether for a period of ... read more

Knowing One's Place in a Social Hierarchy

Dec. 7, 2016 — When you start a new job, it's normal to spend the first day working out who's who in the pecking order, information that will come in handy for making connections in the future. In an fMRI study, researchers now provide insights into how we acquire knowledge about social hierarchies, and reveal the specific mechanisms at play when that hierarchy is our own (as compared to that of another ... read more

Innovative Technique to Curtail Illegal Copying of Digital Media

Nov. 22, 2016 — In today's digital world it can be challenging to prevent photos, videos and books from being illegally copied and distributed. A new light-based technique is making it more practical to create secure, invisible watermarks that can be used to detect and ... read more

more top society/education stories