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Top Science News

March 7, 2017

Caffeine May Help Stave Off Dementia

Feedback Helps Robot Fetch Objects Intelligently

Will Water Be the Fuel of the Future?

How Skates, Rays, Sharks Sense Electrical Fields

Mar. 7, 2017 — Researchers have identified 24 compounds -- including caffeine -- with the potential to boost an enzyme in the brain shown to protect against ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — By enabling them to ask a question when they're confused, an algorithm helps robots get better at fetching objects, an important task for future robot ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — Combining computational with experimental approaches, researchers identify 12 new materials with potential use in solar fuels ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — Sharks, rays and skates can hunt for prey hidden in the sandy sea floor by 'listening' for faint traces of bioelectricity -- they can literally sense their prey's heart beating. The basic anatomy of ... read more

Latest Top Headlines

updated 2:33pm EST

Scientists Stimulate Immune System, Stop Cancer Growth

Mar. 2, 2017 — Researchers report that increasing expression of a chemical cytokine called LIGHT in mice with colon cancer activated the immune system's natural cancer-killing T-cells and caused primary tumors and metastatic tumors in the liver ... read more

Americans Are Having Sex Less Often, New Study Shows

Mar. 7, 2017 — While the topic of sex is less taboo than it was a generation ago, that doesn't necessarily mean people are having more of it. According to a new study, Americans who were married or living together had sex 16 fewer times per year in 2010-2014 compared to 2000-2004. The survey also found that ... read more

Blueberry Concentrate Improves Brain Function in Older People

Mar. 7, 2017 — Drinking concentrated blueberry juice improves brain function in older people, according to ... read more

Safer to Ride in Yellow Taxis

Mar. 7, 2017 — A new study has found an explicit link between a taxi’s color and its accident rate, with yellow taxis being safer than blue ones. These findings suggest that color visibility plays a major role in choosing colors for public transportation and may save lives ... read more

Break the Two-Hour Marathon Record? It Could Be Done Today

Mar. 6, 2017 — A series of mathematical calculations has been done showing how one or more of the world's elite men marathoners could break the storied two-hour mark, shaving about four and a half minutes off the current ... read more

Novel 3-D Manufacturing Leads to Highly Complex, Bio-Like Materials

Mar. 3, 2017 — Researchers have developed a unique, 3-D manufacturing method that for the first time rapidly creates and precisely controls a material's architecture from the nanoscale to centimeters -- with results that closely mimic the intricate architecture of natural materials like wood ... read more

Water-Rich History on Mars: New Evidence

Mar. 6, 2017 — Mars may have been a wetter place than previously thought, according to research on simulated ... read more

Most Complex Nanoparticle Crystal Ever Made by Design

Mar. 3, 2017 — The most complex crystal designed and built from nanoparticles has been reported by researchers. The work demonstrates that some of nature’s most complicated structures can be deliberately assembled if researchers can control the shapes of the particles and the way they connect using DNA. ... read more

Survival Instinct, Not Family Bonds, Weave Massive Spider Colonies Together

Mar. 7, 2017 — Spiders will live in groups if environmental conditions make it too difficult for single mothers to go it alone, new ... read more

Fault System Off San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles Counties Could Produce Magnitude 7.3 Earthquake

Mar. 7, 2017 — The Newport-Inglewood and Rose Canyon faults had been considered separate systems but a new study shows that they are actually one continuous fault system running from San Diego Bay to Seal Beach in Orange County, then on land through the Los ... read more

Species Appears to Evolve Quickly Enough to Endure City Temperatures

Mar. 7, 2017 — Urban acorn ants collected in Cleveland appear to have taken no more than 100 years -- no more than 20 generations -- to evolve and thrive in their heat-trapping city home. The capability suggests the species may be able to cope with other sources of ... read more

Light Rain Can Spread Soil Bacteria Far and Wide, Study Finds

Mar. 7, 2017 — A good rain can have a cleansing effect on the land. But a new study reports that, under just the right conditions, rain can also be a means of spreading bacteria. Using high-resolution imaging, researchers observed the effect of raindrops falling on dry soil laden ... read more

Modern Hunter-Gathers Relocate for Best Results

Autoimmune Diseases Alleviated in Mice

Brain Cells Show Teamwork in Short-Term Memory

New Method Rescues Donor Organs to Save Lives

Mar. 6, 2017 — As bumblebees forage for nectar, at a certain point, they will move to another area once their search for food becomes too inefficient -- a behavior, also observed among other animals, which conforms ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — Using red blood cells modified to carry disease-specific antigens, a team of scientists have prevented and alleviated two autoimmune diseases -- multiple sclerosis (MS) and type 1 diabetes -- in ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — Nerve cells in our brains work together in harmony to store and retrieve short-term memory, and are not solo artists as previously thought, new brain research has determined. The research has ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — Researchers have -- for the first time -- maintained a fully functional lung outside the body for several days. They designed the cross-circulation platform that maintained the viability and function ... read more

Latest Health Headlines

updated 2:33pm EST

Diabetes Drug May Be Effective Against Deadly Form of Breast Cancer, Study Suggests

Mar. 7, 2017 — Researchers have discovered that a metabolic enzyme called AKR1B1 drives an aggressive type of breast cancer. The study, 'AKR1B1 promotes basal-like breast cancer progression by a positive feedback loop that activates the EMT program,' suggests that ... read more

Team Examines Molecular-Level Problems of Heart Disease

Mar. 7, 2017 — In a recent study, researchers teamed up with cardiologists and heart therapy scientists from across the U.S. and Europe and found that dysfunction at the molecular level is present in heart failure. Understanding this abnormality could lead to new approaches for treating the number one killer among men and women ... read more

New Protein Discovered in Aging, Cancer

Mar. 7, 2017 — A protein has been found to have a previously unknown role in the ageing of cells, according to an early study. The researchers hope that the findings could one day lead to new treatments for aging and early ... read more

A New Way to Reset Gene Expression in Cancer Cells Shows Promise for Leukemia Treatment

Mar. 7, 2017 — Scientists have discovered a potential new target for the treatment of leukemia that potentially could augment the activity of BET inhibitors, drugs currently in clinical trials. These therapies act on histones, DNA's packaging proteins, to reset gene regulatory programs that go awry in ... read more

Wise Deliberation Sustains Cooperation

Mar. 7, 2017 — Giving people time to think about cooperating on a task can have a positive effect if they are big-picture thinkers, but if they tend to focus on their own, immediate experience, the time to think may make them less cooperative, research has ... read more

Multilab Replication Project Examines Cooperation Under Time Pressure

Mar. 7, 2017 — In 2012, a trio of psychological scientists reported research showing that people who made quick decisions under time pressure were more likely to cooperate than were people who were required to take longer in their deliberations. A new multi-laboratory effort was partially successful in replicating those ... read more

Study Tests the 'Three-Hit' Theory of Autism

Mar. 7, 2017 — Could a genetic predisposition to autism together with early stress have a more detrimental effect on boys than on girls? In experiments with mice, researchers found evidence that three factors -- genes, environment, and sex -- work together to produce problems with social interaction, a hallmark of ... read more

Brain Scans of Service-Dog Trainees Help Sort Weaker Recruits from the Pack

Mar. 7, 2017 — Brain scans of canine candidates to assist people with disabilities can help predict which dogs will fail a rigorous service training program, a study by finds. The study found that fMRI boosted the ability to identify dogs that would ultimately fail service-dog training to 67 percent, up from ... read more

Can Combined Exercise and Nutritional Intervention Improve Muscle Mass and Function?

Mar. 7, 2017 — A new systematic review summarizes the results of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) assessing the effect of interventions combining physical activity and dietary supplements on muscle mass and muscle function in subjects aged 60 years and ... read more

Supervised Self-Injection With Empty Syringes Improved Comfort in Food-Allergic Adolescents Administering Epinephrine, Study Finds

Mar. 7, 2017 — A new intervention could save lives, recognizing that adolescents are at higher risk for fatal food-allergic ... read more

Sulforaphane, a Phytochemical in Broccoli Sprouts, Ameliorates Obesity

Mar. 7, 2017 — Sulforaphane, a phytochemical in broccoli sprouts, is known to exert effects of cancer prevention by detoxicating chemical compounds taken into the body and by enhancing anti-oxidation ability. In the present study, experiments with mice demonstrate that sulforaphane ameliorates obesity, the conclusion based on the two functions of sulforaphane newly uncovered; amelioration of obesity through ... read more

Proper Movements in Muslim Prayer Ritual Can Reduce Lower Back Pain

Mar. 6, 2017 — Five times a day, roughly 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide, bow, kneel, and place their foreheads to the ground in the direction of the holy city of Mecca, Saudi Arabia, as part of the Islamic prayer ritual, the Salat. According to research, the complex physical movements of the ritual can reduce ... read more

Computer Operating System and Movie Stored On DNA

3-D Printed Biomimetic Blood Vessel Networks

New Tech for Fast-Charging Batteries

'Fitbits' Track Elephant Sleep in the Wild

Mar. 2, 2017 — An algorithm designed for streaming video on a cellphone can unlock DNA's nearly full storage potential by squeezing more information into its four base nucleotides, say researchers. They demonstrate ... read more

Mar. 2, 2017 — Nanoengineers have 3-D printed a lifelike, functional blood vessel network that could pave the way toward artificial organs and regenerative therapies. The new research addresses one of the biggest ... read more

Feb. 28, 2017 — A team of engineers led by 94-year-old John Goodenough, professor in the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas at Austin and ... read more

Mar. 2, 2017 — Behavioral studies of elephant sleep in zoos record that they sleep around four hours per day and can sleep standing up or lying down -- but how much ... read more

Latest Physical/Tech Headlines

updated 2:33pm EST

Computer Simulations First Step Toward Designing More Efficient Amine Chemical Scrubbers

Mar. 7, 2017 — A proof-of-concept molecular modeling study that analyzes the efficiency of amine solutions in capturing carbon dioxide is the first step toward the design of cheaper, more efficient amine chemicals for capturing carbon dioxide -- and reducing ... read more

Reducing Conducting Thin Film Surface Roughness for Electronics

Mar. 7, 2017 — As transistor dimensions within integrated circuits continue to shrink, smooth metallic lines are required to interconnect these devices. If the surfaces of these tiny metal lines aren't smooth enough, it substantially reduces their ability to conduct electrical and thermal energy -- decreasing ... read more

Understanding What's Happening Inside Liquid Droplets

Mar. 7, 2017 — For most people, the drip, drip, drip of a leaking faucet would be an annoyance. But what happens inside droplets is the stuff of ... read more

New Design Results in Compact, Highly Efficient Frequency Comb

Mar. 7, 2017 — A quantum cascade laser (QCL) frequency comb has been developed that is dramatically more efficient than previous iterations. The device could detect many different kinds of chemicals, including industrial emissions, explosives, and chemical warfare agents, say ... read more

Craters Show Earth Is Bombarded at Random

Mar. 7, 2017 — Asteroids don't hit our planet at regular intervals, as was previously thought. Earth scientists have reached this conclusion after analyzing impact craters formed in the last 500 million years, concentrating on precisely dated ... read more

Bubble-Recoil Could Be Used to Cool Microchips, Even in Space

Mar. 6, 2017 — The bubbles that form on a heated surface create a tiny recoil when they leave it, like the kick from a gun firing blanks. Now researchers have shown how this miniscule force can be harnessed to mix liquid coolant around high-power microelectronics -- in space or ... read more

Cosmic Environments and Their Influence in Star Formation

Mar. 6, 2017 — Astronomers have performed an extensive study of the properties of galaxies within filaments formed at different times during the age of ... read more

Paleolake Deposits on Mars Might Look Like Sediments in Indonesia

Mar. 6, 2017 — A new article details the clay mineralogy of sediment from Lake Towuti, Indonesia, using a technique called visible to near-infrared (VNIR) spectroscopy. VNIR measures the signature of reflected light from a sample across a larger wavelength range than just visible light. At Lake Towuti, the ... read more

Tree Growth Model Assists Breeding for More Wood

Mar. 6, 2017 — A meeting in a forest between a biologist and a mathematician could lead to thicker, faster growing ... read more

More Social Connection Online Tied to Increasing Feelings of Isolation

Mar. 6, 2017 — The more time a young adult uses social media, the more likely they are to feel socially isolated, according to a national analysis. In addition to the time spent online, the scientists found that frequency of use was associated with increased social isolation. The finding suggests that use of ... read more

New Data Mining Resource for Organic Materials Available

Mar. 6, 2017 — A new, freely accessible database of organic and organometallic materials’ electronic structures is now available online for research with quantum ... read more

Computational Method Makes Gene Expression Analyses More Accurate

Mar. 6, 2017 — A new computational method can improve the accuracy of gene expression analyses, which are increasingly used to diagnose and monitor cancers and are a major tool for basic biological research. Researchers report that their method is able to correct for the technical biases that are known to occur during RNA sequencing, the leading method for estimating gene ... read more

more top physical/tech stories

Environment News

March 7, 2017

First Underwater Video of the True's Beaked Whale

Bumblebees' Smelly Feet Help Find Lunch

Stream of Surprises from the Atlantic Cod Genome

Great Mass Extinction Due to Ice Age, Not Warming

Mar. 7, 2017 — The True's beaked whale is a deep-diving mammal so rarely seen that it often defies recognition at sea by researchers. As a result, we have little data about its distribution, abundance and calving ... read more

Mar. 7, 2017 — Bumblebees have the ability to use 'smelly footprints' to make the distinction between their own scent, the scent of a relative and the scent of a stranger, scientists have ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — Researchers keep discovering surprises in the Atlantic cod genome. The most recent study has revealed an unusual amount of short and identical DNA sequences, which might give cod an evolutionary ... read more

Mar. 6, 2017 — The Earth has known several mass extinctions over the course of its history. One of the most important happened at the Permian-Triassic boundary 250 ... read more

Latest Environment Headlines

updated 2:33pm EST

Portuguese Moth's Mystery Solved After 22 Years

Mar. 7, 2017 — An unknown moth, collected from Portugal 22 years ago, has finally been named and placed in the tree of life. The tiny moth belongs to the looper moth family and has been particularly difficult to study because it did not resemble any other European species. The breakthrough was possible thanks to ... read more

Asian Carp and Old Chicago Waterways

Mar. 7, 2017 — Asian carp, currently confined to the Mississippi River system, are threatening to invade Lake Michigan and the Great Lakes through the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal. Researchers reaffirm that providing safe drinking water to Chicago residents must remain the number one priority; however, the ... read more

US Grasslands Affected More by Atmospheric Dryness Than Precipitation

Mar. 7, 2017 — According to 33 years of remote sensing data, productivity of US grasslands is more sensitive to dryness of the atmosphere than precipitation, important information for understanding how ecosystems will respond to climate ... read more

Fly-Over States Matter When Understanding -- And Saving -- Migratory Birds

Mar. 7, 2017 — Around the world, thousands of migratory animals travel hundreds or even thousands of miles each year. The journey of migratory animals is more important than their destination. Scientists use the endangered Kirtland's warblers to show how connecting all migration's points can chart a way ... read more

Study Finds Knowledge Gaps on Protecting Cultural Sites from Climate Change

Mar. 7, 2017 — Many cultural sites vulnerable to climate-related changes such as rising sea levels, coastal erosion and flooding from stronger storms, ... read more

Synchrotron Sheds (X-Ray) Light on Carbon Chemistry at Ocean Surfaces

Mar. 7, 2017 — Carbonate, bicarbonate, and carbonic acid emerge when atmospheric carbon dioxide dissolves in the oceans, which is the largest sink for this greenhouse gas. Researchers are interested in better understanding the carbonate system to potentially help facilitate carbon sequestration schemes, to help mitigate climate change. Recently, researchers made breakthrough discoveries about the carbonate ... read more

Future Climate Change Will Affect Plants and Soil Differently

Mar. 7, 2017 — A new study has found that soil carbon loss is more sensitive to climate change compared to carbon taken up by plants. In drier regions, soil carbon loss decreased but in wetter regions soil carbon loss increased. This could result in a positive feedback to the atmosphere leading to an additional ... read more

Climate Study: More Intense and Frequent Severe Rainstorms Likely

Mar. 7, 2017 — A climate scientist confirms that more intense and more frequent severe rainstorms will likely continue as temperatures rise due to global warming, despite some observations that seem to suggest ... read more

Mid-Mesozoic Beetle in Amber Stirs Questions on Rise of Flowering Plants and Pollinators

Mar. 2, 2017 — The discovery of a beetle and pollen in 105-million-year-old Spanish amber is proof of a new insect pollination mode that dates to the mid-Mesozoic, before the rise of flowering plants. The study places this discovery in the context of a growing ... read more

Evolution of Bipedalism in Ancient Dinosaur Ancestors

Mar. 3, 2017 — Paleontologists have developed a new theory to explain why the ancient ancestors of dinosaurs stopped moving about on all fours and rose up on just their two ... read more

100,000-Year-Old Human Skulls from East Asia Reveal Complex Mix of Trends in Time, Space

Mar. 2, 2017 — Two partial archaic human skulls, from the Lingjing site, Xuchang, central China, provide a new window into the biology and populations patterns of the immediate predecessors of modern humans in ... read more

Woolly Mammoths Experienced a Genomic Meltdown Just Before Extinction

Mar. 2, 2017 — Dwindling populations created a 'mutational meltdown' in the genomes of the last woolly mammoths, which had survived on an isolated island until a few thousand years ago, ... read more

Dangers of Concurrent Heat Waves, Air Pollution

Computer Beats Expert Poker Players at Poker

Asian Pollution, Heat Waves Worsen US Smog

Naming of the Anthropocene: Paradigm Shift?

Mar. 1, 2017 — The combination of prolonged hot spells with poor air quality greatly compounds the negative effects of each and can pose a major risk to human ... read more

Mar. 2, 2017 — A team of computing scientists is once again capturing the world's collective fascination with artificial intelligence. In a historic result for the flourishing AI research community, the team has ... read more

Mar. 1, 2017 — An influx of pollution from Asia in the western United States and more frequent heat waves in the eastern US are responsible for the persistence of smog in these regions over the past quarter century ... read more

Feb. 27, 2017 — Does a name in itself have sufficient symbolic power to cause a paradigm shift in how humans perceive our role in the changing geological patterns of the ... read more

Latest Society/Education Headlines

updated 2:33pm EST

'Traveling' Droughts Bring New Possibilities for Prediction

Mar. 7, 2017 — Droughts can travel hundreds to thousands of kilometers from where they started, like a slow-moving hurricane. A new study sheds light on how these droughts evolve in space and time, bringing vital new insight for ... read more

Nothing Fishy About New Solution for Aquaculture Wastewater Treatment

Mar. 6, 2017 — Aquaculture, or fish farming, is one of the fastest growing sectors of agriculture in the world today. However, farmers in the United States who wish to capitalize on this momentum face regulatory hurdles when dealing with fish waste. But new research shows that a simple, organic system can clean ... read more

Researchers Create New Tool That Measures Active Learning in Classrooms

Mar. 6, 2017 — A new tool that uses classroom sounds may solve the biggest outstanding question in undergraduate science education, namely, what teaching methods are actually being used in college classrooms, and how can they ... read more

Cancer 'Hot Spots' in Florida May Be Associated With Hazardous Waste Sites

Mar. 6, 2017 — Florida has the sixth highest number of hazardous waste sites, known as Superfund sites, in the United States. In 2016, the state was projected to have the second largest number of new cancer cases in the country. Researchers studied cancer incidence rates in relation to Superfund sites and found a possible association. Researchers believe this discovery could help direct public health ... read more

Disruptive Children Do Not Inspire Similar Behavior in Their Siblings

Mar. 6, 2017 — A new study finds that the disruptive behavior of individual children does not encourage similar behavior in their brothers and ... read more

Sleepovers With Stuffed Animals Help Children Learn to Read

Feb. 28, 2017 — Sending stuffed animals for a sleepover at the library encourages children to read with them, even long after the sleepover took place, say researchers. For the first time, the study proves stuffed animal sleepovers are an effective way to get children to ... read more

New Studies Illustrate How Gamers Get Good

Feb. 27, 2017 — Researchers used data from online video games to study what kinds of practice and habits help people acquire skill. Beyond simply learning about what makes gamers good, the investigators hope that the work will shed light more generally on the ways in which people can optimize their performance in other ... read more

Teach Yourself Everyday Happiness With Imagery Training

Feb. 24, 2017 — Researchers have found that self-guided positive imagery training can successfully combat negative emotions in our daily lives. This tool is so powerful that it also changes the way our brain ... read more

Maintaining an Active Sex Life May Lead to Improved Job Satisfaction, Engagement in Work

Mar. 6, 2017 — Maintaining a healthy sex life at home boosts employees' job satisfaction and engagement at the office, underscoring the value of a strong work-life ... read more

Facebook 'Likes' Don’t Work Like Marketers Think They Do

Mar. 2, 2017 — Simply building up followers on Facebook isn't enough to boost a brand’s sales. If companies want to convert social media fans into more active customers, they have to engage them with advertising, according to a new ... read more

Risky Business: Calculating Climate Change Losses in Major European Coastal Cities

Mar. 1, 2017 — A new study that assesses potential future climate damage to major European coastal cities has found that, if, as currently, global carbon emissions continue to track the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's worst emission scenario (RCP8.5), overall annual economic losses may range from 1.2 billion USD in 2030 to more than 40 billion by ... read more

Understanding the Impact of Delays in High-Speed Networks

Feb. 23, 2017 — In a world increasingly reliant on high-speed networks, introducing microsecond delays into such systems can have profound ... read more

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