ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news

Top Science News

April 14, 2017

Powered by Sun, Device Pulls Water from Dry Air

'Ocean Worlds' in Our Solar System

Shape-Shifting Objects With 3D Printing Method

Early Dinosaur Cousin: Surprising Croc-Like Look

Apr. 13, 2017 — While it's easy to condense water from humid air, machines that harvest water from drier air require energy. Researchers have created the first water harvester that uses only ambient sunlight. The ... read more

Apr. 13, 2017 — Two veteran NASA missions are providing new details about icy, ocean-bearing moons of Jupiter and Saturn, further heightening the scientific interest of these and other "ocean worlds" in our solar ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — A new 3-D printing method has been developed to create objects that can permanently transform into a range of different shapes in response to ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — Teleocrater and other recently discovered dinosaur cousins show that these animals were widespread during the Triassic Period and lived in modern day Russia, India, and Brazil. Furthermore, these ... read more

Latest Top Headlines

updated 10:58am EDT

25 Is 'Golden Age' for the Ability to Make Random Choices

Apr. 13, 2017 — People's ability to make random choices or mimic a random process, such as coming up with hypothetical results for a series of coin flips, peaks around age 25, according to ... read more

How Nature Engineered the Original Rotary Motor

Apr. 13, 2017 — To function properly and propel the bacterium, the flagellum requires all of its components to fit together to exacting measurements. In a new study, researchers report the eludication of a mechanism that regulates the length of the flagellum's 25 nanometer driveshaft-like rod and answers a ... read more

Biased Bots: Human Prejudices Sneak Into Artificial Intelligence Systems

Apr. 13, 2017 — In debates over the future of artificial intelligence, many experts think of the new systems as coldly logical and objectively rational. But in a new study, researchers have demonstrated how machines can be reflections of us, their creators, in potentially ... read more

New Crispr-Based Diagnostic Platform Unveiled

Apr. 13, 2017 — A team of scientists has adapted a CRISPR protein that targets RNA (rather than DNA) as a rapid, inexpensive, highly sensitive diagnostic tool with the potential for a transformative effect on research and global ... read more

Nanoparticle Research Tested in Locusts Focuses on New Drug-Delivery Method

Apr. 12, 2017 — A team of engineers has combined nanoparticles, aerosol science and locusts in new proof-of-concept research that could someday vastly improve drug delivery to the brain, making it as simple as ... read more

How to Color a Lizard: From Biology to Mathematics

Apr. 12, 2017 — Skin color patterns in animals arise from microscopic interactions among colored cells that obey equations, say investigators. Researchers report that a lizard acquires its adult skin color by changing the color of individual skin scales. The work shows that the 3-D geometry of the lizard's skin ... read more

Meet 'DeeDee,' a Distant, Dim Member of Our Solar System

Apr. 12, 2017 — Using the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have revealed extraordinary details about a recently discovered far-flung member of our solar system, the planetary body 2014 UZ224, more informally known ... read more

Collisions Generate Gas in Debris Disks

Apr. 12, 2017 — By examining the atomic carbon line from two young star systems -- 49 Ceti and Beta Pictoris -- researchers had found atomic carbon in the disk, the first time this observation has been made at sub-millimeter wavelength, hinting that the gas in debris disks is not primordial, but rather is ... read more

Hunting Accounts for 83 and 58 Percent Declines in Tropical Mammal and Bird Populations

Apr. 13, 2017 — Hunting is a major threat to wildlife particularly in tropical regions, but a systematic large-scale estimate of hunting-induced declines of animal numbers was lacking so far. A study now fills this gap. An international team of ecologists and ... read more

Moabosaurus Discovered in Utah's 'Gold Mine'

Apr. 13, 2017 — Move over, honeybee and seagull: it's time to meet Moabosaurus utahensis, Utah's newly discovered dinosaur, whose past reveals even more about the state's long-term history. The bones of the 125-million-year-old dinosaur were extracted over the course of four decades from a quarry near Arches ... read more

How Polar Bears Find Their Prey

Apr. 12, 2017 — Researchers have demystified the way that polar bears search for their typical prey of ringed seals. The answer, it turns out, is simple: they follow their nose using the power ... read more

Florida Manatees Likely to Persist for at Least 100 Years

Apr. 12, 2017 — Florida's manatee population is highly likely to endure for the next 100 years, a study ... read more

Serious Problems After Short-Term Steroid Use?

Racial Bias Begins Earlier Than Thought

Tick Tock, Stay Ahead of the Aging Clock

College Students Study Best Later in the Day

Apr. 13, 2017 — People taking corticosteroids for short-term relief were more likely to break a bone, have a potentially dangerous blood clot or develop sepsis in ... read more

Apr. 11, 2017 — Six- to nine-month-old infants demonstrate racial bias in favor of members of their own race and racial bias against those of other races, two new ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — Aging in humans (and animals) can be seen as either an inevitable process of wear and tear or as an inherent biological program by which the lifespan of each species is more or less predetermined. ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — Researchers used a survey-based, empirical model and a neuroscience-based, theoretical model to analyze the learning patterns of college students to determine optimum times when cognitive performance ... read more

Latest Health Headlines

updated 10:58am EDT

Viewing Genes Inside Living Cells

Apr. 13, 2017 — 3-D maps of gene locations could have a huge impact in our understanding of human health and in the battle against ... read more

Gonorrhea Manipulates an Anti-Infection Mechanism in the Female Reproductive Tract

Apr. 13, 2017 — The bacterium that causes gonorrhea infects the female reproductive tract by breaking connections between cells in the tract's protective lining, according to ... read more

Harnessing CRISPR for Rapid Detection of Viral and Bacterial Infection

Apr. 13, 2017 — Researchers have created a version of CRISPR-Cas that can be used to diagnose infections, such as Zika and dengue, with a high level of ... read more

Brain Tissue from a Petri Dish

Apr. 13, 2017 — The most complex organ in humans is the brain. Due to its complexity, it is extremely difficult to do scientific experiments on it -- ones that could help us to understand neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson's, for example. Scientists have now succeeded in turning human stem cells derived ... read more

'Neuron-Reading' Nanowires Could Accelerate Development of Drugs for Neurological Diseases

Apr. 11, 2017 — Engineers have developed nanowires that can record the electrical activity of neurons in fine detail. The new nanowire technology could one day serve as a platform to screen drugs for neurological diseases and could enable researchers to better ... read more

Cognitive and Psychosocial Function of Retired Professional Hockey Players

Apr. 13, 2017 — Researchers have reported on the most comprehensive neuropsychological study of retired professional ice hockey players to date. They found that the alumni involved in the study, most of whom played in the NHL, were free from significant brain impairment on objective testing. Yet the players reported a high level of emotional, behavioural and cognitive challenges on questionnaires rating ... read more

Both Too Much, Too Little Weight Tied to Migraine

Apr. 12, 2017 — Both obesity and being underweight are associated with an increased risk for migraine, according to a meta-analysis. The researchers looked at all available studies on body mass index (BMI) and ... read more

Brain Structure, Anxiety and Negative Bias Linked in Healthy Adults

Apr. 13, 2017 — Healthy college students who have a relatively small inferior frontal cortex - a brain region behind the temples that helps regulate thoughts and emotions - are more likely than others to suffer from anxiety, a new study finds. They also tend to view neutral or even positive events in a negative light, researchers ... read more

Visualizing Future Doesn't Increase Delayed Gratification

Apr. 13, 2017 — Scientists found that visualizing the future doesn't cause people to delay gratification but rather increases ... read more

When It Comes to Reading, Kindergarten Is the New First Grade

Apr. 13, 2017 — A new nationwide study has found that children entering first grade in 2013 had significantly better reading skills than similar students had just 12 years earlier. Researchers say this means that in general, children are better readers at a younger age, but the study also revealed where gaps remain -- especially in more advanced reading ... read more

Detecting Alzheimer's Disease Earlier Using ... Greebles?

Apr. 11, 2017 — Unique graphic characters called Greebles may prove to be valuable tools in detecting signs of Alzheimer's disease decades before symptoms ... read more

Pokemon Go Players Are Happier, Friendlier, Study Finds

Apr. 12, 2017 — Pokemon Go people are happy people. That's the finding of media researchers who leapt to study the wildly popular mobile game shortly after its release in July 2016. Their work shows that Pokemon Go users were more likely to be positive, friendly and physically ... read more

Electronics: Harvesting Energy from Body Movement

Dark Matter Web Connecting Galaxies 'Imaged'

Science Shows Why Shoelaces Come Untied

Liquid Lenses Flex to Adjust Focus On the Fly

Apr. 12, 2017 — Despite the many advances in portable electronic devices, one thing remains constant: the need to plug them into a wall socket to recharge. Now researchers have developed a light-weight, paper-based ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — Researchers have been able to capture the first composite image of a dark matter bridge that connects galaxies ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — A new study shows why your shoelaces may keep coming untied. A better understanding of knot mechanics is needed for sharper insight into how knotted structures fail under a variety of ... read more

Apr. 11, 2017 — Engineers have developed glasses with liquid-based lenses that “flex” to refocus on whatever the wearer is ... read more

Latest Physical/Tech Headlines

updated 10:58am EDT

Anticipating Hazards from Fracking-Induced Earthquakes in Canada and US

Apr. 12, 2017 — As hydraulic fracturing operations expand in Canada and in some parts of the United States, researchers are taking a closer look at ways to minimize hazards from the earthquakes triggered by those ... read more

How Some Battery Materials Expand Without Cracking

Apr. 12, 2017 — New findings show some phosphate-based battery materials can change from crystalline to glassy while in use, possibly opening new avenues for design ... read more

Battery Prototype Powered by Atmospheric Nitrogen

Apr. 13, 2017 — As the most abundant gas in Earth's atmosphere, nitrogen has been an attractive option as a source of renewable energy. But nitrogen gas doesn't break apart under normal conditions, presenting a challenge to scientists who want to transfer the chemical energy of its triple bond into electricity. Researchers present one approach to capturing atmospheric nitrogen that can be used in a ... read more

Policymakers 'Flying Blind' Into the Future of Work

Apr. 13, 2017 — Will a robot take away my job? Many people ask that question, yet policymakers don't have the kind of information they need to answer it intelligently, say the authors of a new ... read more

Scientist Measures Brightness of the Universe With NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft

Apr. 11, 2017 — Images taken by NASA's New Horizons mission on its way to Pluto, and now the Kuiper Belt, have given scientists an unexpected tool for measuring the brightness of all the galaxies in the ... read more

'Cold' Great Spot Discovered on Jupiter

Apr. 11, 2017 — A Great Cold Spot comparable in scale to Jupiter's famous Great Red Spot (24,000 km west-east and 12,000 km north-south) has been found on the planet. The phenomenon, only recently observed, may have existed for thousands of years, however, this is the first direct evidence of a sustained weather ... read more

NASA's MAVEN Reveals Mars Has Metal in Its Atmosphere

Apr. 10, 2017 — Mars has electrically charged metal atoms (ions) high in its atmosphere, according to new results. The metal ions can reveal previously invisible activity in the mysterious electrically charged upper atmosphere (ionosphere) ... read more

Long Ago and Far Away, an Average Galaxy: 'Typical' Galaxy Helps Astronomers Study Epoch of Reionization

Apr. 10, 2017 — Using a giant galaxy cluster as a cosmic-scale lens, astronomers have discovered a galaxy from the early universe that they think is 'typical' of its time. This could help astronomers better understand the Epoch of Reionization when the first ... read more

Performance of Earthquake Early Warning Systems

Apr. 11, 2017 — The future of earthquake early warning systems may be contained in smartphones -- and vehicles, and 'smart' appliances and the increasing number of everyday objects embedded with sensors and communication chips that connect them with a global ... read more

Tool for Checking Complex Computer Architectures Reveals Flaws in Emerging Design

Apr. 12, 2017 — With backing from some of the largest technology companies, a major project called RISC-V seeks to facilitate open-source design for computer chips, offering the possibility of opening chip designs beyond the few firms that currently dominate the space. As the project moves toward a formal release, researchers have discovered a series of errors in ... read more

Method Improves Semiconductor Fiber Optics, Paves Way for Developing Devices

Apr. 13, 2017 — A new method to improve semiconductor fiber optics may lead to a material structure that might one day revolutionize the global transmission of data, according to an interdisciplinary team ... read more

People Find Changes in User Interfaces Annoying

Apr. 13, 2017 — Researchers modelled learning and visual search and predicted how users learn new or partially changed user interfaces. The model shows that even small changes can disturb visual search and impede ... read more

more top physical/tech stories

Environment News

April 14, 2017

Undiscovered Carbon Cycle in Polar Glaciers?

Near-Complete Skull of Saber-Toothed Cat Found

Surprisingly Complex Farming Among Ants

Body-Awareness, Intelligence of Elephants

Apr. 12, 2017 — Microbes in streams flowing on the surface of glaciers in the Arctic and Antarctic may represent a previously underestimated source of organic material and be part of an as yet undiscovered 'dynamic ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — An excavation team found the remains of a saber-toothed cat at the archeological site in Schöningen. An examination of the skull fragments revealed the animal to be a representative of the European ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — Millions of years before humans discovered agriculture, ants were farming fungus beneath the surface of the Earth. By tracing their evolutionary ... read more

Apr. 12, 2017 — Asian elephants are able to recognize their bodies as obstacles to success in problem-solving, further strengthening evidence of their intelligence ... read more

Latest Environment Headlines

updated 10:58am EDT

Mosquito Egg Hunt: Many Culex Species Prefer Alternatives to Standing Water

Apr. 12, 2017 — The conventional wisdom about where many mosquitoes lay their eggs -- in standing water -- is not always wise. Research into a diverse group of mosquitoes shows that many, if not most, regularly lay their eggs on a variety of surfaces, and in a surprising location: above nearby water. The findings run counter to scientific generalizations about the mosquitoes' egg-laying habits and may complicate ... read more

Wild Heart: Urban Wild Boars Prefer Natural Food Resources

Apr. 13, 2017 — Different than expected, wild boars do not come to Berlin in order to use garbage or other anthropogenic food resources. In fact, also in the city they predominantly consume ... read more

Citizen Scientists Help Identify Shorebird Extinction Threat

Apr. 13, 2017 — A major contributor to the dramatic decline of migratory shorebird populations in Australia has been identified by researchers. Australian shorebirds were under threat due to the degradation and destruction of mudflats thousands of kilometers away in north-east Asia, ... read more

Defects in Epithelial Tissue Organization: A Question of Life or Death

Apr. 13, 2017 — Researchers have discovered the primary mechanism driving the extrusion of dying cells from ... read more

Bombay Beach Event Demonstrates Difficulties in Earthquake Swarm Forecasting

Apr. 11, 2017 — Seismologists report on lessons learned from the 2016 Bombay Beach swarm, in particular the challenges in modeling swarms and communicating their risk to the ... read more

Seismic Listening System Offers New Look at Old Faithful Geyser

Apr. 11, 2017 — After deploying hundreds of seismometers around the Old Faithful Geyser in 2015 and 2016, scientists have a clearer picture of how the geyser erupts and what may lie beneath the popular tourist attraction in Yellowstone National ... read more

Could a Colorado Earthquake Have Been Triggered by Dinosaur Extinction Impact?

Apr. 11, 2017 — Researchers have found signs of fault displacement at well-known rock outcrops in Colorado that mark the end-Cretaceous asteroid impact that may have hurried the extinction of the ... read more

Next 10 Years Critical for Achieving Climate Change Goals

Apr. 13, 2017 — In order to have a good chance of meeting the limits set by the Paris Agreement, it will be necessary to both reduce greenhouse gas emissions while preserving carbon sinks, with net emissions peaking in the next 10 years, according to a new ... read more

Stalagmites Store Paleoclimate Data

Apr. 11, 2017 — The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is the dominant atmospheric pressure mode over the North Atlantic that plays a significant role in determining the winter climate in Europe. Depending on the prevailing state of the NAO, Europe experiences mild or very cold winters and even strong storms. ... read more

Viral Fossils Reveal How Our Ancestors May Have Eliminated an Ancient Infection

Apr. 11, 2017 — Scientists have uncovered how our ancestors may have wiped out an ancient retrovirus around 11 million years ... read more

Three New Species of Extinct South American Marsupials Discovered

Apr. 11, 2017 — The discovery of three extinct species and new insights to a fourth indicates a little-known family of marsupials, the Palaeothentidae, was diverse and existed over a wide range of South America as recent as 13 million years ago. Fossils of the new species were found at Quebrada Honda, a high ... read more

Distantly Related Fish Find Same Evolutionary Solution to Dark Water

Apr. 11, 2017 — Changes in a single color-vision gene demonstrate convergent evolutionary adaptations in widely separated species and across vastly different time scales, according to a new study. The study, which combined genetic analysis with a 19-year-long selection experiment, supports the idea that the ... read more

Why Teens Should Start School Later in the Day

Can a Fingerprint Secure Your Mobile Phone?

America's Freshwater Lakes Are Getting Saltier

Electricity from Renewables Rose to 11% in 2016

Apr. 12, 2017 — Decades of research explain why adolescent biology makes the 7:30 a.m. school bell so ... read more

Apr. 11, 2017 — No two people are believed to have identical fingerprints, but researchers have found that partial similarities between prints are common enough that the fingerprint-based security systems used in ... read more

Apr. 10, 2017 — North America's freshwater lakes are getting saltier due to development and exposure to road salt. A study of 371 lakes reports that many Midwestern and Northeastern lakes are experiencing increasing ... read more

Apr. 6, 2017 — As clean technology costs continue to fall, the world added record levels of renewable energy capacity in 2016, at an investment level 23 percent lower than 2015, new UN-backed research ... read more

Latest Society/Education Headlines

updated 10:58am EDT

Married LGBT Older Adults Are Healthier, Happier Than Singles, Study Finds

Apr. 13, 2017 — Same-sex marriage has been the law of the land for nearly two years -- and in some states for even longer -- but researchers can already detect positive health outcomes among couples who have tied the knot, a new study ... read more

Post-SARS, Infection Rates in China Have Steadied, but Fast-Growing and Common Infections Now Need Attention

Apr. 12, 2017 — Following the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in 2003, China stepped up its prevention and control methods for all infectious diseases, and rates of infection have leveled off since 2009. However, better measures are needed to tackle the most common diseases -- including hand, foot and mouth disease, hepatitis B, and tuberculosis ... read more

Assessing the Impact of Climate Risks on the Financial System

Apr. 11, 2017 — In the wake of 2015 Climate Paris Agreements to limit global temperature below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, many governmental and private stakeholders have advocated for the introduction of policies to mitigate climate change. This would affect directly only the fossil-fuel and utility sector, but it would also expose indirectly many other economic sectors, in particular the energy-intensive ... read more

CDC/WHO Ebola Guidelines Could Put Sewer Workers at Risk

Apr. 11, 2017 — Guidelines for safe disposal of liquid waste from patients being treated for the Ebola virus might not go far enough to protect water treatment workers from being exposed, say ... read more

What Triggers a High-School Student to Suddenly Drop Out?

Apr. 10, 2017 — Divorcing parents, a car accident, a job layoff or any other major stressful event can provoke adolescents to quit their studies, a new study ... read more

Gender-Affirming Restrooms Recommended for Schools

Mar. 30, 2017 — Educational policies and practices should explicitly ensure the well-being and healthy development of all students by supporting the right of students to use a bathroom in an institutional context that affirms their gender identity and expression. There are many ways that this can occur including providing gender-neutral restrooms in ... read more

Strong Early Education Equals Better Long-Term Relationships With Parents, Research Shows

Apr. 6, 2017 — Scientists say children who are given high-quality education at an early age -- starting at six weeks -- are more likely to be employed full-time and have better relationships with their parents as ... read more

Teacher Resignation Letters Paint Bleak Picture of US Education

Apr. 6, 2017 — As teacher resignation letters increasingly go public - and viral - new research indicates teachers are not leaving solely due to low pay and retirement, but also because of what they see as a broken ... read more

Why We Prefer to Be Fired by an Individual Than by a Committee

Mar. 29, 2017 — Decision-making is a crucial aspect of organizational life, and we know quite a lot about how group and individual decisions are made. Less is known, however, about how these decisions are received, and if potential differences exist when the decision maker is a group rather than an individual. For example, what happens when a worker receives a layoff notification? Would the fairness of such a ... read more

Participation in a Weight Management Program Reduces Job Absenteeism

Apr. 4, 2017 — Individuals with obesity who enrolled in a structured weight loss program report fewer hours missed from work after six months in the program, according to a study being presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society's 99th annual meeting in Orlando, ... read more

NIH Funding Helps Generate Private-Sector Patents

Mar. 30, 2017 — Research grants issued by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) contribute to a significant number of private-sector patents in biomedicine, according to a new study. The study examines 27 years of data and finds that 31 percent of NIH grants, which are publicly funded, produce articles that are ... read more

Manufacturing, Global Trade Impair Health of People With No Stake in Either

Mar. 29, 2017 — The latest products may bring joy to people around the globe, but academic researchers this week are highlighting the heightened health risks experienced by people in regions far downwind of the factories that produce these goods and on the other side of the world from where they're consumed. Scientists quantify and map the shift of environmental and health burdens brought on by globalization and ... read more

more top society/education stories