Other Sciences News

Rewards are often uncertain and infrequent, but learning may nevertheless have the potential to boost happiness. Image credit: Pexels.

Learning Boosts Happiness, New Study Suggests

Jan 6, 2021 by News Staff

New research from University College London suggests that how we learn about the world around us can be more important for how we feel than rewards we...

Scanning electron microscope image of the ellipsoidal colloids. Inset shows a confocal microscopy image, highlighting the core-shell structure. Scale bar - 5 μm. Image credit: Roller et al., doi: 10.1073/pnas.2018072118.

Researchers Discover New State of Matter: Liquid Glass

Jan 6, 2021 by News Staff

Using a technique called confocal microscopy, a team of scientists from Germany and the Netherlands has found that suspensions of ellipsoidal colloids...

Chen et al. suggest that travel and tourism can be an important life domain affecting how people evaluate their overall quality of life. Image credit: Joshua Woroniecki.

Frequent Travelers are More Satisfied with Their Life than Non-Travelers, Study Says

Jan 4, 2021 by News Staff

Frequent travelers are about 7% happier than people who don’t travel at all, according to a study carried out in Taiwan. Chen et al. suggest that travel...

Postmenopausal women who ate a half cup of Ataulfo mangoes 4 times a week saw a 23% decrease in deep wrinkles after 2 months and a 20% decrease after 4 months. Image credit: Liwan Chun.

Mangoes May Help Reduce Facial Wrinkles in Women

Jan 2, 2021 by Enrico de Lazaro

According to a clinical pilot study published in the journal Nutrients, regular intake of modest amounts of Ataulfo mangoes may improve facial wrinkles...

This 3D model of a polymer desalination membrane shows water avoiding dense spots in the membrane and slowing flow; red above the membrane shows water under higher pressure and with higher concentrations of salt; the gold, granular, sponge-like structure in the middle shows denser and less-dense areas within the salt-stopping membrane; silver channels show how water flows through; and the blue at the bottom shows water under lower pressure and with lower concentrations of salt. Image credit: Ganapathysubramanian Research Group / Iowa State University / Gregory Foss, Texas Advanced Computing Center.

Researchers Make Progress Toward High-Performing Water Desalination Membranes

Jan 1, 2021 by News Staff

Biological membranes can achieve remarkably high permeabilities while maintaining ideal selectivities by relying on homogeneous internal structures in...

Differences in brain activity between connected and disconnected states of consciousness studied with positron emission tomography imaging. Activity of the thalamus, anterior (ACC) and posterior cingulate cortices (PCC), and bilateral angular gyri (AG) show the most consistent associations with the state of consciousness (A = general anesthesia, B = sleep). The same brain structures, which are deactivated when the state of consciousness changes to disconnected in general anesthesia or natural sleep (cool colors in the left columns), are reactivated when regaining a connected state upon emergence from anesthesia (warm colors in the right columns). Image credit: Scheinin et al., doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0775-20.2020.

Neuroscientists Identify Brain Network Critical for Consciousness

Dec 30, 2020 by News Staff

The loss and return of consciousness is linked to the same core brain network for both sleep and anesthesia. Differences in brain activity between connected...

Illustration of one of the early settlers in the Caribbean. Image credit: Tom Björklund.

Ancient DNA Reveals Genetic History of Caribbean World

Dec 27, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study of the genetic history of the pre-contact Caribbean, researchers analyzed genome-wide DNA data from 174 ancient individuals who lived in...

The archaeological site of Tel Dor, Israel. Image credit: Institute of Archaeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Archaeologists Find Evidence of Neolithic Mega-Tsunami in Israel

Dec 24, 2020 by News Staff

A catastrophic tsunami occurred sometimes between 7,910 and 7,290 BCE with an extreme 16 m (52.5 feet) wave height and 1.5-3.5 km (0.93-2.2 mile) run-up...

Tahitian warrior dugouts from ‘Le Costume Ancien et Moderne’ by Giulio Ferrario, Milan, between 1816 and 1827.

First Mariana Islanders Came from Philippines, New Study Shows

Dec 23, 2020 by News Staff

In new research, researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Australian National University and the University of Guam analyzed...

Fresh Hass avocado intake over a 12-week period resulted in changes to the fecal microbiota and increased concentrations of microbially derived metabolites among adults with overweight and obesity. Image credit: Sandid.

Daily Avocado Consumption Improves Gut Health, New Study Suggests

Dec 21, 2020 by News Staff

Avocado affects digestive physiology of the intestinal microbiota as well as its composition and metabolic functions, according to a study published in...

Toonen et al. challenge the long-held view that the fall of Central Asia’s river civilizations was determined by warfare and the destruction of irrigation infrastructure during the Mongol invasion. Image credit: National Library, Berlin.

Climate Change, Not Mongol Invasion, Destroyed Central Asia’s River Civilizations

Dec 17, 2020 by News Staff

The Aral Sea basin in Central Asia and its major rivers, the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, were the center of advanced river civilizations, and a principal...

Yin et al. investigated the effects of sous vide, boiling, and roasting on beef protein digestibility and peptide profiling in simulated gastrointestinal digestion. Image credit: Anova Culinary / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Sous-Vide Cooking Increases Beef Protein Digestibility, New Study Finds

Dec 10, 2020 by News Staff

Beef samples treated with sous vide — a technique in which food is vacuum-sealed in a plastic pouch and then placed in a water bath or steam environment...

Al-Shaar et al. found that greater intakes of total, unprocessed, and processed red meat were each associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease. Compared with total, unprocessed, or processed red meat, other dietary components such as soy, nuts, and legumes were associated with a lower risk of coronary heart disease. These associations were stronger among older men. These findings are consistent with the effects of these foods on low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and support a health benefit of limiting red meat consumption and replacement with plant protein sources; this would also have important environmental benefits. The team also found that substituting whole grains or dairy products for total red meat and substituting eggs for processed red meat were also associated with a lower coronary heart disease risk. Image credit: Ulrike Leone.

Replacing Red Meat with Plant Foods Reduces Coronary Heart Disease Risk, Study Suggests

Dec 9, 2020 by News Staff

According to a new study published in The BMJ, substituting high quality plant foods such as legumes, nuts, or soy for red meat might reduce the risk of...

Aspyn Palatnick holding the world’s first mobile genetics laboratory at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory’s 125th anniversary Open House. Image credit: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Researchers Develop Handheld DNA Sequencer

Dec 8, 2020 by News Staff

By pairing a new app called iGenomics with a handheld DNA sequencer, users can easily align and analyze relatively small genomes, like those of viral pathogens. Aspyn...

An ancient Japanese wooden sailing vessel. Image credit: Pratyeka / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Paleolithic Humans Deliberately Crossed Ocean to Japanese Islands 35,000 Years Ago: Study

Dec 7, 2020 by News Staff

Paleolithic people deliberately crossed the challenging ocean to migrate to the Ryukyu Islands of southwestern Japan, even though the islands would not...

The Venus of Willendorf, an 11.1-cm- (4.4-inch) tall Venus figurine estimated to have been made 30,000 BCE, in Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. Image credit: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Upper Paleolithic Figurines Showing Women with Obesity May Be Linked to Climate Change

Dec 2, 2020 by News Staff

Obesity is rare in hunter-gatherer cultures. Nevertheless, dozens of handheld ‘Venus’ figurines — the oldest art sculptures of humans known and...

A green Mediterranean diet is further enriched with green plant-based foods and lower meat intake. Image credit: Higorhsa.

Green Mediterranean Diet Better than Original Version, New Study Suggests

Dec 2, 2020 by News Staff

New research suggests that additional restriction of meat intake with a parallel increase in plant-based, protein-rich foods may further benefit the cardiometabolic...

This illustration shows Jezero Crater -- the landing site of NASA’s Mars 2020 Perseverance rover -- as it may have looked billions of years ago on Mars, when it was a lake. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech.

Researchers Develop Hydrogen and Oxygen Harvesting System for Use on Mars

Dec 1, 2020 by News Staff

The active Martian water cycle, i.e., the presence of shallow water and soluble perchlorate salts in the Martian soil, enables the production of hydrogen...

When mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) age, the transcription factor GATA6 is increasingly produced in the cell to induce aging response; by transcription factor-based cellular reprogramming, aged MSCs are rejuvenated with a reduction in GATA6 effects on cellular aging. Image credit: AlphaMed Press.

Scientists Identify Gene Responsible for Aging of Human Cells

Dec 1, 2020 by News Staff

A gene called GATA6 (GATA binding protein 6) regulates aging of human mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs), according to new research from the University...