Other Sciences News

Neanderthals Were as Good at Tolerating Smoke-Related Toxins as Early Modern Humans: Study

The occasional use of stone tools as ‘strike-a-lights’ was a technocultural feature shared among Neanderthals in France.
Nov 30, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A new genetic study conducted by researchers from Leiden University and Wageningen University thoroughly debunks previous claims that a genetic mutation gave early Homo sapiens an evolutionary advantage over Neanderthals in adapting to campfire smoke exposure. Aarts et al. observe no significant difference between Neanderthal and modern human AHR. “Making and using fire is regarded as one of the most significant innovations in man’s evolution,”...

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Gratton et al. show that flavanol intake leads to faster and greater brain oxygenation responses to hypercapnia, as well as higher performance only when cognitive demand is high. Image credit: Ally J.

Study: Cocoa Flavanols Can Improve Cognition and Brain Oxygenation

Nov 30, 2020 by News Staff

In a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers have demonstrated that consumption of cocoa flavanols can improve efficiency in blood...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthal Thumbs were Better Adapted to Holding Tools with Handles: Study

Nov 26, 2020 by News Staff

Neanderthals may have found precision grips (where objects are held between the tip of the finger and thumb) more challenging than power squeeze grips...

Electron microscopy image of a densely packed droplet of hydrogen-producing algal cells. Scale bar - 10 micrometers. Image credit: Xin Huang, Harbin Institute of Technology.

Scientists Create Hydrogen-Producing Algal Droplets

Nov 25, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from the United Kingdom and China has created droplet-based algal micro-reactors capable of aerobic or hypoxic photosynthesis...

This image from the Geostationary Lightning Mapper shows a superbolt-producing lightning flash over the southeastern United States on February 19, 2019. The lightning flash spanned several hundred kilometers and lasted nearly 7 seconds. Image credit: Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Lightning ‘Superbolts’ Are Real, Two New Studies Confirm

Nov 24, 2020 by News Staff

‘Superbolts’ are distinct from typical lightning flashes and can be more than 1,000 times brighter, according to two new papers published in the Journal...

Hus et al. created the smallest atom-memory unit yet. Image credit: Cockrell School of Engineering, University of Texas at Austin.

Researchers Create Smallest Memory Device Yet

Nov 24, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of scientist from the United States, the United Kingdom and Taiwan has developed the world’s smallest memristor. Their results...

Conceptual representation showing a glass containing two liquids of water separated by a thin interface; the bottom liquid is dense than the liquid at the top and, thus, shows that it is composed of water molecules closely packed. Image credit: Jerker Lokrantz / Anders Nilsson.

Supercooled Water Can Exist in Two Liquid States, Study Confirms

Nov 20, 2020 by News Staff

The usual liquid state of water that we are all familiar with corresponds to liquid water at normal temperatures. However, a new study published in the...

McCulloch et al. created ‘rivers’ of regular diamond and lonsdaleite, named after the crystallographer Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, the first woman elected as a Fellow to the Royal Society. Lonsdaleite has a different crystal structure to regular diamond, and is predicted to be 58% harder. Image credit: McCulloch et al., doi: 10.1002/smll.202004695.

Researchers Create Two Types of Diamond at Room Temperature

Nov 19, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Australia and the United States has created two types of diamond — regular diamond and a diamond-like phase called lonsdaleite,...

Top: neurons and glial cells. Bottom: the Millennium Simulation of the Universe. Image credit: Center for Brain Injury and Repair, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine / Springel et al.

Human Brain’s Neuronal Network Has Similarities to Cosmic Web, Study Claims

Nov 18, 2020 by News Staff

In a paper published this week in the journal Frontiers of Physics, a duo of researchers from Italy investigated the similarities between the network of...

Chili peppers contain a phenolic compound called capsaicin. Image credit: Hans Braxmeier.

Regular Chili-Pepper Consumption Could Help You Live Longer, New Review Says

Nov 18, 2020 by News Staff

Regular consumption of chili pepper is associated with a significant reduction in all-cause, cardiovascular, and cancer-related mortalities, according...

A possible subglacial valley and river deep below the surface of Greenland. Image credit: Chambers et al., doi: 10.5194/tc-14-3747-2020.

Long Subglacial River May Flow below Greenland Ice Sheet

Nov 17, 2020 by News Staff

A possible subterranean river flows from the deep interior of Greenland to Petermann Fjord, suggests a paper published in The Cryosphere. A possible subglacial...

Paxman et al. mapped a huge ancient lake basin (outlined here in red) below the Greenland ice; redder colors signify higher elevations, green ones lower; a stream system incised into the bedrock that once fed the lake is shown in blue. Image credit: Paxman et al., doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2020.116647.

Giant Ancient Lake Bed Discovered Deep under Greenland Ice Sheet

Nov 11, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University has discovered paleolake basin situated beneath the ice sheet in northwest...

Walnut consumption may be associated with lower cardiovascular disease risk. Image credit: Nicky Pe.

Walnut-Rich Diet May Reduce Risk of Cardiovascular Disease

Nov 11, 2020 by News Staff

Regular consumption of walnuts in older adults may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by reducing the concentration of certain inflammatory biomarkers,...

Paranthropus boisei. Image credit: © Roman Yevseyev.

2-Million-Year-Old Skull of Paranthropus robustus Suggests Climate Change Drove Rapid Changes

Nov 10, 2020 by News Staff

Paranthropus robustus is a small-brained extinct hominin that lived between 2 million and 1.2 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Discovered...

Fabrication processes and sensing performance of the multifunctional wearable electronics: (A) schematic illustration of the fabrication processes of the multifunctional wearable electronics; (B) motion tracking performance with the multifunctional device worn on the wrist; (C) indoor and outdoor body temperatures acquired using the wearable electronics mounted on the forehead (top) and comparison of measured indoor body temperatures when the wearable electronics is mounted at different locations (bottom); (D) acoustic data acquired using the wearable electronics mounted on the neck; (E) ECG data acquired using the wearable electronics when the participant is at rest (top), and after exercising for 13 s (middle) and 34 s (bottom). Image credit: Chuanqian Shi, University of Colorado, Boulder.

Researchers Develop Highly Stretchable, Self-Healable, and Recyclable Wearable Electronics

Nov 6, 2020 by News Staff

Wearable electronics can be integrated with the human body for monitoring physical activities and health conditions, for human-computer interfaces, and...

Neanderthal family. Image credit: Field Museum.

New Research Sheds Light on Early Life of Neanderthals

Nov 3, 2020 by News Staff

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that the modern human nursing strategy, with onset of weaning at 5...

A portrait of a juvenile female Denisovan based on a skeletal profile reconstructed from ancient DNA methylation maps. Image credit: Maayan Harel.

Denisovan Mitochondrial DNA Found in Tibetan Cave

Nov 2, 2020 by News Staff

In 1980, the 160,000-year-old fossilized partial jawbone of a Denisovan — the so-called Xiahe mandible — was found in Baishiya Karst Cave,...

Devonian world. Image credit: Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.

Large Tides Played Important Role in Evolution of Bony Fish and Early Tetrapods, Study Suggests

Oct 27, 2020 by News Staff

Large tidal ranges from the Late Silurian to the Late Devonian epoch (420 to 380 million years ago) could have fostered both the evolution of air-breathing...

Reconstruction of Paranthropus boisei (Nachosan / CC BY-SA 3.0)

Building Blocks of Language Evolved at least 40 Million Years before Language Itself, Study Shows

Oct 22, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study, published this week in the journal Science Advances, apes and monkeys were able to track relationships between sounds the same way as humans,...

Flavanols are a large group of flavonoids, which include catechin, epicatechin, epigallocatechin, epicatechin gallate and epigallocatechin gallate. They are found in teas, cocoa, fava beans, red wine, and many fruits, particularly in the skins of grapes, apples, and blueberries. Image credit: Marijana.

Flavanol-Rich Diet Could Help Lower Blood Pressure

Oct 22, 2020 by News Staff

Consuming a high-flavanol diet was associated with a significantly lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure and was inversely associated with blood...

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