Other Sciences News

Auditory dorsal and ventral pathway strength and lateralization in macaques, chimpanzees and humans. Left: bar plots showing the individual results and mean fiber counts for the left and right dorsal and ventral pathways for each of the three species. Right: schematic summary of the dorsal (purple) and ventral (dark green) pathway results in macaques, chimpanzees and humans, overlaid on previous observations (light yellow and light green). Image credit: Balezeau et al, doi: 10.1038/s41593-020-0623-9.

Human Brain’s Language Pathway Much Older than Thought

Apr 22, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by Newcastle University Medical School has discovered an earlier evolutionary origin to the human language pathway...

Fjaeldstad & Fernandes provide the first evidence of how coffee impacts short-term taste sensitivity and consequently the way we sense and perceive food following coffee consumption, an important insight in the context of gastronomy as well as in chemosensory testing procedures. Image credit: Katie175.

Coffee Alters Perception of Taste, New Study Shows

Apr 21, 2020 by News Staff

A new study by Aarhus University researchers demonstrates that coffee — regular or decaffeinated — alters the subsequent perception of taste,...

Heavier iron isotopes migrate toward lower temperatures into the mantle, while lighter iron isotopes circulate back down into the core. Image credit: L. O’Dwyer Brown, Aarhus University.

Earth’s Core May Be Leaking Iron, Geoscientists Say

Apr 16, 2020 by News Staff

Earth’s molten core may be leaking heavy isotopes of iron, according to a study led by geoscientists from Aarhus University and the University of California,...

Neolithic rock art in Tassili n’Ajjer National Park, Sahara, Algeria. Image credit: Patrick Gruban, Munich, Germany / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Neolithic East African Pastoralist Societies Consumed Milk

Apr 16, 2020 by News Staff

New research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides the first evidence for diet and subsistence practices of Neolithic...

Reconstructed sagittal 5-mm orthogonal midline images in the brain using the sagittal 3D T1-weighted data set: (left) preflight baseline image and (right) matching postflight image (postflight day 1) in the same astronaut; the black arrowheads show upward expansion of the anterior, middle, and posterior superior margins of the lateral ventricle with associated narrowing of the marginal sulcus of the cingulate sulcus (white arrowhead); there is subtle expansion of the third ventricle (indicated by a 3), which has displaced the thalamus (T) from midline, making it less visible; there is thickening of the intermediate signal scalp soft tissues (arrows). Image credit: Kramer et al, doi: 10.1148/radiol.2020191413.

Study: Long-Duration Spaceflight Affects Brain Volume

Apr 16, 2020 by News Staff

A new study led by Professor Larry Kramer from the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston suggests that the impact of microgravity is far-reaching,...

The Mediterranean diet emphasizes consumption of whole fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, legumes, fish, and olive oil, as well as reduced consumption of red meat and alcohol. Image credit: Julia Pastel100.

Mediterranean Diet May Help Preserve Cognitive Function

Apr 15, 2020 by News Staff

Adherence to the Mediterranean diet correlates with higher cognitive function, according to a new study led by the National Eye Institute (NEI), part of...

With wall thicknesses of about 160 nm, a closed-cell, plate-based nanolattice structure is the first experimental verification that such arrangements reach the theorized limits of strength and stiffness in porous materials. Image credit: Cameron Crook & Jens Bauer, University of California, Irvine.

Newly-Developed Carbon Nanolattices are Stronger than Diamonds

Apr 14, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has created carbon nanolattices — constructed from closed-cell plate-architectures — that are stronger...

Intracortical grafts of human long-term self-renewing neuroepithelial-like stem (lt-NES) cell-derived cortical neurons project extensively in stroke-injured rat brain: (A) location of illustrated areas; (B-D) fibers immunoreactive for human cytoplasmic marker STEM121 in the transplant core (B), corpus callosum (C), and peri-infarct area (D). Scale bar - 200 μm. Image credit: Palma-Tortosa et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2000690117.

Scientists Restore Mobility and Sensation of Touch in Stroke-Injured Rats

Apr 13, 2020 by News Staff

In a new experiment on rats, a team of researchers at Lund University has shown that by transplanting human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell-derived...

DLR researchers spotted an unusual ozone mini-hole over the Arctic. Image credit: DLR / BIRA / ESA.

Researchers Spot Ozone Mini-Hole over Arctic

Apr 10, 2020 by News Staff

Using data from the Tropomi instrument on ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-5 Precursor satellite (also known as Sentinel-5P), a team of scientists from the...

The paper device is folded and unfolded in steps to filter the nucleic acids of pathogens from wastewater samples, then a biochemical reaction with preloaded reagents detects whether the nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 infection is present; the results are visible to the naked eye: a green circle indicating positive and a blue circle negative. Image credit: Cranfield University.

Paper-Based Device Could Detect SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus in Wastewater

Apr 6, 2020 by News Staff

An approach called the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), which is already recognized as an effective way to trace illicit drugs and obtain information...

This is an artist's reconstruction of female Homo from Dmanisi, Georgia. Image credit: Elisabeth Daynes, via tabula.ge.

Homo erectus Existed 200,000 Years Earlier than Previously Thought

Apr 3, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of paleoanthropologists has unearthed a 2-million-year-old skull of Homo erectus, the first of our ancestors to be nearly human-like...

Reconstruction of the West Antarctic mid-Cretaceous temperate rainforest. The painting is based on paleofloral and environmental information inferred from palynological, geochemical, sedimentological and organic biomarker data obtained from cores at the site of PS104_20-2, Antarctica. Image credit: J. McKay / Alfred-Wegener-Institut / CC-BY 4.0.

90-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Rainforest Discovered in Antarctica

Apr 3, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists and geologists has uncovered well-preserved fossilized roots, pollen and spores of 90-million-year-old (mid-Cretaceous...

The occasional use of stone tools as ‘strike-a-lights’ was a technocultural feature shared among Neanderthals in France.

Homo sapiens Interbred with Various Neanderthal Populations, Study Says

Apr 2, 2020 by News Staff

Modern humans in Eurasia carry genetic material inherited from Altai Neanderthals, according to a study published in the journal Genetics. This is noteworthy...

Forensic facial reconstruction of another Australopithecus species - A. afarensis. Image credit: Cicero Moraes / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Australopithecus afarensis Had Ape-Like Brain Organization, But Prolonged Brain Growth Like Humans

Apr 2, 2020 by News Staff

Human brains are three times larger, are organized differently, and mature for a longer period of time than those of our closest living relatives, the...

Fish were captured and stored by the Calusa people in complex walled structures called watercourts, constructed of shell and other sediments. Image credit: Merald Clark.

Calusa People Stored Live Fish in Watercourts

Apr 2, 2020 by News Staff

In the 16th century, the Calusa, a fisher-gatherer-hunter society, were the most politically complex polity in Florida, and Mound Key, an island in Estero...

Hu et al reveal a novel mechanism regulating reversal learning and provide potential targets for the treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by cognitive inflexibility. Image credit: Alexas Fotos.

Newly-Discovered Gene Mutation Improves Cognitive Flexibility in Mice

Apr 1, 2020 by News Staff

A team of U.S. researchers has discovered a genetic mutation that improves cognitive flexibility in mice. Hu et al reveal a novel mechanism regulating...

Zhang et al designed a peptide that can bind to part of SARS-CoV-2’s spike protein. Image credit: Christine Daniloff, MIT.

Newly-Synthesized Peptide Could Disarm SARS-CoV-2 Coronavirus

Mar 31, 2020 by News Staff

Chemists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have chemically synthesized a new peptide (a short protein fragment) that can bind to part...

Transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient. Image credit: NIAID.

Artificial Intelligence Identifies Potential Anti-COVID-19 Drugs

Mar 30, 2020 by News Staff

Scientists from Gero Pte. Ltd., Singapore, have used a deep neural network to search for host-target acting antivirals among experimental and approved...

Walker et al developed a solid-state ultrasound contrast agent for monitoring pH fluctuations. Image credit: Walker et al, doi: 10.1021/acssensors.0c00245.

Researchers Create First Ultrasound Biosensor

Mar 30, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Monash University and the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute has developed a new biosensor that can be used inside a body and...