Other Sciences News

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...

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...

Professor McFadden argues that consciousness implements algorithms in space, rather than time, within the brain’s electromagnetic field. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Consciousness is Brain’s Information-Rich Energy Field, Remarkable New Theory Says

Oct 21, 2020 by News Staff

Consciousness is physically integrated, and causally active, information encoded in the brain’s global electromagnetic field, according to the conscious...

This illustration shows the location of the newly-identified tubarial glands. Image credit: Netherlands Cancer Institute.

Tubarial Glands: New Organ Discovered in Human Body

Oct 21, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Our body contains a pair of previously overlooked and clinically relevant nasopharyngeal salivary glands, according to new research led by the Netherlands...

This year’s ozone hole over Antarctica is one of the largest in recent years. Image credit: ESA.

Ozone Hole over Antarctica is One of Largest and Deepest in Recent Years

Oct 20, 2020 by News Staff

The Antarctica’s ozone hole has now reached its maximum size, according to an analysis of data collected by ESA’s Copernicus Sentinel-5P satellite. This...

A Homo heidelbergensis, a Neanderthal and a Cro-Magnon. Image credit: SINC / José Antonio Peñas.

Climate Change Drove Early Human Species Extinct, Says New Study

Oct 19, 2020 by News Staff

At least six different species of the genus Homo — H. habilis, H. ergaster, H. erectus, H. heidelbergensis, H. neanderthalensis, and H. sapiens —...

Guarana et al. investigated the effects of blue-light filtration on broad attitudinal and behavioral outcomes, i.e. work engagement, organizational citizenship behavior, and counterproductive work behavior. Image credit: Alexandr Borecký.

Study: Blue-Light Filtering Glasses Improve Sleep Quantity and Quality, Workday Productivity

Oct 15, 2020 by News Staff

Wearing blue-light filtering glasses before sleeping creates a form of physiologic darkness, thus improving both sleep quantity and quality, and is related...

Lucas et al. find that the prevalence of the persistent median artery in postnatal life approximately tripled over the last 125 years. Image credit: C.M. Da Silva.

Humans are Evolving Extra Artery in Forearm: Median Artery

Oct 12, 2020 by News Staff

The median artery of the human forearm is an example of microevolutionary changes in the internal anatomy of the human body, according to new research...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthals’ Deep and Short Ribcage was Already Present at Birth

Oct 8, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

An international team of researchers has virtually reconstructed the ribcages of four Neanderthal individuals from birth to around 3 years old and found...

MPS is a novel neuroprotective molecule that is more than two orders of magnitude more potent than the related molecule, ethosuximide. The discovery may enable novel treatments for human neurodegenerative diseases to be developed in the future. Image credit: National Institute on Aging / National Institutes of Health.

Scientists Confirm Long-Suspected Link between Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Alzheimer’s Disease

Oct 7, 2020 by News Staff

While the cause of Alzheimer’s disease remains a mystery, amyloid plaques that are toxic to brain cells are known indicators of the disease. A team of...