Other Sciences News

The rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire occurred during a two-centuries-long interval of anomalously wet climate in the context of the past 4,000 years, while megadroughts during the early-mid 7th century BCE, as severe as recent droughts in the region but lasting for decades, triggered a decline in Assyria’s agrarian productivity and thus contributed to its eventual political and economic collapse. Image credit: Carole Raddato / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Megadroughts Likely Triggered Fall of Neo-Assyrian Empire

Nov 14, 2019 by News Staff

Climate-related megadroughts built the foundation for the collapse of the Neo-Assyrian Empire (912 to 609 BCE), the largest and most powerful empire of...

The Nile is an international river as its drainage basin covers eleven countries: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan, and Egypt. Image credit: Jande Canthus.

Nile River is 30 Million Years Old, Research Shows

Nov 12, 2019 by News Staff

The Nile is a 4,130-mile (6,650 km) long river in northeastern Africa. It has been suggested that the river in its present path is at least 6 million...

A male zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) in Karratha, Pilbara, Western Australia. Image credit: Jim Bendon / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Neuroscientists Identify Song-Learning Neurons in Birds

Nov 8, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Japan and South Korea has found that a set of neurons called corticobasal ganglia projecting neurons are important for vocal...

Moberg et al show that the smallest water clusters that can sustain ice contain only around 90 water molecules. Image credit: Gerd Altmann.

Smallest Possible Particle of Water Ice Contains Only 90 Molecules

Nov 8, 2019 by News Staff

The smallest droplet of water in which ice can form is only as big as 90 water molecules, according to new research. Moberg et al show that the smallest...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthals May Have Gone Extinct Because of Human Tropical Infections

Nov 8, 2019 by News Staff

The initial encounter between Neanderthals and anatomically modern Homo sapiens migrating out of Africa occurred more than 130,000 years ago in a region...

Cui et al examined the longitudinal effect of dog ownership and dog walking on mental health. Image credit: Susanne906.

Dog Ownership Has Positive Effect on Mental Health

Nov 7, 2019 by News Staff

A study led by the University of Western Australia has found a positive correlation between mental health benefits and dog ownership. Cui et al examined...

Danuvius guggenmosi, a great ape that lived some 12 million years ago (Miocene period) in what is now Germany. Image credit: Velizar Simeonovski.

Miocene-Period Great Ape Unearthed in Germany: Danuvius guggenmosi

Nov 7, 2019 by News Staff

A previously unknown species of great ape that was well adapted to both walking upright as well as using all four limbs while climbing has been identified...

An anatomical illustration from Sobotta's Human Anatomy, 1908, shows the structure of a human brain. Image credit: Dr Johannes Sobotta.

New Study Reveals Key Component in Neurophysiology of Sleep

Nov 7, 2019 by News Staff

A new study, led Boston University researchers, shows that slow oscillating neural activity during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep triggers waves of...

In a battery, ions flow from the cathode to the anode, resulting in a positive energy charge for the unit. Image credit: Chao-Yang Wang Lab, Penn State.

Researchers Develop Fast-Charging Self-Heating Lithium-Ion Battery

Nov 6, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the Pennsylvania State University has demonstrated that they can charge an electrical vehicle in 10 minutes for a 200 to 300 mile...

McMaster undergraduate student Ronald Perinpanayagam works with one of the seniors who participated in the study. Image credit: Paulina Rzeczkowska.

High-Intensity Aerobic Exercise Enhances Memory in Older Adults

Nov 6, 2019 by News Staff

High-intensity interval training results in the greatest memory performance in inactive older adults compared to moderate training or stretching, according...

The CHIMERA printer uses low-power continuous wave lasers to create holograms on a highly sensitive photomaterial. Image credit: Yves Gentet.

Researchers Develop Third-Generation Digital Holographic Printer

Nov 5, 2019 by News Staff

A duo of researchers from France and South Korea has developed a third-generation holographic printing system that produces 3D holograms with an unprecedented...

The 39,000-year-old eagle phalange with cut marks from Foradada Cave, Spain: (A) dorsal, medial, plantar, and lateral views of the phalange (from left to right, respectively); (B) detail of the cut marks in the dorsal view and dotted-line squares with the area amplified in photos (C) and (D); (E) detailed photo of all the cut marks after cleaning and restoration. Image credit: Antonio Rodríguez-Hidalgo, IDEA.

Iberian Neanderthals Used Eagle Talons for Symbolic Purposes

Nov 4, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

A cut-marked eagle phalange recovered from Foradada Cave in Spain suggests that Iberian Neanderthals used the birds’ talons as bead-like objects. The...

Bellet et al found a conclusive link between happiness and productivity. Image credit: Raw Pixel.

Workers are 13% More Productive When Happy, Study Finds

Nov 1, 2019 by News Staff

Workers make around 13% more sales in weeks where they report being happy compared to weeks when they are unhappy, according to a study by researchers...

A stretchable light-emitting device becomes an epidermal stopwatch. Image credit: Zhou et al, doi: 10.1021/acsmaterialslett.9b00376.

Researchers Develop Electronic Tattoo-Like Stopwatch

Nov 1, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Nanjing University and Lanzhou University of Technology has developed a stretchable light-emitting device that operates at low...

Jagiello et al used electroencephalography and pupillometry to reveal the temporal signatures of the brain processes that allow differentiation between a familiar, well liked, and unfamiliar piece of music. Image credit: Gordon Johnson.

Study: Our Brain Takes Less Than a Second to Recognize Familiar Song

Oct 31, 2019 by News Staff

Our brain can recognize familiar music within just 100-300 milliseconds (0.1-0.3 of a second), according to a new study published in the journal Scientific...

Avocatin B is a lipid derived from avocado. Image credit: Robert Owen-Wahl.

Avocado Compound May Help Fight Obesity and Diabetes

Oct 30, 2019 by News Staff

Avocatin B, a fat molecule found only in avocados (Persea americana), can inhibit cellular processes that normally lead to diabetes, according to a study...

Reconstruction of Homo floresiensis. Image credit: Kinez Riza / Atelier Elisabeth Daynes, Sangiran Museum.

Fast Evolution Explains Diminutive Size of Homo floresiensis

Oct 29, 2019 by The Conversation

It’s not every day that scientists discover a new human species. But that’s just what happened back in 2004, when archaeologists uncovered some very...

Ancient humans. Image credit: sjs.org / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Origin of Anatomically Modern Humans Traced to Southern Africa

Oct 29, 2019 by News Staff

The earliest ancestors of anatomically modern Homo sapiens emerged in a region south of the Zambezi River in Botswana, Africa, according to a new analysis...

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

Neanderthals Knew How to Start Fire, New Research Shows

Oct 28, 2019 by News Staff

Middle Paleolithic hominins such as Neanderthals not only controlled fire, but also mastered the ability to generate it, according to new research led...