Other Sciences News

A tissue section from a human nasal biopsy. The red staining outlines olfactory neurons and the blue staining is counterstain for cell nuclei. Image credit: Brad Goldstein.

Scientists Find Neuron ‘Nursery’ in Adult Human Nose Tissue

Mar 12, 2020 by News Staff

Researchers from the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine and Duke Institute for Brain Sciences say they have discovered a thriving neuron ‘nursery’...

2020 CD3 is estimated to be only between one and six meters across. Image credit: Jonny Lindner.

Study: 70 Million Years Ago Day Lasted 23.5 Hours, Year Had 372 Days

Mar 10, 2020 by News Staff

Torreites sanchezi, an extinct species of rudist clam that lived during the Cretaceous period, some 70 million years ago, grew fast, laying down daily...

Genome-wide transcriptomics analysis of anatomically dissected regions in mammalian brains uncovers regional and species-specific expression: multiple regions of the human, pig, and mouse brain were dissected and analyzed; a uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) analysis (middle) shows the global expression patterns of 1,710 samples in the human brain, with the cerebellum as the outlier; the Human Protein Atlas (HPA) Brain Atlas (right) shows the expression of individual genes, for example, synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNAP25), in the different brain regions in the three mammalian species. Image credit: Sjöstedt et al, doi: 10.1126/science.aay5947.

Researchers Create Atlas of Protein-Coding Genes in Mammalian Brain

Mar 10, 2020 by News Staff

The Brain Atlas explores the protein expression in the mammalian brain by visualization and integration of data from three species of mammals: human, pig...

This study reveals important fundamental differences between hot and cold brew coffee that may have implications for possible health impacts on drinkers. Image credit: Fxxu.

Study: Caffeine Significantly Enhances Problem-Solving Abilities But Not Creativity

Mar 9, 2020 by News Staff

Caffeine increases the ability to focus and problem solve, but it doesn’t stimulate creativity, according to new research published in the journal Consciousness...

Nobiletin is a molecule found in sweet oranges and tangerines. Image credit: Gerhard Gellinger.

Citrus Flavonoid Nobiletin Could Reduce Obesity, Reverse Its Negative Side-Effects

Mar 5, 2020 by News Staff

Mice fed a high-fat, high-cholesterol diet that were also given nobiletin, a flavonoid found in sweet oranges and tangerines, were noticeably leaner and...

Ingestion of a prebiotic diet improves undisturbed NREM sleep, promotes REM sleep rebound after stress exposure, and prevents stress-induced reductions in gut microbial alpha diversity. Image credit: Sabrina Ripke.

Dietary Prebiotics Can Improve Sleep and Fight Stress: Study

Mar 4, 2020 by News Staff

Dietary prebiotics can improve sleep and boost stress resilience by influencing gut bacteria and metabolites (biologically active molecules) they produce,...

An artist’s impression of a water-world planet. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Archean Earth Was Covered by Global Ocean, New Study Suggests

Mar 3, 2020 by News Staff

The surface of Earth was likely covered by a global ocean 3.24 billion years ago (Archean Eon), according to a new study published in the journal Nature...

Durian fruits (Durio zibethinus). Image credit: Truthseeker08.

Researchers Find Rare Amino Acid in Durian

Mar 3, 2020 by News Staff

A rare amino acid called ethionine is present in the pulp of the durian (Durio zibethinus), a fruit called the ‘king of all fruits,’ and plays a key...

A honeybee (Apis mellifera). Image credit: Vijaya Narasimha.

New Study Reveals Link between Bee and Human Brains

Mar 2, 2020 by Natali Anderson

A team of researchers from New Zealand and Germany has demonstrated that the honeybee brain generates oscillations which share characteristics of ‘alpha’...

Olive oil is a major component of the Mediterranean diet. Image credit: Ulrike Leone.

Olive Oil-Rich Diet May Extend Lifespan, Help Mitigate Aging-Related Diseases

Feb 25, 2020 by News Staff

Olive oil in the Mediterranean diet may hold the key to improving lifespan and mitigating aging-related diseases, according to a new study by researchers...

Tart cherry concentrate in juice or powdered form, ingested for 7 days to 1.5 hours before exercise performance testing, significantly improved endurance exercise performance. Image credit: Cherry Industry Administrative Board.

Tart Cherry Concentrate Has Significant Benefit for Endurance Exercise Performance

Feb 21, 2020 by News Staff

Tart cherry concentrate may enhance endurance exercise performance via its low glycemic index, anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative capacity, and blood...

Sima de los Huesos hominins lived in what is now Spain about 400,000 years ago. Image credit: © Kennis & Kennis / Madrid Scientific Films.

Ancestors of Neanderthals and Denisovans Interbred with ‘Superarchaic’ Hominin

Feb 21, 2020 by News Staff

A new study by researchers from the Department of Anthropology at the University of Utah shows that over 700,000 years ago, the ancestors of Neanderthals...

The synthetic bioplastic developed by Kainulainen et al. Image credit: University of Oulu.

Novel Synthetic Bioplastic Protects against UV Radiation

Feb 20, 2020 by News Staff

A team of researchers in Sweden has developed a new bioplastic that, unlike traditional carbon-based plastics or other bioplastics, provides protection...

Graphic image of a thin film of protein nanowires generating electricity from atmospheric humidity. Image credit: Yao and Lovley labs, University of Massachusetts Amherst.

‘Air-Gen’ Device Generates Electric Power from Ambient Humidity

Feb 18, 2020 by News Staff

A thin-film device made from nanometer-scale protein wires harvested from the microbe Geobacter sulfurreducens can generate continuous electric power in...

According to Kathrin Andrich et al, the Epigallocatechin gallate -- a compound found in green tea leaves -- may be of particular benefit to patients struggling with multiple myeloma and amyloidosis. Image credit: Ascyrafft Adnan.

Green Tea Extract Plus Exercise May Mitigate Obesity-Related Fatty Liver Disease, Study Shows

Feb 18, 2020 by News Staff

The combination of decaffeinated green tea extract and voluntary exercise can effectively mitigate nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, suggests a new study...

An artist’s impression of the dissolving of the electronic ‘traffic jam:’ the red atoms are different in their quantum nature and allow transport of electrons in their surroundings. Image credit: Berend Zwartsenberg.

Physicists Pioneer New Way to Turn Metal into Insulator

Feb 14, 2020 by News Staff

A team of physicists led by the University of British Columbia has demonstrated a novel way to precisely control electrical currents by leveraging the...

West Africans Carry DNA from Mysterious Archaic Hominin

Feb 14, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

Four West African populations — Yoruba, Esan, Mende, and Gambian — derive 2 to 19% of their genetic ancestry from a yet-undiscovered species...

Hill et al find no evidence that gun ownership is associated with better sleep and happiness. Image credit: PDPics.

Gun Owners Don’t Sleep Better and Aren’t Happier, Two New Studies Show

Feb 11, 2020 by News Staff

Despite claims that owning a gun makes a person feel safer and sleep easier, gun owners don’t sleep any better than people who do not own guns, they...

Based on various lines of geological and geophysical evidence, particularly those accumulated in the last two decades, Nick Mortimer et al argue that Zealandia is not a collection of partly submerged continental fragments but is a coherent 4.9 million km2 continent. NC - New Caledonia; WTP - West Torres Plateau; CT - Cato Trough; Cf - Chesterfield Islands; L - Lord Howe Island; N - Norfolk Island; K - Kermadec Islands; Ch - Chatham Islands; B - Bounty Islands; An - Antipodes Islands; Au - Auckland Islands; Ca - Campbell Island. Image credit: Nick Mortimer et al, doi: 10.1130/GSATG321A.1.

New Research Reveals Violent Birth of Continent Zealandia

Feb 10, 2020 by News Staff

Zealandia — Earth’s seventh continent — experienced dramatic elevation changes between about 50 million and 35 million years ago, according...