Other Sciences News

According to Hamrick et al, language is learned, in specific ways, by general-purpose neurocognitive mechanisms that pre-exist Homo sapiens. This image shows functional areas of the human brain; dashed areas shown are commonly left hemisphere dominant. Image credit: Blausen.com staff, doi: 10.15347/wjm/2014.010.

Study: Language is Learned in Ancient General-Purpose Brain Circuits that Predate Humans

Jan 30, 2018 by News Staff

It has often been claimed that we learn language using brain circuits that are specifically dedicated to this purpose. Now, new evidence suggests that...

Oldest Modern-Human Fossil Outside Africa Found in Israel

Jan 26, 2018 by News Staff

An upper jawbone complete with teeth found at a site called Misliya Cave, part of a complex of prehistoric caves along the western slopes of Mount Carmel...

Perera et al find babies exposed in the womb to high levels of air pollution had shortened telomeres. Image credit: Chris LeBoutillier.

Study: High Levels of Air Pollution May Shorten Telomeres in Newborns

Jan 25, 2018 by News Staff

A new study, conducted before and after the 2004 closure of a coal-burning power plant in China, found children born before the closure had shorter telomeres...

A schematic showing the processes involved in deep-sea mining for the three main types of mineral deposit. Image credit: Design Studio, University of Exeter.

Deep-Sea Mining Could Destroy Marine Ecosystems, Study Says

Jan 23, 2018 by News Staff

Mining on the ocean floor could do irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, according to a new study from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research...

Mount Etna, with Catania in the foreground. Image credit: Ben Aveling / CC BY-SA 4.0.

Small Volcanic Crystals Could Help Predict Eruptions

Jan 23, 2018 by News Staff

Tiny crystals of clinopyroxenes that form deep in volcanoes may be the key for advance warnings before volcanic eruptions, according to a team of vulcanologists...

Haller et al tracked the brain as it generated an antonym: the brain required 2-3 seconds to detect (yellow), interpret and search for an answer (red) and respond (blue), with sustained prefrontal lobe activity (red) to coordinate all areas of the brain involved. Image credit: University of California, Berkeley.

Neuroscientists Track Thought’s Trip through Brain

Jan 22, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers led by the University of California, Berkeley’s Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute has tracked the progress of a thought through...

This study is the first to unveil a gut-brain connection linking high dietary salt intake to neurovascular and cognitive impairment. Image credit: Justin Kolenc.

Study: High-Salt Diet Causes Dementia in Mice

Jan 17, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, a high-salt diet reduces resting blood flow to the brain and causes dementia in...

According to Seidlitz et al, morphometric similarity mapping provides a novel, robust, and biologically plausible approach to understanding how human brain networks underpin individual differences in psychological functions. Image credit: Gordon Johnson.

Novel Technique Reveals Relationship between IQ and Brain Connectivity

Jan 8, 2018 by News Staff

A simple technique for mapping the wiring of the brain — called morphometric similarity mapping — has shown a correlation between how well...

Easter Island, known as Rapa Nui to its earliest inhabitants, is one of the most remote inhabited islands in the world. Image credit: Yerson Retamal.

Study: Easter Island Had Supportive and Inclusive Community

Jan 8, 2018 by News Staff

An analysis of so-called pukao — colossal stone hats of monumental statues (moai) on Easter Island — provides evidence contrary to the widely...

Gerstner et al found that a mutation in the gene FABP7 is associated with fragmented sleep in humans. Image credit: Wok & Apix.

Lack of Sleep May Cause Anxiety, Depression, Experts Warn

Jan 5, 2018 by News Staff

According to a duo of researchers from State University of New York and Binghamton University, sleeping less than 8 hours a night is associated with repetitive...

A scientific illustration of the Upward Sun River camp in what is now Interior Alaska. Image credit: Eric S. Carlson / Ben A. Potter.

Ancient Beringians: 11,500-Year-Old Genome Reveals Previously Unknown Native American Population

Jan 4, 2018 by News Staff

Genetic analysis of DNA from a female infant found at the Upward Sun River archaeological site in Alaska has revealed a previously unknown Native American...

The process of how information reaches the amygdala. Image credit: Manos Kefalas / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Study: Danger Changes How Mammalian Brain Stores Innocuous Information

Jan 3, 2018 by News Staff

According to a study by University of New South Wales (UNSW) researchers, a mammal’s brain changes how it stores information about innocuous events depending...

This image shows a perineuronal net (green) surrounding a neuron. Image credit: Kristian Lensjø.

Researchers Find Way to ‘Erase’ Remote Visual Fear Memories in Rats

Jan 2, 2018 by News Staff

How the brain is able to store memories over long periods of time has been a persistent mystery to scientists. In a new study in rats, a research team...

In the study, women outperformed men with around 30% faster oxygen handling throughout the body. Image credit: Amanda Mills / CDC.

Women are ‘Naturally More Fit’ Than Men, Finds New Study

Dec 30, 2017 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, women can process oxygen more quickly than men when they...

Cummings et al suggest that specifically reducing dietary BCAAs may represent a highly translatable option for the treatment of obesity and insulin resistance. Image credit: Jill Wellington.

Diet Low in Branched-Chain Amino Acids May Be Key to Weight Loss: Study

Dec 27, 2017 by News Staff

A specific group of amino acids called branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) is elevated in the blood of obese, insulin-resistant humans and rodents. A new...

A chip with a Coulomb blockade thermometer on it is prepared for experiments at extremely low temperatures. Image credit: University of Basel.

Researchers Create World’s Coldest Chip

Dec 21, 2017 by News Staff

University of Basel’s Professor Dominik Zumbühl and colleagues have succeeded in magnetically cooling a nanoelectronic device to a temperature of 2.8...

Neurons. Image credit: National Institute on Aging.

Study Identifies First Brain Cells that Respond to Sound

Dec 21, 2017 by News Staff

A new study by University of Maryland’s Professor Patrick Kanold and co-authors is the first to identify a mechanism that could explain an early link...

NASA’s SeaWiFS satellite photographed this eddy field in the waters around Tasmania in November 2000. Image credit: NASA.

Scientists Find ‘Smoke Rings’ in Earth’s Oceans

Dec 17, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the United Kingdom has spotted the equivalent of smoke-rings in the Earth’s southern oceans which they think could ‘suck-up’...

Plants infused with the luminescence of fireflies could help reduce our dependence on conventional lighting. Image credit: Seon-Yeong Kwak.

Researchers Create Nanobionic Light-Emitting Plants

Dec 14, 2017 by News Staff

A team of scientists from the University of California and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has found a way to infuse plants with the luminescence...