Other Sciences News

Light-controlled neuron activation using optogenetics allows modulation of specific circuits but is invasive and requires genetic engineering. Researchers from the University of Chicago have developed a silicon-based nanowire that allows light modulation of neurons without genetic engineering, paving the way for optical control of neural activity to other neurological models. Image credit: Gerry Shaw / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Develop Nanowiring for Optical Control of Neuron Activation

Feb 23, 2018 by Zvi Cramer

Researchers have designed silicon nanowires that allow modulation neuronal activity using light, allowing manipulation of specific neural circuits without...

In the new technique, an additional hexagonal ring of carbon atoms is fused to the zigzag edge of an existing carbon-rich molecule in two quick steps. Image credit: Igor Alabugin.

Chemists Find New Way to Synthesize ‘Olympic Ring’ Molecule

Feb 21, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers at Florida State University has unlocked a new strategy for synthesizing of olympicene (a molecule consisting of five rings that...

Cheddar Man’s facial reconstruction. Image credit: University College London / Natural History Museum, London / Tom Barnes / Channel 4.

Cheddar Man’s Face Revealed

Feb 20, 2018 by News Staff

Cheddar Man — a hunter-gatherer who lived 10,000 years ago — had blue eyes, dark colored curly hair and ‘dark to black’ skin pigmentation,...

This high-resolution scanning electron microscope image shows an unusual tube-like structural form that is less than 1/100th the width of a human hair in size found in the Martian meteorite ALH84001. Image credit: NASA.

How Will Humanity React to Discovery of Extraterrestrial Life?

Feb 20, 2018 by News Staff

How will humans react to the discovery of alien life? Speculation on this topic abounds, but empirical research is practically non-existent. In a paper...

Finney et al find a 15% decrease in total lightning flash rate in 2100 under a strong global warming scenario.

Lightning May Strike Less Often in Future as Earth Warms, New Study Suggests

Feb 14, 2018 by News Staff

A team of researchers from Lancaster University and the Universities of Edinburgh and Leeds, UK, forecasts a 15% drop in the average number of lightning...

The new e-skin can be conformally mounted onto a human arm; it can be rehealed when it is damaged and can be fully recycled at room temperature. Image credit: Jianliang Xiao, University of Colorado Boulder.

Scientists Develop Rehealable, Fully Recyclable, and Malleable E-skin

Feb 13, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of scientists from Yunnan University and the University of Colorado Boulder has developed a new type of malleable, self-healing and...

Viruses are circulating in the atmosphere of our planet. Image credit: Arek Socha.

Study: Viruses are Circulating in Earth’s Atmosphere — and Falling from It

Feb 8, 2018 by News Staff

Viruses fall back to Earth via dust storms and precipitation, according to new research published in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal. Viruses...

African grass rats (Arvicanthis niloticus) exposed to dim lights (DLD) for four weeks experienced, on average, a 30% decrease in the number of ‘dendritic spine’ connections in their brains, which are the tiny protrusions near the solid green line, a dendrite. These rats performed poorly on a maze-like task. Rats exposed to bright light (BLD), on the other hand, had many more of the dendritic connections and showed superior performance on the task. Image credit: Michigan State University.

Dim Light Makes Us Dumber, New Study Suggests

Feb 7, 2018 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Hippocampus, spending too much time in dimly-lit environment may change the brain’s structure and hurt...

Jedek is spoken by about 280 individuals in northern Peninsular Malaysia. Image credit: Lund University.

Previously Unknown Language Emerges in Malaysia

Feb 7, 2018 by News Staff

A team of linguists from Lund University in Sweden announced this week they have identified an endangered minority language known as Jedek that is spoken...

Parkinson et al show evidence for neural homophily -- neural responses when viewing audiovisual movies are exceptionally similar among friends, and that similarity decreases with increasing distance in a real-world social network. Image credit: Parkinson et al, doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02722-7.

On the Same Wavelength: New Study Illustrates How Similar Neural Responses Predict Friendship

Feb 2, 2018 by News Staff

According to a study published in the January 30 issue of the journal Nature Communications, we are exceptionally similar to our friends in how we perceive...

Apple Computer 1, also known later as the Apple I, or Apple-1, a desktop computer released by the Apple Computer Company in 1976. It was designed and hand-built by Steve Wozniak. Image credit: Ed Uthman / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Researchers Develop Mathematical Model for How Innovations Emerge

Jan 31, 2018 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has developed a mathematical model for the emergence of innovations, in which cognitive processes are described as...

Aerobic exercise may mildly delay, improve Alzheimer’s symptoms. Image credit: Christian Northe.

Aerobic Exercise May Improve Cognitive Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

Jan 31, 2018 by News Staff

Exercise training may delay the decline in cognitive function that occurs in individuals who are at risk of or have Alzheimer’s disease, with aerobic...

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...