Other Sciences News

Pangea Breakup Cooled Earth’s Mantle, Thinned Crust

Global map of seismic data and ages of ocean crust: the location of seismic refraction data (circles) and mantle hotspots (white stars) were used to examine whether mid-plate volcanism substantially influenced the thickness of aged ocean crust; the modern mid-ocean ridge system is marked by a yellow line; areas in violet outline large igneous provinces. Image credit: Harm J. A. Van Avendonk et al, doi: 10.1038/ngeo2849.
Dec 21, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study, the oceanic crust produced by Earth today is thinner than crust made 170 million years ago during the time of the supercontinent Pangea. The thinning is related to the cooling of Earth’s interior prompted by the splitting of the ancient supercontinent. Global map of seismic data and ages of ocean crust: the location of seismic refraction data (circles) and mantle hotspots (white stars) were used to examine whether mid-plate...

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ESA’s Swarm satellites have led the discovery of a jet stream in the liquid iron part of Earth’s core about 1,870 miles beneath the surface. In addition, Swarm data show that this jet stream is speeding up. Image credit: ESA.

Researchers Discover Jet Stream in Earth’s Molten Iron Core

Dec 20, 2016 by News Staff

A jet stream within the Earth’s core has been discovered by researchers using data from ESA’s Swarm satellite mission. ESA’s Swarm satellites have...

Mathieu Quesnel-Vallières et al induced autistic-like behavior in mice by lowering the levels of nSR100 protein, which is important for normal brain development. Image credit: Mathieu Quesnel-Vallières et al, doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2016.11.033.

Study: Drop in nSR100 Protein Levels Causes Autistic-Like Behavior in Mice

Dec 16, 2016 by News Staff

As many as 33% of autism cases could be explained by a scarcity of a protein called nSR100 in the brain, a new study in the journal Molecular Cell has...

Running may affect the structure and function of the brain in ways similar to complex tasks like playing a musical instrument. Image credit: Pete Linforth / Skeeze.

Runners Have Better Connected Brains, Study Finds

Dec 15, 2016 by News Staff

New research published in the journal Frontiers in Human Neuroscience reveals that endurance runners’ brains have greater functional connectivity —...

According to Karen Hardy et al, earliest Europeans did not use fire. Image credit: Charles Robert Knight.

Earliest Europeans Did Not Use Fire for Cooking, Researchers Say

Dec 14, 2016 by News Staff

Europe’s earliest humans did not use fire, but had a balanced diet of meat and plants — all eaten raw, according to a team of researchers led by...

An example of the uniformity illusion with blurriness. Image credit: Marte Otten et al, doi: 10.1177/0956797616672270.

Illusion Reveals that Human Brain Fills in Peripheral Vision

Dec 14, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study, what we see in the periphery, just outside the direct focus of the eye, may sometimes be a visual illusion. Four examples of...

Sofia Soares et al investigated midbrain dopamine neurons during timing behavior in mice; when measuring and manipulating mouse activity, the team observed that dopamine neurons controlled temporal judgments on a time scale of seconds. Image credit: Geralt.

Neuroscientists Identify Neurons that Control Judgment of Time

Dec 13, 2016 by News Staff

A new study in mice shows that dopamine neuron activity plays a key role in judgment of time, slowing down the internal clock. Sofia Soares et al investigated...

According to Hyldahl et al, running may slow the process that leads to osteoarthritis. Image credit: Skeeze.

Running Lowers Inflammation in Knee Joints, Researchers Say

Dec 12, 2016 by News Staff

Pro-inflammatory molecules actually go down in the knee joint after running, according to a team of researchers at Brigham Young University. According...

According to Alan Scoboria et al, many people are prone to remembering events that never happened. Image credit: Geralt.

Researchers: Half of People Believe Fake Facts

Dec 8, 2016 by News Staff

Around 50% of us are susceptible to believing we’ve experienced fictitious events, according to an international team of researchers led by Dr. Alan...

Artist rendition of NASA’s TIMED spacecraft. The satellite is orbiting at 388 miles (625 km) and viewing in the anti-sunward limb direction. Image credit: NASA.

NASA’s TIMED Satellite Finds Hot Atomic Hydrogen in Earth’s Thermosphere

Dec 7, 2016 by News Staff

Using data from NASA’s TIMED satellite, scientists have discovered the existence of hot atomic hydrogen atoms in the thermosphere (from about 56 to 311...

Wadi Faynan, where J.P. Grattan et al found evidence of ancient pollution caused by bead making and/or repeated combustion of copper ores in hot fires. Image credit: University of Waterloo.

World’s Very First Polluted River? Scientists Find Evidence of Ancient Metallurgical Activity in Jordan

Dec 6, 2016 by News Staff

A research team led by Liverpool John Moores University scientists has discovered what could be the world’s very first polluted river, contaminated 7,000...

Distribution of the atmospheric ammonia concentration in June, July, and August 2008 at 9.3 mile (15 km) height as observed by MIPAS. Bright areas are measurement gaps due to high cloud cover. Image credit: Michael Höpfner / Karlsruhe Institute of Technology.

Ammonia Detected in Earth’s Upper Troposphere

Dec 5, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Ammonia, a compound of nitrogen and hydrogen with the formula NH3, has been found for the first time in the upper troposphere of our planet. Distribution...

A group of Australopithecus afarensis. Image credit: Matheus Vieeira.

Australopithecus afarensis ‘Lucy’ Spent Significant Time in Trees, New Study Reveals

Nov 30, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal PLoS ONE, the relative strength of arms and legs of ‘Lucy’ — a 3.18-million-year-old specimen...

Crystals of cesium platinide hydride 4Cs2Pt*CsH. Image credit: Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy.

Researchers Synthesize First Intermetallic Double Salt with Platinum

Nov 28, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has synthesized and accurately characterized cesium platinide hydride (4Cs2Pt*CsH),...

Neuroscientists Say Simple Mathematical Logic Underlies Complex Brain Computations

Nov 25, 2016 by News Staff

According to Dr. Joe Tsien, a neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, the brain’s basic computational algorithm is organized...

According to Murphy et al, large, salty, or protein-rich meals induce post-meal sleep in fruit flies. Image credit: Keith Murphy.

Study: Large, Salty, or Protein-Rich Meals Induce Post-Meal Sleepiness

Nov 23, 2016 by News Staff

Higher protein and salt content in our food, as well as the volume consumed, can lead to longer naps, a new study in fruit flies suggests. According to...

Mouse song system anatomy and syllable types: (A) proposed anatomy of the rudimentary mouse forebrain vocal communication circuit; (B) comparison with human; (C) comparison with songbird; (D) sonograms of examples syllables of the four syllable categories quantified from a C57 male mouse USV song, labeled according to pitch jumps. Anatomical abbreviations: ADSt - anterior dorsal striatum; Amb - nucleus ambiguous; ASt - anterior striatum; aT - anterior thalamus; Av - nucleus avalanche; HVC - a letter-based name; LArea X - lateral Area X; LMO - lateral mesopallium oval nucleus; LMAN - lateral magnocellular nucleus of the nidopallium; LMC - laryngeal motor cortex; LSC - laryngeal somatosensory cortex; M1 - primary motor cortex; M2 - secondary motor cortex; NIf - interfacial nucleus of the nidopallium; PAG - periaqueductal gray; RA - robust nucleus of the arcopallium; T - thalamus; VL - ventral lateral nucleus of the thalamus; XIIts - 12th vocal motor nucleus, tracheosyringeal part. Image credit: Jonathan Chabout et al, doi: 10.3389/fnbeh.2016.00197.

Study: Gene Implicated in Human Language Affects Vocal Communication in Mice

Nov 18, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, ultrasonic vocal communication in adult mice is affected by the...

Discovery and screening of the humimycins. Top: the humimycins were predicted from closely related gene clusters found in two Rhodococcus spp. cultured from human subjects. Center: chemical structures of humimycin A and B; the two antibiotics differ only at the fourth (F or Y) and sixth (V or I) residues. Bottom: MIC values for the humimycins against a panel of human commensal and pathogenic bacteria; the humimycins were particularly active against bacteria in the Staphylococcus and Streptococcus genus. Image credit: John Chu et al.

Humimycins: Scientists Discover Two New MRSA-Active Antibiotics

Nov 17, 2016 by News Staff

Using a novel approach called syn-BNP (synthetic-bioinformatic natural product) approach, scientists from the Rockefeller and Rutgers Universities have...

The best possible q-analogs of codes may be useful in more efficient data transmission. Image credit: Geralt.

Mathematical Breakthrough Could Lead to More Efficient Data Transmission

Nov 14, 2016 by News Staff

The best possible q-analogs of codes may be useful in more efficient data transmission. Image credit: Geralt. More than three decades ago, mathematicians...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

Natural Selection Removed Many Neanderthal Genes from Human Genome, Scientists Say

Nov 11, 2016 by News Staff

According to a team of researchers at the University of California, Davis, only a very small percentage of Neanderthal DNA is present in the genomes of...

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