Other Sciences News

Denisovans Interbred with Mysterious Archaic Hominin: Study

Aug 7, 2020 by News Staff

In a new study published in the journal PLoS Genetics, researchers analyzed the genomes of two Neanderthals, a Denisovan, and two African humans; and found...

Tetragonula carbonaria worker bees are observed to spend time clustered at the growing edges of terraces. Image credit: Tim Heard.

Chemists Find Biologically Active Sugar in Honey of Stingless Bees

Aug 3, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

An unusual bioactive disaccharide called trehalulose is a major component of stingless bee honeys from Malaysia, Australia and Brazil, according to a new...

The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 4.0. Image credit: Jakobsson et al, doi: 10.1038/s41597-020-0520-9.

Researchers Create New Bathymetric Map of Arctic Ocean

Jul 29, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists from Europe, the United States, Canada, South Korea, Greenland and China has produced the most detailed depth map of the Arctic Ocean...

Krittanawong et al found that chocolate consumption (>1 time per week or >3.5 times per month) is associated with a reduced risk of coronary artery disease. Image credit: Sci-News.com.

Chocolate Helps Keep Heart’s Blood Vessels Healthy, Review Suggests

Jul 28, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

A new systematic review and meta-analysis of previous studies suggests that the consumption of chocolates at least once a week is associated with a reduction...

Neanderthals are commonly thought to have relied on dangerous close range hunting techniques, using non-projectile weapons like the thrusting spears depicted here; this hunting approach is thought to have brought them into violent contact with large mammals, resulting in high levels of injury especially to the head and neck when compared to modern humans; Beier et al found similar head injury levels in both Neanderthals and Upper Paleolithic humans, casting doubt on this hypothesis. Image credit: Gleiver Prieto.

Neanderthals May Have Had Heightened Sensitivity to Pain

Jul 27, 2020 by News Staff

Neanderthals may have experienced more pain than average modern humans do, according to new research led by scientists from the Max Planck Institute for...

Conceptual illustrations of drawing on-skin electronics on paper using a 9B sketching pencil. Image credit: Xu et al, doi: 10.1073/pnas.2008422117.

Researchers Use Pencil to Draw Bioelectronic Devices on Human Skin

Jul 26, 2020 by News Staff

Scientists from the University of Missouri, the University of Illinois and Yale University have demonstrated that a combination of pencils and paper could...

The Cinder Cones seep, the Ross Sea, Antarctica: the white microbial mats are telltale signs of areas where methane may be released from underground methane deposits. Image credit: Andrew Thurber, Oregon State University.

Scientists Discover Antarctica’s First Active Methane Seep

Jul 24, 2020 by News Staff

A team of marine ecologists from Oregon State University has described the formation and development of a new methane seep — a location where methane...

Team members entering Chiquihuite Cave, Mexico. Image credit: Devlin A. Gandy.

Archaeologists Find 30,000-Year-Old Stone Tools in Mexican Cave

Jul 22, 2020 by News Staff

Archaeologists have uncovered 1,900 stone artifacts in Chiquihuite Cave, a high-altitude site in the Astillero Mountains in northern Mexico. DNA analysis...

The magnetic field and electric currents in and around Earth generate complex forces that have immeasurable impact on every day life. The field can be thought of as a huge bubble, protecting us from cosmic radiation and charged particles that bombard Earth in solar winds. Image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab.

Study: South Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly is a Recurring Feature

Jul 22, 2020 by News Staff

Strange behavior of Earth’s magnetic field in the South Atlantic region isn’t a sign of the upcoming magnetic field reversal, according to new research...

Aspy investigated and compared the effectiveness of five different combinations of lucid dream induction techniques. Image credit: Stefan Keller.

New Study Tests Lucid Dream Induction Techniques

Jul 20, 2020 by Enrico de Lazaro

A study done by Dr. Denholm Aspy from the School of Psychology at the University of Adelaide provides the strongest evidence to date that Mnemonic Induction...

Pickled capers were found to activate KCNQ channels important for normal human brain and heart activity. Image credit: Bo Abbott.

Eating Pickled Capers May Help Improve Brain and Heart Health

Jul 16, 2020 by News Staff

A duo of researchers from the School of Medicine at the University of California, Irvine has discovered that a compound commonly found in pickled capers,...

1.4-Million-Year-Old Handaxe Unearthed in Ethiopia

Jul 14, 2020 by Sergio Prostak

Paleoanthropologists working at the Konso research area in Ethiopia have found a 1.4-million-year-old large bone fragment shaped into handaxe-like form. The...

Tahitian warrior dugouts from ‘Le Costume Ancien et Moderne’ by Giulio Ferrario, Milan, between 1816 and 1827.

Ancient Polynesians and Native Americans Had Contact Long Before Europeans Arrived

Jul 14, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of genetic researchers has found conclusive evidence for a single contact between Polynesian individuals and a Native American group...

The suprachiasmatic nucleus of a mouse. Image credit: McGill University.

Sodium Regulates Circadian Clock in Mice, New Study Shows

Jul 10, 2020 by News Staff

A new study published this week in the journal Nature shows that injecting mice with a salt solution (hypertonic saline) leads to the activation of neurons...

The wood-based hierarchical solar steam generator: CNT - carbon nanotubes, BC - bacterial cellulose, GB - glass bubbles. Image credit: Guan et al, doi: 10.1021/acs.nanolett.0c01088.

New Device Harnesses Solar Energy to Purify Water

Jul 8, 2020 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the University of Science and Technology of China has developed an efficient and sustainable hierarchical steam generator that,...

This is an artist's reconstruction of Homo erectus. Image credit: Yale University.

Homo erectus Had Stocky Body Shape

Jul 8, 2020 by News Staff

An international team of researchers has created the first 3D reconstruction of the ribcage of the Turkana Boy, a skeleton of the juvenile Homo erectus...

Earth’s magnetic field lines. Image credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.

Earth’s Magnetic Field Can Switch Direction 10 Times Faster than Previously Thought

Jul 7, 2020 by News Staff

Changes in the direction of Earth’s internally generated magnetic field may take place 10 times faster than previously thought, according to new research...

Cai et al demonstrate the catalytic activity of Ag and Au clusters physically deposited onto titanium dioxide (TiO2) powders with the MACS in the catalytic ozonation of nitrophenol; compared to traditional catalysts reported in the literature, the catalysts produced by the MACS exhibit at least comparable activities and show excellent reusability without evident degradation after five cycles: (a) photograph and (b) schematic diagram of the MACS system; (c) photograph of the Ag cluster on TiO2 powder catalyst produced (1 g), showing the color change from white to brown. Image credit: Cai et al, doi: 10.1021/acsami.0c05955.

Scientists Develop Environmentally Friendly Method for Removing Chemicals from Water

Jul 2, 2020 by News Staff

The newly-invented method, named the matrix assembly cluster source (MACS), involves no solvent and is a step change in the approach to water treatment...

Ankylosaurus magniventris, a large armored dinosaur species, witnesses the impact of an asteroid, falling on the Yucatan peninsula 66 million years ago. Image credit: Fabio Manucci.

Chicxulub Asteroid Caused End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction, New Study Confirms

Jul 1, 2020 by News Staff

The end-Cretaceous mass extinction 66 million years ago eradicated roughly 75% of the animal and plant species on Earth, including whole groups like non-avian...