Top Science News

Nov. 20, 2024 — A recently published meta-analysis reveals an advantage in sports-related information processing compared to non-athletes. The data consisted of 21 studies involving a total of 1455 participants. Athletes had better working memory than non-athletes and this advantage was further enhanced when athletes were compared to sedentary ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — Inspired by the jets of water that squids use to propel themselves through the ocean, a team developed an ingestible capsule that releases a burst of drugs directly into the lining of the stomach or other organs of the digestive ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers have developed a groundbreaking microscopy method that enables detailed three-dimensional (3D) RNA analysis at cellular resolution in whole intact mouse brains. The new method, called TRISCO, has the potential to transform our understanding of brain function, both in normal conditions and in disease, according to the new ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Axions are the most likely candidate for enigmatic dark matter that dominates the universe. Astrophysicists are searching for evidence of high-mass axions produced during supernovae. Scientists propose that a quick way to find these axions is to look for a gamma ray burst coincident with a neutrino burst from a nearby core collapse supernova. But we need a fleet of gamma ray telescopes to insure ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — The world's thinnest spaghetti, about 200 times thinner than a human hair, has been ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — While astronomers have taken about two dozen zoomed-in images of stars in our galaxy, unveiling their properties, countless other stars dwell within other galaxies, so far away that observing even one of them in detail has been extremely challenging. Up until ...

Nov. 19, 2024 — A speed record has been broken using nanoscience, which could lead to a host of new advances, including improved battery charging, biosensing, soft robotics and neuromorphic computing. Scientists have discovered a way to make ions move more than ten times faster in mixed organic ion-electronic conductors. These conductors combine the advantages of ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Geneticists have developed a gene drive-based solution to the widespread problem of insecticide resistance. In an effort to protect valuable crops, the researchers created an 'e-Drive' that reverses insecticide resistance and then disappears from the insect ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Archaeologists have collected data which indicates the presence of a large-scale pre-Columbian fish-trapping facility. Discovered in the Crooked Tree Wildlife Sanctuary (CTWS), the largest inland wetland in Belize, the team dated the construction of these fisheries to the Late Archaic period (cal. 2000-1900 BCE), pre-dating Amazonian examples by a thousand years or ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — For the first time, Ethiopian wolves have been documented feeding on the nectar of Ethiopian red hot poker flowers. This is the first large carnivore species ever to be documented feeding on nectar. In doing so, the wolves may act as pollinators -- perhaps the first known plant-pollinator interaction involving a large ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — Scientists have detailed both broad and specific information about the presence and function of microorganisms in rivers covering 90% of the watersheds in the continental U.S. Cataloging the microbiome of these rivers is the result of a years-long participatory science ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Researchers investigating ways to reduce exhaustion in cancer-fighting T-cells found that the Golgi apparatus can be used as a simple marker -- more Golgi means a more robust ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — While it's well known that sleep enhances cognitive performance, the underlying neural mechanisms, particularly those related to nonrapid eye movement (NREM) sleep, remain largely unexplored. A new study has nonetheless uncovered a key mechanism by which sleep enhances neuronal and behavioral performance, potentially changing our fundamental ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Working with week-old zebrafish larva, researchers decoded how the connections formed by a network of neurons in the brainstem guide the fishes' gaze. The study found that a simplified artificial circuit, based on the architecture of this neuronal system, can predict activity in the network. In addition to shedding light on how the brain handles short-term memory, the findings could lead to novel ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — In a polarized nation, there is one thing that nearly all Americans agree on, according to a recent study: sports are good for us. Researchers found that more than 9 out of 10 Americans agreed that sports build character and improved one's health, while 84% agreed playing sports makes one popular in school and 85% said it makes one more well-known in the ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — A study by researchers presents their low cost, scalable methodology for the early identification of individuals at risk of developing dementia. While the condition remains incurable, there are a number of common risk factors that, if targeted and addressed, can potentially reduce the odds of developing dementia or slow the pace of cognitive ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are fire-retardant chemicals that are found everywhere. A mouse study reports that probiotic supplementation can reduce the negative impacts of PBDEs on neurodevelopment, behavior, and ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — New research reveals how low confidence drives feedback-seeking, enhancing learning with insights for education and rehabilitation ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — With most donated clothes exported or thrown away, experts are calling for a shakeup of how we deal with the growing fashion waste ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — A new study found that prolonged standing at work had a negative impact on the research participants' 24-hour blood pressure. In contrast, spending more time sitting at work was associated with better blood pressure. The study suggests that activity behavior during working hours may be more relevant to 24-hour blood pressure than recreational physical ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — New research reveals many prenatal vitamins don't contain enough of the nutrients that are essential for a healthy pregnancy, while others contain harmful levels of toxic metals. The study checked the amounts of choline and iodine in nonprescription and prescription prenatal vitamins. The research also checked for toxic metals like arsenic, lead ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Sentences contain subtle hints in their grammar that tell young children about the meaning of new words, according to new ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Scientists have presented results on the acoustic characteristics of a physical model of the Parasaurolophus' crest. They created a physical setup made of tubes to represent a mathematical model that will allow researchers to discover what was happening acoustically inside the crest. The physical model, inspired by resonance chambers, was ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — New research may make it possible to keep electronic devices powered with another piece of equipment you're likely to bring with you while exploring the great outdoors: camping stoves. The work focuses on using the excess heat produced by stoves to create a thermoacoustic engine, which converts thermal energy into acoustic energy. This acoustic energy can then be transformed into mechanical or ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — The pipe organ stands as a bastion in concert halls and church sanctuaries, and even when not in use, it affects the acoustical environment around it. Researchers performed a sine-sweep through loudspeakers facing the organ pipes and measured the response with a microphone at different positions. They verified experimentally that sympathetic resonance does occur in organ pipes during musical ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — Researchers used the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument to map how nearly 6 million galaxies cluster across 11 billion years of cosmic history. Their observations line up with what Einstein's theory of general relativity ...

Nov. 19, 2024 — Astronomers have discovered the first pairs of white dwarf and main sequence stars -- 'dead' remnants and 'living' stars -- in young star clusters. This breakthrough offers new insights on an extreme phase of stellar evolution, and one of the biggest mysteries in ...

Nov. 18, 2024 — New research found confined and isolating environments changed the way people smelled and responded emotionally to certain food aromas. The team in this study compared 44 people's emotional responses and perception of eight food aromas in two environmental scenarios: sitting in reclined chairs that mimic astronauts' posture in microgravity; and then in the confined setting of the International ...

Nov. 18, 2024 — Through the intricate study of lava tubes -- caves formed following volcanic eruptions when lava cools down -- an international team of researchers has uncovered clues about Earth's ancient environments that could be significant in the search for life on ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Researchers developed an efficient approach for training more reliable reinforcement learning models, focusing on complex tasks that involve variability. This could enable the leverage of reinforcement learning across a wide range of ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers have found a new way to improve a key element of thermophotovoltaic systems, which convert heat into electricity via light. Engineers designed a thermal emitter that can deliver high efficiencies within practical design ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Archaeology studies the human past through the excavation of things people made and used thousands of years ago -- from architecture to objects like pottery bowls and animal bones from meals. Although many excavation projects create digital 3D models of what they uncover, archaeologists need new ways to meaningfully use those data. Some projects ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Protein design aims to create customized antibodies for therapies, biosensors for diagnostics, or enzymes for chemical reactions. An international research team has now developed a method for designing large new proteins better than before and producing them with the desired properties in the laboratory. Their approach involves a new way of using the capabilities of the AI-based software ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — New spray developed by scientists could help boost UK farming and increase the UK's food ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — A research team has developed a new class of oral peptide therapeutic leads for treating chronic abdominal pain. This groundbreaking innovation offers a safe, non-opioid-based solution for conditions such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which affect millions of people ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Scientists have revealed how a specific hormone regulates ant caste differentiation by phenotypic measurements of organ-level developmental changes and matching transcriptome ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — In an era of dwindling glaciers, Southern Patagonia has managed to hold on to a surprising amount of its ice. But, a new study suggests that this protective effect might be pushed up against its limits ...

Nov. 22, 2024 — Scientists have developed a pioneering tool that can pinpoint where invasive species have been, aiding eradication ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Biologists have determined that Florida panthers are likely not at increased risk for contracting chronic wasting disease from eating infected ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study shows that the oceans were less cold in the early 20th century (1900--1930) than previously thought. During this period the ocean appears too cold due to the way some measurements were taken. This makes global ocean surface temperature measurements during this period inconsistent with both land air temperatures and palaeoclimatic data ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — Wings may be the obvious choice when studying the connection between dinosaurs and birds, but a pair of paleontologists prefer drumsticks. That part of the leg, they say, is where fibular reduction among some dinosaurs tens of millions of years ago helped make it possible for peacocks to strut, penguins to waddle, and turkeys to ...

Nov. 19, 2024 — The Aztec skull whistle produces a shrill, screaming sound. A study shows that these whistles have a disturbing effect on the human brain. The Aztecs may have deliberately used this effect in sacrificial ...

Nov. 18, 2024 — The history of a major animal group, composed of millions of species of insects, arachnids, and nemotodes, has been elusive -- until now. A team has now identified the oldest known ecdysozoan in the fossil record and the only one from the Precambrian ...

Nov. 15, 2024 — Scholars for the first time identified chemical signatures of the components of a liquid concoction contained in a Bes mug. A new technique helped identify a sample flavored with honey, sesame seeds, pine nuts, licorice and grapes -- commonly used to make the beverage look like ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — A new study estimates that a 1-meter sea level rise by 2100 would affect over 14 million people and $1 trillion worth of property along the Southeast Atlantic ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — The fact that plastics pollute the environment and generate problems has been well-researched in many areas. However, there is little information on the impacts of plastics on climate and biodiversity. Researchers have analyzed the impacts of plastics on the three planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and environmental pollution. They are calling for plastics regulations that ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Researchers advocate the use of imagination in tackling the climate crisis. They focus specifically on urbanizing river deltas, which are of great social and economic importance and highly vulnerable to climate ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Adolescents who snore frequently were more likely to exhibit behavior problems such as inattention, rule-breaking, and aggression, but they do not have any decline in their cognitive abilities, according to a new study. This is the largest study to date tracking snoring in children from elementary school through their mid-teen years and it ...

Nov. 21, 2024 — Preschool children who struggle to control their emotions and behaviour have more symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- known as ADHD -- at age seven, a study suggests. Children aged between three and seven who are slower at acquiring skills to manage their intense emotions were also found to be at risk of displaying more conduct issues. They were also more likely to show ...

Nov. 20, 2024 — Historical policies shaping educational attainment have enduring benefits for later life memory and risk of dementia, according to a new study. The study compared the differences in years of education based on variations in state schooling mandates with cognitive performance outcomes in residents decades ...

Nov. 19, 2024 — Unlike kids in the United States, hunter-gatherer children in the Congo Basin have often learned how to hunt, identify edible plants and care for babies by the tender age of six or seven. This rapid learning is facilitated by a unique social environment where cultural knowledge is passed down not just from parents but from the broader community. The research helps explain how many cultural traits ...

Nov. 18, 2024 — It turns out gaming is good for you! New research indicates massive multiplayer online gamers learn by gaming and their skills in the workplace are enriched by those seemingly endless hours previously thought of as frittering away ...

Nov. 16, 2024 — Employees struggle when supervisors swing between good and bad ...

Nov. 13, 2024 — Working days lost to long covid could be costing the economy billions of pounds every year as patients struggle to cope with symptoms and return to work, finds a new ...

Nov. 14, 2024 — Physical cash not only influences how much we spend but also fosters a profound sense of psychological ownership that digital payments cannot replicate, according to new ...