Mercury levels in herbal teas surprise scientists
A new study from the University of Bristol (UK) suggests that fish accounts for only seven percent of mercury levels…
Tramadol painkiller found in nature
For the first time ever, a synthetic medication produced by the pharmaceutical industry has been discovered in strong concentrations in…
Wine drinkers clueless about alcohol servings
Scientists know that environmental cues like plate size can impact eating behaviors, but the effect of environmental factors on wine…
Photonic molecules behave like light saber, say scientists
Photons have long been described as massless particles which don’t interact with each other, but Harvard and MIT scientists have…
My god, it’s full of stars. Astronomers discover densest galaxy
Alpha Centauri, our closest neighboring star lies about 4 light years distant; now imagine as many as 10,000 stars crammed…
Walk this way: how an upright gait made humans musical
Why don’t chimpanzees, our closest primate cousins, have musical ability? Scientists at örebro University in Sweden hypothesize that our musical…
Pollution changing birdsong
Songbirds are exhibiting inconsistency in their songs and pollution appears to be the culprit, say Cornell University ornithologists working in…
Effects from Toxoplasma gondii infection appear to be permanent
The Toxoplasma gondii parasite’s ability to hijack the mammalian brain is well documented, but in an intriguing twist, scientists say…
Smartphone microscope can see a single virus
A smartphone-based microscope attachment developed at UCLA is sensitive enough to detect viruses and nanoparticles, allowing sophisticated biomedical testing in…
Painkiller addiction in U.S. an “epidemic,” say senior medicos
Over the last ten years, prescriptions for strong opioid medications for non-cancer pain have doubled and public health experts say…
TV drug ads mostly false
Analyzing several years’ worth of pharmaceutical advertisements, researchers found that 6 out-of 10 claims in prescription drug ads on television…
Mechanical gears seen in nature for the first time
Gear mechanisms, previously thought to only exist in man-made machines, have also evolved in nature, according to scientists who say…
Panda poop could be biofuel bonanza
While ethanol made from corn is the most common alternative fuel in the U.S., concern continues to grow that the…
Cholesterol metabolism implicated in anorexia
A DNA-sequencing study of anorexia nervosa sufferers has linked the eating disorder to variants in a gene that regulates cholesterol…
Bacteria modified with squid protein could be a camouflage game-changer for military
In the latest issue of the journal Advanced Materials, the researchers report on the creation of a biomimetic infrared camouflage…
Inflatable antennae give micro-satellites long-range comms
The shoebox-sized satellites known as CubeSats are making space exploration cheaper and more accessible, but their size-restricted antennae have limited…
Inner-ear disorders may be key to ADHD
Behavioral abnormalities are traditionally thought to originate in the brain, but researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have…
Down syndrome may be reversible
Scientists say they have identified a compound that dramatically bolsters learning and memory when given to mice with a Down…
How generosity leads to evolutionary success
New insights into the classical game theory match-up known as the “Prisoner’s Dilemma” might help explain the presence of generosity…
Crop pests relentless in their march polewards
A new study has revealed that our warming climate is pushing crop pests such as fungi, bacteria, viruses, insects, and…