UV light can be addictive, say scientists
Why do people still spend extended periods in the sun when the dangers of skin cancer are so well recognized?…
Animals conceal sickness in mating situations
In research that has implications for our understanding of how diseases spread in human populations, researchers from the University of…
Algae turn quantum coherence on and off
A team of researchers has discovered how algae that survive in very low levels of light are able to switch…
Feminization of men causing obesity epidemic, say Aussie researchers
An imbalance of female sex hormones among men in Western nations may be contributing to high levels of male obesity,…
Singing primates and tweeting birds: Uncovering human language’s deep origins
By re-examining contemporary human language, MIT researchers believe they can uncover how human communication could have evolved from the systems…
Could “free will” arise from random brain noise?
Free will, the ability that we believe we have to make choices – and mistakes – might arise from simple…
Human face evolved to be punched
A controversial new paper from the University of Utah contends that human faces have evolved over time to minimize injury…
Laser sensor busts drunk drivers from outside car
Most health and law enforcement agencies would agree that the effective early detection of drivers under the influence of alcohol…
Domestication of dogs may explain success of early humans
A new analysis of European archaeological sites suggests that early modern humans working with the earliest domestic dogs were extremely…
Could heat from a Martian volcano create a habitable environment?
The slopes of a giant Martian volcano, once covered in glacial ice, may have been home to one of the…
Scientists map mental illness’ effects on life expectancy
A new study by researchers at the University of Oxford shows that mental illnesses reduce life expectancy by 10-20 years,…
Vitamin E in canola linked to asthma, lung inflammation
A new study from Northwestern University shows the drastically different health effects of vitamin E depending on its form. The…
Windshield washer water a “significant” source of Legionnaire’s
Outbreaks of Legionnaire’s disease are most often linked to large-scale air conditioning systems, but new research shows that automobile windshield…
Researchers go beyond quantum limit
Scientists are capable of measuring the position of an object with unprecedented accuracy, but the Heisenberg uncertainty principle ultimately places…
Species turnover: this isn’t the biodiversity you’re looking for
Re-examining biodiversity data from one hundred long-term ecosystem monitoring studies done around the world, a new paper has revealed that…
The War on Drugs in 10,000 B.C.
New research published in the Journal of Archaeological Method and Theory suggests that the use of alcohol and drugs by…
Short men living longer
Shorter men live longer, according to new research that shows shorter men were more likely to have a protective form…
New type of avian flu found in Antarctic penguins
An international team of researchers has identified a previously unknown avian influenza virus in a group of Adelie penguins from…
Space station experiment identifies microbes that can survive unprotected in space
Scientists conducting a series of experiments on the International Space Station say that some micro-organisms can survive for long periods…
Entire star cluster flung from distant galaxy
Astrophysicists have discovered an entire star cluster that has been ejected from the galaxy known as M87 at more than…
Newly discovered neighboring star as cold as the North Pole
Discovered using NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) and Spitzer Space Telescopes, a brown dwarf star only 7.2 light years…
New analysis reveals hidden planetary disks
The two images at top reveal debris disks around young stars uncovered in archival images taken by NASA’s Hubble Space…
Speed-reading apps hinder comprehension, say researchers
Speed-reading apps for phones and tablets work by eliminating the time we supposedly waste moving our eyes as we read.…
Niacin: the vitamin from outer space
Niacin, or vitamin B3, could have been delivered to Earth by carbon-rich meteorites, say NASA researchers, whose findings support a…
Kepler mission identifies most Earth-like exoplanet yet discovered
An international team of astronomers have announced the discovery of a new rocky planet the same size as Earth that…
Wobbly planets could be best place for finding life, say astrobiologists
Pivoting planets that lean one way and then change orientation within a relatively short time period might be surprisingly habitable.…
Trying to sound sexier? Sorry, guys, you just can’t do it
A series of experiments by researchers at Albright College suggests that men cannot intentionally make their voices sound more sexy…
Earliest roots of psychiatric disorders traced to stress effects on single gene
Babies whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to stressors such as trauma, illness, alcohol, or drug abuse become susceptible to…
Paraplegic men move their legs again after breakthrough therapy
Epidural electrical stimulation, which delivers a continuous electrical current to the lower spinal cord, has allowed four young men who…
Rising CO2 causing nutritional content of crops to fall
Field tests by University of California – Davis scientists have shown conclusively that rising levels of carbon dioxide inhibit plants’…