Fences causing “ecological meltdown,” claims new study
A general belief by conservationists that fences can help prevent the spread of diseases, protect wildlife from poachers, and help…
A cure for age-related sleep problems?
As the quality of our sleep worsens as we get older, our overall quality of life suffers too. But age-related…
Breast lifts: the only way is up
The always intriguing annual stats from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons (ASPS) show that breast lifts are the procedure…
Newly discovered dwarf planet hints at a much larger not-yet-seen planet
2012 VP113, a newly discovered dwarf planet (pictured) in the distant Oort cloud region of our Solar System indicates the…
Work by celestial archaeologists hints at Earth’s ultimate fate
For decades, astronomers have known that the atmospheres surrounding stars are often “polluted” with elements like carbon, silicon, and iron.…
Next-generation solar cell can also emit light
Scientists from Nanyang Technological University in Singapore have developed a photovoltaic material which, as well converting light to electricity, can…
Mug shots from DNA possible, say scientists
DNA can already tell us the sex and ancestry of unknown individuals, but now an international team of researchers is…
Radiation risk from Chernobyl forest fire smoke worries ecologists
Radiation damage to microbes around the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster has dramatically slowed the decomposition of fallen leaves…
Bionic plants created with carbon nanotubes
Researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) report boosting plants’ ability to capture light energy by 30 percent by…
First direct evidence supporting cosmic inflation
Scientists announced today that they have successfully measured a B-mode polarization signal in the Universe’s cosmic microwave background (CMB). The…
Unusual gem find provides evidence for vast underground oceans
The chance discovery of a sample of a mineral called ringwoodite provides strong evidence for scientific theories about vast volumes…
Camouflage or bright colors? What’s better to live long and prosper?
In nature, bright colors are signals that scream, “Don’t eat me!” But how did prey species evolve these characteristics? Now,…
Astronomers witness mysterious disintegration of asteroid
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have witnessed for the first time the breakup of an asteroid into as many…
Smoking linked to ADHD in future generations
Florida State University scientists investigating neurobehavioral disorders say that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) could be an environmentally induced health…
Massive decline in food crop diversity threatens global food security
A detailed new study into global food supplies confirms for the first time what experts have long suspected: human diets…
New evidence for link between alcohol consumption and cancer metastasis
New research looking at the biological processes involved in breast cancer development has strengthened the argument for a potential link…
Bend me, shape me… into a heart
The human body has lots of soft muscular systems that bend, twist, extend, and flex in complex ways. Robotic systems…
Spinning nanoparticles hint at origin of life
Simply making nanoparticles spin coaxes them to arrange themselves into what University of Michigan researchers call “living rotating crystals,” a…
Ancient teeth give up bacterial goldmine
Researchers have discovered a “microbial Pompeii” preserved in the calculus (dental plaque) of 1,000 year old teeth. Intriguingly, the research…
Quasars at opposite ends of the Universe could close a loophole in quantum mechanics
Physicists have proposed an experiment that may close the last major loophole of Bell’s inequality – a 50-year-old theorem that,…
Genetics play no role in disease risk, claims controversial new study
Genes have been implicated in influencing everything from our sexual orientation to our risk of cancer, but a new paper…
Artificial leaf clears developmental barrier
Putting together the chemical reactions that make photosynthesis happen has proven harder than scientists initially thought, but in a new…
Stress hormone a key player in financial crises
Scientists studying levels of the stress hormone cortisol in financial traders say that appetite for risk may be “physiologically-driven” by…
Obesity could be an evolutionary hangover from prehistoric gut bacteria
Today, obesity is considered to be undesirable, but in the past getting more fat and more energy from the diet…
Fusion lab reports important boot-strapping milestone
Being able to generate more energy from a fusion reaction than the energy required to control the reaction (known as…
Bees using scavenged plastic to build hives
The scientists who discovered that urban bees are using plastic bags and building sealant to construct hives say it demonstrates…
Cars, TVs, triggering type-2 diabetes epidemic in developing world
Skyrocketing obesity and an epidemic of type-2 diabetes look likely for developing countries, as researchers at Simon Fraser University find…
Chlamydia infection? Your gut may be to blame
For many sufferers, the standard treatment regime for chlamydia fails to eradicate the disease, and researchers think the culprit may…
Temporary blindness may fix hearing problems
Researchers have long known that young brains are malleable enough to re-wire the circuits that process sensory information. For example,…