Solar power’s dirty secret: skyrocketing lead pollution
Solar power has a dark side. In developing countries with less robust electrical grids, solar power is heavily reliant on…
Modern humans healthier thanks to Neanderthal nookie
Mating with Neanderthals and another close relative – the recently discovered Denisovans – has endowed some human gene pools with…
Reverse engineering chocolate yields flavor surprise
The aroma of roasted cocoa beans – the key ingredient of chocolate – comes from substances that individually smell like…
Lung Damage From Ultrasound?
Pumping more energy into a beam of diagnostic ultrasound could produce a better image – and therefore a better diagnosis…
New procedure “rebuilds” teeth
University of Leeds researchers say dentists will soon have access to a new pain-free way of tackling dental decay that…
El Niño climate cycle triggering wars
Researchers from Columbia University’s Earth Institute say that El Niño, the periodic climate cycle that boosts temperatures and cuts rainfall,…
Huge Indian Earthquake Due
Following an exhaustive geophysical and historical analysis, a research team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder believes there…
Scented laundry products emitting carcinogens
The United States’ top-selling scented liquid laundry detergent and scented dryer sheet emit carcinogenic chemicals from dryer vents, claims a…
The harder they (don’t) cum
Findings from the largest-ever study of orgasmic and ejaculatory dysfunction suggest that orgasmic dysfunction could be as prevalent among men…
Lasting evolutionary change “slow and rare”
Addressing the long-running debate about short-term vs. long-term evolutionary change, a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy…
Broadly effective antibodies against HIV isolated
Researchers working under the auspices of the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative (IAVI) have reported the isolation of 17 novel antibodies…
Smoking May Ease Anger And Anxiety
Anger or anxiety may trigger the urge to smoke in some people, according to a new study that suggests emotional…
Atmospheric analysis yields dog poop surprise
Microbiologists from the University of Colorado Boulder were surprised to find that the dominant airborne bacterial communities of several American…
Rats that ♥ cats: parasite rewires sexual attraction
Stanford University scientists have discovered that the complex and intriguing reproductive strategy exhibited by the single-celled parasite Toxoplasma gondii relies…
Humans Easiest To Clone?
Humans could be technically easier to clone than sheep, cows, pigs and mice because humans possess a genetic benefit that…
Analysis of biosynthesis in plants reveals a “perplexing disparity”
A fascinating new study appearing in theJournal of the American Chemical Societyreveals that during the evolution of certain natural plant…
Is the quest for romance causing the gender gap in science?
Four new studies from the University at Buffalo suggest that the goal of being romantically desirable is causing the persistent…
Intestinal protein linked to ADHD
Researchers are increasingly linking gut function to a variety of neuropsychiatric disorders. Now, a new study suggests that a biochemical…
Genes Passed From Crops To Weeds Persist
Genetic traits passed from crops to their weedy relatives can persist for at least six generations, and probably much longer,…
Scared of the wrong things? Enzyme imbalance may be the cause
Do you run when you should stay? Are you afraid of certain things for no logical reason? An enzyme deficiency…
Scientists identify possible smoking-gun for multicellular life
Researchers have created an analog of what they think the first multicellular cooperation on Earth might have looked like, showing…
Distant Quasar Tells Of Universe Origins
Using light from the most distant object known, astronomers have found traces of the first generation of atoms in the…
Motion capture for everyone, anywhere, anytime
Current motion capture techniques use cameras to meticulously record the movements of actors inside studios, enabling those movements to be…
Mice Immunized Against Alzheimer’s
NYU School of Medicine researchers have prevented the development of Alzheimer’s disease in mice genetically engineered with the human gene…
EMF exposure in pregnancy increases asthma risk
A new study appearing in the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine has identified a dose-response relationship between a mother’s…
Antioxidants key to solving reproductive woes, say pharmacologists
A meta-study appearing in the journal Pharmacological Research suggests that antioxidants may be the key to overcoming a number of…
Living Bacteria From Space
Evidence of living bacterial cells entering the Earth’s upper atmosphere from space has come from a joint project involving Indian…
Are cancers newly evolved species?
UC Berkeley molecular biologists propose that carcinogenesis – the generation of cancer – is just another form of speciation, the…
Acoustic diode allows one-way sound transmission
Based on a simple assembly of granular crystals that transmit sound vibrations, Caltech researchers have created the first tunable acoustic…
Scientists quantify critical-mass required for spread of ideas
If just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority,…