Mindless copying a good evolutionary strategy
Comparing the evolutionary success of blindly copying your parents’ lifestyle choices with that of innovative, informed lifestyle adaptations, researchers found…
Conservation scientists mull reconstruction of buddhas
Coordinated by UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites, a group of scientists is examining the debris left…
The Pill not to blame for estrogen in drinking water
The American Chemical Society says there is a widespread public misconception about the estrogen-related hormones detected in drinking water supplies.…
Hard evidence on cannabis use and erectile dysfunction
Cannabis and its effects on the brain are relatively well understood, but new research suggests that cannabis receptors also exist…
Study finds no brain damage among ecstasy users
Prior studies that identified cognitive impairment in ecstasy (3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine) users were flawed, say the researchers behind a new study that…
Scientists accidentally discover “astounding” hair growth compound
Investigating how stress affects gastrointestinal function, scientists say they’ve unwittingly stumbled upon a chemical compound – astressin-B – that induces…
Blue-green algae affecting reproductive health
Algal blooms that occur in rivers and waterways have been found to produce a previously unrecognized estrogen-like compound that adversely…
Text messaging modifying our emotional responses
Experiments by German psychologists indicate that text messaging is subtly changing the way our brains respond to certain number combinations.…
Electromagnetic pulse used to detonate IEDs
Composed mainly of plastic, improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are notoriously hard to detect. They are typically used by guerillas or…
WiFi breakthrough: over-and-out for over-and-out
It looks like it could be over-and-out for the two-way radio catchcry “over.” Stanford researchers say an obvious – but…
Invasive plants can improve biodiversity, ecosystem health
Scientists have found that human-introduced, invasive species of plants can – contrary to prevailing ideas – have positive effects on…
DNA tests create incest dilemma
The use of DNA microarrays to diagnose developmental disabilities and congenital anomalies in children can also unexpectedly identify that some…
Testosterone: empathy killer
An administration of testosterone under the tongues of volunteers negatively affected their ability to “read” the minds of others, an…
Study links morning after pill to jump in STDs
Offering the morning after pill over-the-counter without fee in the UK has not reduced the number of teenage pregnancies and…
Processed food cripples young brain
A new study appearing in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health has found that infants with a higher intake…
Clay bubbles may have nurtured self-organizing precursors to life
A team of researchers from Harvard, Princeton, and Brandeis universities have demonstrated how small, semi-permeable compartments that form in inorganic…
Report warns of possible disappearance of wild oysters
A comprehensive new survey that compared the past and present condition of oyster reefs around the globe has found that…
Brain’s neurons found to communicate via electric fields
Neurons in the brain had been thought to communicate exclusively via the physical connections that are known as synapses, but…
Breeder or worker? Scientists search for the genes that drive societies
In order understand the evolution of complex societies; researchers are sequencing the genomes of social insects to decipher which genes…
First demonstration of coherent control of a quantum multi-resonator architecture
Physicists at the University of California – Santa Barbara have put a new slant on the shell game by demonstrating…
Gender slant on hygiene hypothesis could explain skewed disease rates
The “hygiene hypothesis” suggests that increased hygiene and sanitation is linked to higher rates of asthma, allergies and autoimmune disorders.…
Penile presence makes for abominable affairs
Men are more than twice as likely to continue dating a girlfriend who has cheated on them with another woman…
Hubble snaps most distant galaxy yet
Astronomers have pushed the Hubble Space Telescope to it limits by finding what they believe to be the most distant…
Couples’ language use predicts relationship success
People tend to be attracted to, and have relationships with, other people who resemble themselves in terms of personality, values,…
Fear of spiders, snakes is learnt… very quickly
A new meta-study appearing in Current Directions in Psychological Science reviews research with infants and toddlers, and finds that we…
Courtship affects gene expression
Some of the mysteries of human mating behavior could now be explained thanks to a new study that shows that…
Naturally quantum critical material identified
In what researchers are calling a “dream system,” an exotic new superconductor based on the element ytterbium appears to exist…
More evidence for asteroids creating life on Earth
All life on Earth uses “left-handed” amino acids to build proteins and NASA has now found that a greater number…
Antioxidants causing fertility problems
Antioxidants are a popular dietary supplement but we still don’t have a complete understanding of how they act in our…