Even the tiniest DNA changes could have a crucial impact on our genome,
Fake science that still haunts us today
Fake news before it was cool.
Meet the aye-aye: the strangest looking primate in the world
Exclusively found in the north-eastern parts of Madagascar, these peculiarly looking primates may both be the strangest and adorable looking things you’ll see all day.
Detoxification of Air Pollutants, enhanced by Broccoli Sprout Beverage, Chinese clinical trial reveals
A number of approximately 300 Chinese men and women who live in one of the country’s most polluted areas were involved in a clinical trial, which reports that daily consumption of a half cup of broccoli sprout beverage produces rapid, significant and sustained levels of benzene excretion, one of the most dangerous carcinogens and a lung irritant.
This electric car with 1000 miles on a charge
Whether we’re talking about a tablet or a phone, a laptop or a music player, what matters most is the battery. And electric cars are no exception from this rule. The problem with new technologies is that there are no infrastructures to sustain them, which makes it unprofitable for the consumer, given that the lack of necessary tools to assure
About the 28th element essential to sustaining life, discovered by scientists
The scientific world has commonly agreed upon 27 elements that are literally essential for human life. However, a study proved the existence of a 28th element, bromine, which is among the 92 naturally-occurring chemical elements in the entire universe, as vital for tissue development in all animals, from the primitive sea creatures to humans included. The paper, published by Cell, was
World’s oldest pair of pants, found in a tomb in China
If you’ve ever wondered when was the first time that ancient people decided to wear pants like we do today instead of large pieces of coatings to cover their nudity, the scientists found the answer to that one. It seems that it’s somewhere between 3,000 and 3,300 years ago, somewhere around the 13th to 10th century B.C. that ancient nomadic
We’re all biased, it’s hardwired in our brain. Here’s how:
A cognitive bias is the common tendency of thinking in a certain irrational way – it’s a deviation from good judgement; they’re often studied in psychology and economics because of the influence that a counter-intuitive thinking process can have in these particular fields, and they significantly affect our lives. Among the researchers there have been countless controversies as to whether the cognitive
Frogs use drains to boost their mating call
If you’ve learned during the biology classes in school that the animals are going to adapt no matter the circumstances, your teacher did a great job. Turns out that frogs aren’t the exception to the rule, quite the contrary. New studies show that tree frogs seem to be using city drains in order to amplify the serenades and make their interest
High speed and X-ray videos reveal the feeding secrets of amphibious fish
Mudskippers are a strange type of fish – for starters, they’re amphibious, which means that they spend a great of their time on land. They also have unique adaptations which allow them to manage in the intertidal environments in the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Africa. Their unusual feeding behavior has now been captured in high-speed and X-ray video by biologist Krijn Michel and his colleagues at the University of Antwerp, shedding new light on how life moved from the oceans onto the land.
22,000 year old skull fragment may represent extinct lineage of modern humans
A partial skull fragment found in Kenya seems to indicate that early humans were much more diverse than previously thought. The 22,000-year-old skull clearly belongs to a human species, but is unlike anything else previously discovered.
Rats Remember Who’s Nice to Them—and Return the Favor
Rats remember acts of kindness done by other rats, and are more helpful to individuals who previously helped them. It’s not clear if they do this because they are grateful or if they are trying to make sure that they will get helped in the future as well, but their behavior gives scientists a new understanding of animal social behavior.
Here’s what kids eat at school lunch around the world. Needless to say, US trails behind
A typical school cafeteria serving contains fried food stuff like nuggets, mashed potatoes or peas. Kids’ nutritional uptake and diet could be a lot better, as proven elsewhere by schools all around the world. Sweetgreen, a restaurant the values local and organic produce, recently published on its Tumblr an amazing photo journal detailing what a typical cafeteria serving looks like in countries like South Korea, Brazil or Italy.
Eyelashes keep eyes clean and dry – but longer is not better
Humans have been fascinated by eyelashes for centuries, with long and luxuriant eyelashes being in fashion since the days of ancient Egypt. Now, researchers have found how eyelashes actually work, what their functions are, and revealed that longer is not necessarily better.
Drug-Resistant Malaria Could Pose Huge Global Threat
The ability to keep malaria under control is crucial – the disease is highly contagious and the potential health hazards are immense. Efforts have been somewhat successful, with fatalities dropping from over 1 million in 2000 to 584,000 in 2014. But the protozoans that are causing the disease are starting to become immune to the drugs we are using, and that’s a huge problem.
Mercury Level in Tuna Reaching Alarming Levels
The Mercury level in tuna has been a subject of debate for decades now. Paul Drevnick, Assistant Research Scientist at University of Michigan and his team analyzed data from over the past 50 years and found that mercury levels in Pacific yellowfin tuna, often marketed as ahi tuna, is increasing at 3.8% per year. If 3.8% per year doesn’t seem like much, that translates into a doubling at every 20 years. So in 50 years, mercury levels have increased 6 times.
Research Finds Meditation More Useful Than Sleep Education in Fighting Insomnia
A randomized clinical trial has found that mindfulness meditation is significantly more effective than sleep hygiene education (e.g. how to identify & change bad sleeping habits) in reducing insomnia symptoms, fatigue, and depression symptoms in older adults with sleep disturbances.
Newborn baby born carrying two foetuses
A recent report in the Hong Kong Medical Journal describes the case of a baby girl who was born carrying two masses in her body which are likely to be foetuses. But this doesn’t mean that she was “born pregnant” (as some media wrote), but is rather the case of “parasitic twins”. If they are indeed foetuses, then this is
Cannabis Consumption Might Make You Bipolar
After reviewing existing literature and statistics, researchers from the University of Warwick have found evidence which suggests a significant relationship between cannabis consumption and the onset (or exacerbation) of mania symptoms. We’ve presented quite a few studies on cannabis here on ZME Science. Our general impression is that due to legal constraints (which are somewhat debatable), the medical potential of
Green tea ingredient may target protein to kill oral cancer cells
A component found in green tea may be very effective at destroying oral cancer cells, while leaving healthy cells alone. The research from Penn State could become very useful in fighting oral cancer, as well sa other types of cancer.