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A Chinese woman has shocked doctors when it was revealed that she reached 24 years without having a cerebellum. It is not the first time a person was living fine without having a cerebellum, but she entered an extremely select group, which only features 9 other people. The woman checked in at the Chinese PLA General Hospital […]
It’s been a while since we’ve talked about the Curiosity rover, but that doesn’t mean that it stopped studying the Red Planet. Now, NASA’s rover has reached one of its main destinations: Mars’ Mount Sharp, a Mount-Rainier-size mountain at the center of the vast Gale Crater and the rover mission’s long-term prime destination. “Curiosity now will […]
A federal judge has called major oil company BP (British Petroleum) “reckless”, and Transocean and Halliburton “negligent” following the major oil spill of 2010. The US District Judge Carl Barbier has ruled that BP’s “gross negligence” was the main culprit for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, which is considered to be the biggest marine disaster in […]
A newly found superdinosaur Dreadnoughtus schrani, is the largest known land animal for which mass can be accurately calculated, a recent study concluded. The giant speciment, which isn’t even fully grown, probably measured 85 feet long and weighed about 65 tons. The name literally means “fear nothing”, and the dinosaur has already been nicknamed Dread. It is named […]
A new study analyzed the data from nearly 50 trials including about 7,300 individuals. Significant weight loss was reported with every low-carb or low-fat diet, with very small differences between them. This indicates that obese patients should be recommended any healthy diet they are most likely to keep up. Weight loss programs are a multi-billion industry, […]
A team of scietists from the University of Copenhagen have found a mushroom shaped animal which they believe doesn’t fit in any known subdivision of the animal kingdom. Such a situation has happened only a few times in the past 100 years. Researchers aren’t exactly sure where to fit it, but they have a pretty […]
A new study concluded that there’s about a 1 in 100,000 chance that the global warming in the past 60 years is not caused by human-released greenhouse gas emissions. It’s much more a debate between TV shows and regular Joes than it is between scientists – you could basically call it a consensus by now, […]
The Advertising Standards Authority banned an ad which promoted fracking in the UK – this ad is really something else. It starts: “Dear Citizens of the United Kingdom, do you know that your country is blessed with an incredible gift?” OK, that’s fine, the UK has been blessed with lots of amazing gifts – but […]
It’s the first period in human history when the rich are thing, and the poor are fat – and this has a lot to do with something called the food gap. The food gap is basically what you’d expect from it (much like the wealth gap): there’s a huge difference between what rich people and […]
A group of researchers has shown that neurons in the human skin perform advanced calculations. It was previously believed that only neurons in the brain can do that. The first order neurons conduct impulses from the skin (touch) and take the information to the spine and the brain; one of their most fundamental characteristics is […]
For most people, it would seem clear that humans are the smartest creatures on the face of the Earth, but is this really the case? We are the ones who control the world, we create art, we understand our bodies and how the universe works – but are we innately more intelligent? A group of […]
Scientists were surprised when they unexpectedly stumbled upon a relatively simple vaccine which blocks infection with SIV – the monkey equivalent of HIV – and stops the spread of the virus in already infected monkeys. How it works All efficient vaccines against a viral infection elicit virus-specific neutralizing antibodies and sometimes also cytotoxic T-lymphocytes (CTL) […]
Researchers from Stanford have found a way to split water into oxygen and hydrogen using very little energy; the hydrogen they obtain could be used to power fuel cells in zero-emissions vehicles. I’m quite excited for cars that run on hydrogen, which are set to hit the market in 2015; but while they are always presented as […]
Researchers have pinpointed the source of a huge environmental threat for AIDS patients – the source of a fungal infection which has been plaguing Southern California for years; it literally grows on trees. The finding was based on the research project of a 13 year old. Cryptococcus gattii, formerly known as Cryptococcus neoformans var gattii, […]
A while ago, we were telling you about the infamous “zombie ant fungus” – a parasitic fungus that reproduces by manipulating the behavior of ants. It’s one of the most gruesome acts in nature – the parasite fungi infect tropical ants, literally taking control of their actions, ultimately leading the infected ant to march to its death […]
A team of researchers from the Aarhus University in Denmark and CalTech has developed an origami-inspired method of organizing molecules on the nanoscale. The team has modeled RNA, DNA’s close cousin into complicated shapes using the technique. Together with DNA, RNA comprises the nucleic acids, which, along with proteins, constitute the three major macromolecules essential for […]
Bacteria living in obscure environments use an extremely rare process to harvest energy and produce oxygen from sunlight – but they don’t use visible light, they use far-red light. “We have shown that some cyanobacteria, also called blue-green algae, can grow in far-red wavelengths of light, a range not seen well by most humans,” said Donald […]
Seismic activity is continuing at the Bárðarbunga volcano and an eruption may still take place, scientists said on Sunday, but the emergency level has been downgraded from red to orange. “There are no indications that the activity is slowing down, and therefore an eruption can not be excluded,” the Icelandic Met Office said. Over 700 earthquakes […]
The people onboard the International Space Station have been spoiling us with a lot of amazing pictures – and this one is no exception. Here, we see Africa embracing its northern neighbor, the Mediterranean sea. Reid Wiseman (which you can also follow on Twitter) often posts mind blowing pictures, like the ones above and below. […]
A whole functional organ has been successfully grown in animals for the first time; a group of Scottish researchers created a group of cells which, when transplanted into a mouse, developed into a fully functional thymus – a critical part of the immune system. The findings could lead to a revolution in organ transplant. The […]
A worrying report states that over 500 bubbling methane vents were found on the seafloor off the US east coast. The unexpected finding suggests that there are large volumes of the gas contained in a type of sludgy ice called methane hydrate and as global waters continue to heat up, the methane will be released in large […]
The physical properties of the ultra-white scales on certain species of beetle could inspire researchers to make better, whiter paper, plastics or paint, using far less material. The Cyphochilus beetle, native to South-East Asia, is whiter than paper or even milk teeth. The whiteness of its body is caused by a thin layer of a highly […]
We talk a lot about science and research, but we don’t spend enough time talking about the people who actually do the research. In case you haven’t followed our previous feature, here is where we share some of the most interesting studies from the week, and share a bit of information about the scientists who […]
Graphene, the wonder material shows its potential once again: now, using graphene and rubber bands, engineers have created a flexible sensor which has significant medical value and can be made cheaply. You really should know about graphene by now – we’ve written dozens of articles about it just in the past couple of years; but […]
If you thought research in airplanes only applies to the military, you’re wrong. While most of the money spent for airplane research does go to the military, a smaller chunk of it goes to space research, and another part goes to private air travel. Now, a company from the UK has almost developed an engine […]
It’s one of the most remarkable adaptations in the animal world – growing a tail or a limb. Some lizards do it, salamanders do it, and by learning how they do it, we may soon be able to do it as well; with technology, that is. A team of researchers have discovered the genetic “recipe” for […]
A new study shows that last an incredible 63 trillion gallons of groundwater were lost in the Western US alone – so much that it’s actually causing the ground level to rise. The Earth has lifted up about 0.16 inches over the last 18 months in the area, and up to 0.6 inches in the Californian […]
Between 5,000 and 8,000 gallons of diesel were spilled into the Ohio River on Monday, but officials say drinking water in the area is safe. Duke Energy is responsible for the spill, which happened during a “routine transfer”. While the company is still investigating, Duke spokeswoman Sally Thelen told the Inquirer that the spill may […]
It always baffles me how some groups manage to make stunning discoveries with incredibly low budgets. Now, a team working with a budget of $4,000 were able to extend the human vision towards the near infrared. 2 weeks into the A2 administration and we have ERG readings with excitation in the eye at 950nm :) […]
Eating less meat could protect the driest areas of the world, saving much needed water. Reducing the use of animal products is very significant in all parts of the world, as meat production requires more water than other agricultural products, they say. In case you don’t know, every food we eat (and every product we use) has […]
I just love it when technology can help solve social problems – especially in cases where you wouldn’t expect it to, like for example in Chicago, where a Twitter bot is helping authorities find dirty restaurants. If you’ve eaten out, and after that you feel a bit sick, like say you have an indigestion or […]
We’re used to reporting year after year how China’s coal consumption is increasing and how they are polluting more and more. But this is the first year in over 2 decades when the number hasn’t increased. Could China’s coal boom be over? While positive signs have been emerging from China for well over a year, […]
Canada’s most famous (and from what I can find, only) beer-cooler turned hitchhiking robot has finally completed its 6,000-kilometre journey across Canada, blazing rides from Halifax reaching Victoria late Saturday; and he did it with style: I’m on a boat. Well, a ferry to be exact. Victoria, I’m on my way. #hitchBOT @BCFerries pic.twitter.com/SPewf9rIq1 — hitchBOT (@hitchBOT) […]
Russian researchers who were conducting experiments on the surface of the ISS were absolutely shocked when they found sea plankton, just outside of the space station. Other reports mention that they found them while they were polishing some parts of the ISS, but that’s not really important here: they found real, living, sea creatures in space. Samples […]
A while ago, we were telling you about the lab in Netherlands which artificially created a hamburger, making it the first lab-grown hamburger in the world. Now, a team from California has followed in their footsteps, creating the first cheese that does not originate from milk. A group of biohackers from Counter Culture Labs in Oakland, and BioCurious in Sunnyvale, […]
The world has reached what is called ‘World Overshoot Day‘ – the point in the year when humans have exhausted supplies such as land, trees and fish and outstripped the planet’s annual capacity to absorb waste products including carbon dioxide. But that’s not half of it – things are actually getting worse, with the planet […]
This bacterium has a lot in common with power companies. Power companies use copper wires to channel electricity (and therefore, electrons), and this bacterium developed a mechanism to do something similar: in the absence of oxygen, it grows nanowires from its own body through which it pushes electrons to nearby rocks. This is how it […]
People from Beijing can now use one of the city’s 34 newly installed facilities which allows them to pay for public transportation or charge their phone credit with empty plastic bottles. China is the world’s biggest polluter, and will likely stay so for years and years to come. The growth of their economy has been […]
Most societies in Africa are leading an uphill battle in their attempt to ensure safety, good health and food security. But for African animals, it’s even worse. Poachers alone killed an estimated 100,000 elephants across Africa between 2010 and 2012, raising new concerns about the species’ survival. Poaching in Africa is huge – the term […]
The difference between a poison and a cure is the dosage – and this could be very well said about this approach. Bio-engineers report that peptides in some venoms bind to cancer cells and block tumor growth and spread and could be effectively used to fight cancer – the only problem is they might also […]
It looks like a painting from Salvador Dali – but Hallucigenia was very much real. Truly one of the most surreal creatures to ever walk the face of the planet, it was finally deciphered and understood (at least partially) by paleontologists, after 4 decades of study. The process discovered not only its position in the […]
I was reading this morning how excited some journalists were in reporting “the biggest oil discovery in decades”, and I got a little curios: how big is it? According to US oil company Apache, the field could have potentially up to 300 million barrels of oil in place – Australia gets a lot of oil, […]
“Materials for Biofuels” By Arthur J Ragauskas World Scientific Publishing Company, 380pp | Buy on Amazon Biofuels are a hot topic nowadays; once viewed as the perfect bridge towards sustainable energy and fuel, they are now regarded by some as non-sustainable, and not a desirable investment. Are biofuels the future? Is this the right, efficient […]
New research has shown that a big asteroid is well on its way to hitting Earth in 2880 - and by that I mean it has a 1 in 300 chance of actually hitting our planet, but it's still the likeliest celestial body to hit the Earth in the foreseeable future.
A comparison between the Sojourner, Spirit and Opportunity and Curiosity - how big the rovers are, how much their mission lasted (and still lasts), and what were the scientific outcomes.
Even though coal is still Germany's number one energy source, renewable energy is developing incredibly fast, with wind and solar energy catching up fast. If the trend continues, they will soon become the dominant energy source.
If you’re working in a biology lab, you may want to consider firing some of your assistants and hiring some sandcastle worms; they’re pretty good chemists, able to, among others, biosynthesize glue components they use to build the underwater tubular shelters they call home. Now, researchers are creating adhesives inspired from these chemicals that might […]
A recent study conducted by Norwegian researchers found that 8.3 per cent of the Norwegian work force is addicted to work to the point where it becomes a health issue. They show that workaholism is on the rise, and the odds are this phenomenon isn’t limited to Norway. The term workaholic has two connotations attached […]
I’ve given up on watching TV years ago – the occasional documentary or football game (guilty) once in a blue moon will do for me. But recently, there are fewer and fewer quality documentaries being shown on TV; not to say that there aren’t any awesome ones being made – there’s excellent documentaries coming out […]
This musician played the violin while he was having a brain surgery. But why? This is by no means an eccentric fad, but a genuine feat of science. By playing the instrument during surgery, professional violinist Roger Frisch was able to guide his surgeons toward the segment of his brain which was misfiring, causing him […]
