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Using estimates of how many people are involved in some of the major alleged conspiracies, one scientist modeled how long it would take for them to be revealed to the public.
Some 2,000 years ago, there were only 170 million people in the whole planet. How did we get to 7 billion?
A general trend was found: those animals with the highest brain/body size ratio were better at solving a problem they had never seen before.
Researchers at European Space Agency (ESA) collected fungi that live in one of the harshest places on Earth -- McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica -- then shipped some to the ISS. Here, populations were subjected to both a Martian environment and directly exposed to space. In both situations, fungi survived after 18 months though those breeding in the Martian environment proved to be far better adapted. Lichen were also tested under the same circumstances. These too survived, which gives hope that there might be a chance for life on Mars to exist.
A German astrophysicist decoded ancient Babylonian tablets stuffed with computations. His analysis reveals that these were used by the ancient scholars to predict where and when Jupiter would show up in the night's sky based on abstract computations so advanced they're indispensable to modern science. It's thought analytical geometry was invented at Oxford in the 14th century, but it seems the Babylonians had it covered more than 1,400 years earlier.
Considering how inhospitable Mars is, given there's no air, -55C temperatures, radiation and all, you might think the quality of sleep on Mars is our last concern. A new study suggests that a permanent jet lag on Mars might come with some serious health risks, so maybe we should take this more seriously.
Here we go again. A new study which investigated so-called addictive effects of food got picked up by the media with moronic headlines. The study in question found similar pharmacokinetic properties (e.g. concentrated dose, rapid rate of absorption) between highly processed foods and drug of abuse. The most rewarding food was found to be pizza, but in fact the researchers found cheese is actually the proxy. Apparently, cheese contains a concentrated amount of a protein known to bind to opiate receptors in the brain. Unsurprisingly, here are some of the headlines we've seen since: "Cheese really is like crack: Study reveals the food triggers the same part of the brain as drugs" (Daily Mail) or "Cheese really is crack. Study reveals cheese is as addictive as drugs" (LA Times). It goes without saying that cheese is not crack, and such headlines could be actually demeaning to crack addicts.
Right now coal accounts for 39% of all the world's generated electricity, with gas coming in second but still trailing behind at 22%. King coal is dying though, as ZME Science reported earlier. In less than 15 years, the International Energy Agency estimates renewable energy will become the dominant energy source in the world. Moreover, these estimates are conservative since the report assumes many coal plants will still be online in 2030, which is unlikely.
Marine biologists study microbes in the waters above natural oil seeps in the Gulf of Mexico stumbled upon something unexpected. They found phytoplankton, tiny organisms that comprise the bottom of the marine food chain, thrive in waters with low concentration oil. In some cases, the population is double that a couple miles off the oil seep sites.
Astronomers find the parent of an orphan planet. The finding makes the solar system the biggest in the galaxy.
A team at University of British Columbia claims that a type of clay found northwest of Vancouver is effective against a dangerous class of drug-resistant bacteria. The clay investigated by the Canadian researchers destroyed the ESKAPE germs, in some instances in less than 5 hours. Furthermore, the clay is completely natural and no toxic side-effects have been reported thus far.
Water pollution is a big issue, and so far there isn't one single system capable of reliably filtering toxic heavy metals. These are either too small, or selectively filter certain metals when polluted water often contains a mix. Researchers at ETH Zurich claim they've hit a breakthrough. Using cheap, readily available materials they designed a filter that can retain over 99% concentration of mercury, gold cyanide or toxic potassium, to name a few. It can also absorb radioactive waste and help recycle gold.
'Don't judge a book by its cover' right about sums up the Human Library Project. The concept is simple, but very powerful: instead of checking out books, you sit with a random stranger for half an hour and listen to his life story. Titles include Child Of The Holocaust Survivors, The Gypsy Tale, Iraq War Veteran, or Orphanage Boy. Just like a book, you'll be exposed to a unique experience, only you'll also interact with the author, ask questions and learn much more.
Before WWII, there weren't that many plastics around. Today, we use so much that we could literally plaster the planet in one giant clingfilm. A paper published in the journal Anthropocene reviews the state of plastic production, use and pollution and concludes that no place on Earth has been spared.
In a time when a barrel of oil can cost less than a ... barrel, the EV market suffers. Market leader Tesla Motors saw its shares take a dive this month after it reported sales in the bottom range of its forecast for the 2015 fourth quarter. So, how can Tesla, Nissan or any other player in the EV space right now protect themselves against fluctuating oil prices. When the price is high, the EV market flourishes and, conversely, goes down with oil that sells for pennies. Tesla's boss, Elon Musk, has this covered: he wants to make electric cars that are so exceptional that you won't care anymore about how much a full tank costs.
When the researchers analyzed some of the most cited contrarian climate change papers -- by other scientists or in the media -- they found these were riddled with methodological errors and not one one of them stood to scrutiny.
Researchers found a way to manipulate single cells in three dimensions using sound waves. They devised acoustic tweezers that can position minute particles or cells anywhere within the fluid enclosure without touching, altering, deforming or labeling the particles in any way. The resolution or accuracy is between 1-2 micrometers. Work like this might enable us to design tissue implants which faithfully mimic the human tissues or organs destined to be replaced. Other methods, like 3D biological printing, alter or even destroy cells keeping them from functioning the way they ought to.
Oddly enough, one study found being more lenient with return deadlines actually reduced returns, not increased them. With this in mind, 90 days returns might be a lot more productive for retailers than the standard 30 or 60 most use.
An altered periodic table that shows how each elements was forged.
The Namib Desert Beetle lives in one of the most inhospitable and driest places on Earth, in the southwest coast of Africa. The beetle, however, employs a nifty trick: it can virtually make water out of thin air, thanks to its body whose geometry collects water droplets and directs them right into the insect's mouth. Now, engineers have adapted this design to keep ice bridges from forming and keep critical aircraft components freeze-free.
A new study by Oxford researchers suggests that we all would like to maximize our profits, it's just that some simply don't understand the rules of the game. In other words, they act altruistic because they don't know how to be selfish, which in effect doesn't make them altruistic at all.
A groundbreaking research out of the Salk Institute suggests synapses are 10 times bigger in the hippocampus. Conversely, this means the memory capacity is 10 times larger than previously thought, given synapse size is directly related to memory. Moreover, the team found these synapses adjust in size constantly. Ever 20 minutes, synapses grow bigger or smaller adjusting themselves for optimal neural connectivity. The clues could prove paramount to developing artificial intelligence or computers that are more akin to the human brain: phenomenal computing power using minimal energy input.
Finnish and American scientist made knots out of solitary waves, or knot solitons. This was the first time this was demonstrated possible, though theoretically predicted for decades. These sort of knots are thought to play an important role in the quantum-mechanical foundations of nature, though these have remained elusive in quantum dynamics.
Plastic bags, bottle caps and plastic fibres are among the myriad of micro plastic debris that wash out into the Pacific Ocean. These get ingested by the marine life like fish, mammals and birds which are dying from choking, intestinal blockage and starvation. Moreover, some are toxic pollutants that are absorbed, transported, and consumed in the food chain eventually reaching humans. The most effective way to contain microplastics is to raise floating nets around Asia's coats, not around the Great Pacific Garbage patch, researchers reckon.
Using cutting edge technology, scientists are now surveying the Great Pyramids of Giza to unravel new clues and maybe find hidden chambers.
Computers at the University of Missouri hooked up to a special software that hunts for primes found the largest yet: a behemoth 22 million digits long.
Why would you eat snow in the first place? Because it's fun and harmless. It's free ice cream. A new study, however, suggests snow isn't as pure as we care to think. Being colder, the temperature gradient leads noxious pollutants expelled from the tails of vehicles to become absorbed by the snow, and in your organism if you decide to eat it. That being said, if you're having fun in the park, it's better not to eat it. We don't know yet how harmful this is, but ingesting benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylenes mustn't be good.
They're basically the opposite of claustrophobic.
Geckos are the largest animals able to scale walls. They use the same mechanism as spiders and hundreds of other animals able to do so: through tiny hairs on their pads that adhere to surfaces due to molecular force interactions. But why isn't there an animal bigger than the gecko that can cling to windows and walls? For that matter, why isn't there any Spiderman?
Scientists are experimenting with a novel mechanism that destroys harmful bacteria that uses light-activated nanoparticles. These are called quantum dots and are typically used by the semi-conductor industry, in solar cells and other applications. When specifically tweaked in size and composition, these tiny particles interact with cells and kill over 90% of bacteria.
After they studied how much man-made heat got sucked by the world's oceans in the past 150 years, researchers found the heat content doubled since 1997. In other words, the oceans absorbed just as much heat in the past 20 years or so as they did in the prior 130 years. There's more bad news. The rate at which oceans soaked the heat rose sharply since the 2000s and hasn't faltered since. This can only mean a re-doubling that comes with unforeseeable consequences in the coming decades.
When he was only 13 years old, Scott Persons was led to a sandstone slope right next to the Glenrock Paleon Museum, Wyoming. The museum's curator gently brushed away at an intended spot and soon enough three uncanny dinosaur tracks revealed themselves to Persons, who was dumbstruck at the sight. Many years later, Persons -- now a doctoral student in paleontology -- returned to the site, studied it extensively along with colleagues and made a scientific report of the three dinosaur tracks carved in the stone by the eons. As it turns out, these findings belong to a tyrannosaur and are absolutely unique.
Wikipedia celebrates 15 years of feeding eager minds with knowledge and helping undergraduates turn reports on time. To mark the occasion, the website was gracious enough to post some interesting stats, among which its most edited entries. Eight years since he left office, George W. Bush tops the list to this day with 45,862 edits since the list was compiled by Wikipeda last week suggesting he's maybe the most controversial public person in recent history.
Those suffering of migraine headaches reported these occurred less frequently after they were prescribed medical marijuana. The study made by a team at the Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus is the first to show marijuana actually turned down the knob on migraines.
Tatarenko Vladimir Nikolaevich, a Russian inventor, has designed an audacious new safety mechanism for airplanes: a detachable passenger and cargo cabin that springs away from the aircraft in case of emergency. Once unhooked, the cabin deploys parachutes that safely touch down the cabin on land or water.
There's a now a third private space entity that's been screened and granted permission to ferry cargo to and fro the International Space Station. Joining SpaceX and Orbital will be the Sierra Nevada Corp. which plans to use a reusable winged craft that looks like a mini-shuttle. The design allows for a soft landing on a runway, instead of dropping the ocean, that might prove more effective for retrieving sensitive scientific instruments.
Researchers at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) surveyed hunter-gather communities in Africa and South America which practice a traditional lifestyle thousands of years old and found they slept an average of six hours and 25 minutes per night.
Though incandescent light bulbs have been used to light homes for more than a hundreds years, and still do so in most of the world, these are ridiculously inefficient. This has prompted many governments to completely phase-them out, among which the E.U., Australia, Canada, Russian, as well as the United States. Their place has been taken over by fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), and the even more efficient LEDs. A team at MIT, however, has a bright idea that might revamp the unfavored bulbs. They've designed a new sort of incandescent bulb that uses a photonic crystal to recycle the waste energy. The resulting bulbs could be more power and light efficient than anything on the market right now.
Elon Musk is a man of bold claims, but he also walks the talk.
Researchers from Columbia Engineering and the Georgia Institute of Technology report the first experimental proof of piezoelectricity and the piezotronic effect in an atomically thin material, molybdenum disulfide (MoS2). This makes it the thinnest electrical generator in the world. The resulting generator is optically transparent, extremely light weight, as well as very bendable and stretchable. In the future, such generators could be used to power extremely tiny devices harnessing energy from the environment, be them remote sensors or nanotech that travels through your bloodstream.
Agriculture is a very risky line of work since its inevitable once in a while extreme weather will take a huge toll on the crop yields. This is common knowledge, but the quantitative impact of droughts and heat waves has only recently been investigated in great detail. A paper published in Nature by researchers at University of British Columbia found droughts cut a country’s total crop yield by 10 percent, and heat waves by 9 percent. Floods and cold spells oddly did not affect crop production in a significant way. These effects vary from country to country and another surprising finding is that crops in developed countries suffer up to twice as many losses than those in developing countries.
According to the United Nations, 20 to 40 percent of fresh food is thrown away by farmers because they don't look as appetizing as they should to sell. Besides looking a bit crooked, twisted or shrugged, these fruits and vegetables are perfectly edible and taste no different than the perfectly shaped ones you're always on the lookout for in the supermarket.
When faced with a risky decision, like gambling, some people falter and become very cautions, while others get super excited. As it happens, this trait of character may be determined by the strength of the connection between key brain areas of the brain. It's not only drugs that cause addiction -- gambling is psychologically addictive and can be just as dangerous as substance abuse. Three to five gamblers out of every hundred struggles with a gambling problem and as many as 750,000 young people, ages 14 to 21 has a gambling addiction. The findings might help therapists devise better measures. At the same time, using brain scans doctors can finally see whether their patients are making any progress.
The indispensable chemical mixture that allows the industry to fracture rock and release the gas trapped inside looks almost like a black box. More than 1,000 chemicals are used in the fracking fluid, but a paper published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology found toxicity information was lacking for 76% of them. In other words, these could be harmless or dangerous. There's no way to know at this point. Concerning the rest -- about 240 substances -- the researchers found evidence that suggests reproductive toxicity for 103 (43%), developmental toxicity for 95 (40%), and both for 41 (17%).
It's always annoying.
Some 50,000 years ago Homo sapiens, Neanderthals and Denisovans co-existed, mingled and interbred. While only the human lineage exists today, these inter-species third degree meetings left a permanent mark on our genome. For instance, an ancient human who lived in what is today Romania had 9% Neanderthal DNA. Today, most Europeans and Asians have between 1 to 4 percent Neanderthal DNA.
The prevailing assumption is that mothers who birth more children live short lives due to accelerated biological aging. Researchers turn this historical thinking upside down after they found having more offspring actually prolongs the life of mothers and slows down cellular degradation.
Birds are literally dinosaurs, so many scientists suspect millions of years ago dinosaurs shared similar courtship tactics like fancy plumage or complex dances to impress potential mates. While fossils can teach us so much about how dinosaurs looked and, in some instances, behaved (herd behavior, diet, hunting patterns etc.), inferences on mating rituals have been speculations at best thus far. A paper published in Scientific Reports offers some of the first tantalizing evidence that supports the idea that dinosaurs indeed employed similar courtship displays to modern birds. The researchers at University of Colorado, Denver found tracks etched into sandstone surfaces to create nest displays, hoping to attract a female to mate with. These scrapes are one of a kind, found nowhere else in the world.
hinese drone making company Ehang recently showed off one of the most impressive contraptions at the CES convention in Las Vegas: a manned drone. It can fly as high as 11,500 feet, top speed of 63mph and a range of 20 minutes worth of powered flight. It can fit one person and a small backpack. It looks and sounds impressive, but is the world ready for it? For sure no, but the prospects for the future already sound appealing. Finally, the age The Jetsons foretold might finally be nigh.
Schistosoma mansoni might not as famous as other nasty parasitic worms like flatworms or roundworms, but outside the U.S. this pesky bugger infests more than 200 million people. Symptoms range from rash to organ damage to paralysis. For years, patients have had to rely on drugs that ward off the infection, but for remote or communities in the developing world this may be out of the question. There's a widely available remedy found almost anywhere in the world though, according to Egyptian researchers. And it's so cheap that it literally grows in the ground: garlic.
