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Third of endangered saiga antelope population killed by unidentified disease

Some 120,000 critically endangered saiga antelopes were killed by a mysterious disease since mid-May in Kazakhstan, where 90% of the population lives. A third of the endangered saigas died in this sudden lapse that is still leaving veterinarians and researchers in the area scratching their heads. In the past two decades, the long-nosed antelopes went through a number of similar tragedies, both at the hand of disease and over-hunting.

Why Swiss cheese has holes (it's not the mice)

A team at Agroscope, a Swiss agricultural research center, reports what lends the Swiss cheese its uncanny hole-ridden appearance: tiny pieces of hay that find their way into the milk.

Elon Musk's Hyperloop 'might be free to passengers'

As if Elon Musk's Hyperloop project wasn't attractive enough, it just got even hotter - Dirk Ahlborn, CEO of the company running the project announced that the super-fast transportation might actually be free for passengers, as they are thinking about other types of monetisation.

Leaving the nest: early humans migrated from Africa through North, rather than South

Archaic homo sapiens left Africa, the wellspring of humanity, some 60,000 years ago migrating North, via a route passing through what is known today as Egypt, rather than South, through the Arabian Peninsula, as previously proposed. The findings were reported by an international team of researchers which used novel techniques to produce whole-genome sequences from 225 people from modern Egypt and Ethiopia (six modern Northeast African populations). This is far from the last word, but the picture the researchers paint seems to be consistent with other evidence, such as early human-made tools and human fossils found on the proposed route (Israel), and is in better agreement with what we already know about the genetic mixture of all non-Africans with Neanderthals.

Dinosaurs were warm-blooded, new study finds

New controversial research concluded that dinosaurs weren't the cold blooded lizards we tend to see them today - instead, they had much in common with mammals, and were warm blooded.

New simulation lab will help researchers better understand hurricanes

A lab from the University of Miami will be able to reproduce hurricane conditions on demand, empowering researchers to study hurricanes in a novel way.

Archaeologists find 2,400 year old gold bongs used for cannabis and opium

Two apparent bongs likely used by Scythian tribal chieftains have discovered by archaeologists in Russia. But unlike modern bongs, these ones are made of solid gold.

Creationist finds Paleocene fossils in his basement, claims they're 4,500 years old

An Alberta citizen discovered a trove of rare fossilized fish while digging up his basement. But Edgar Nernberg isn't a man who "believes" in science - instead, he claims that the fish are 4,500 years old, from Noah's flood.

Author of Gay Marriage Study Admits to Lies

A few days ago, we were telling you about a seemingly fake study on changing people’s opinions on gay marriage. Michael LaCour, a very promising grad student from UCLA apparently forged data and lied about how he got it, and the study which had been published in Science, one of the largest journals in the world, […]

Volcanic twins of the Red Sea: Sholan and Jadid

We tend to think of the planets as static, enduring, and never changing. With the average human life spanning only decades, we can be forgiven that the dimension of time in which geological processes take place goes a bit over our heads. However, recent images captured by satellites showing the birth of two volcanic islands published in a study by Nature Communications are a powerful reminder that the Earth is a planet alive under its crust as well as above.

Tattoos can cause severe adverse reactions in the skin 1 out of 10 times

One in four people in the US has a tattoo, and if you're part of this statistic you know how painful getting one can be. The problem is that, like the tattoo itself, that pain lasts and in some cases the adverse reactions caused by the foreign body, i.e. the dye, can endure for months and months at a time. This isn't something new per se, but what's surprising is how frequent this happens. Researchers at New York University asked 300 or so people in Central Park if they had a tattoo and whether they experienced anything out of the ordinary following the procedure, like redness and scarring. Almost 10% confirmed they had developed abnormal reactions. Of these 6% had itching, scaly skin and swelling , and 4% claimed they went through pain, itching and infection and these didn't stop for at least four months.

Everest glaciers might be gone thanks to global warming, new study concludes

A new study shows once again that no place on Earth is safe from the effects of climate change. Even in the heights of the Himalaya Mountains, glaciers aren't safe; there's a good chance that 99% of the glaciers around the Everest area will melt by 2100.

NASA spacecraft takes new photos of Pluto

In the past couple of months, we've posted quite a lot of articles about the New Horizons spacecraft zooming in on Pluto. It got close enough to see its moons, to see it in color, and to see it at unprecedented resolution. Now, New Horizons got even closer to Pluto and guess what - it took some even better photos.

Mice in space grow thinner skin and more hair, but how safe is micro-g for humans?

Six mice were spent 91 days on board the Internationals Space Station in 2009, or seven years in the life of a mouse. Comparing their tissue characteristics with mice living in the same conditions, only on Earth, researchers found micro-gravity induces some peculiar biological changes. For instance, the mice's skin was thinner and their hair grew more. Like humans, mice too suffer from muscle and bone atrophy in micro-gravity, which prompted scientists to consider them as reliable models for studying the effect of living in space for extended periods of time. Previously, human astronauts have complained about skin dryness and irritation and these latest findings seems to suggest that these may indeed be caused by micro-gravity.

Norway's $900 billion fund will stop investing in coal

Norway's Parliament has agreed that their sovereign energy fund should divest from investments in coal in an attempt to mitigate climate change.

Global carbon pricing schemes value climbs to $50 billion - still a trifle compared to oil subsidies

According to the World Bank, the total value of carbon pricing schemes - including emission trading schemes (ETS) and carbon taxes - has climbed to $50 billion worldwide, slightly up from the previous year. This despite Australia repealed its carbon pricing mechanism in July 2014, at the lead of prime minister Tony Abbott. In 2004 less than 1% of the world's emissions were capped or taxed. In 2005 this climbed to 5%, while in 2015 carbon pricing covered around 12% of the world's emissions according to the World Bank report. Though 50 billion might seem like a lot of money, progress is still slow. When you consider oil and gas is subsidized by $5.3 trillion a year, which basically means governments are paying to pollute, it all sounds like a joke.

Squeezing Schrödinger's cat to measure sensitive quantum states

Researchers at ETH Zurich "squeezed" the quantum states of a calcium ion to make it easily distinguishable, i.e. they measured one of its physical quantities more precisely. All while working within the confinements of Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty (as if they had a choice). The findings could prove useful for ultra-precise measurements which are particularly sensitive to unwanted external influences.

U.S. military accidentally shipped live anthrax to nine states and South Korea

A US Army laboratory in Utah accidentally shipped live samples of anthrax, prompting immediate efforts to recover the samples and make sure that no one suffers. In total, 26 people have been put in post-exposure treatment, a defense official said.

Ancient CSI: Scientists investigate 430,000 year old Murder

Anthropologists have uncovered a 430,000 year old homo skull with fatal wounds that represents the earliest identified murder case in human history.

Scientists discover pre-human species that roamed with "Lucy"

In 1974, anthropologists found a 40% complete skeleton of a female which they identified as a pre-human species; they called her Lucy.  Lucy is estimated to have lived 3.2 million years ago, she is classified as a hominin, and she is without a doubt one of the most important findings in history. Now, scientists have found […]

New research challenges aging consensus by reversing mitochondrial anomalies in 97-year-old cells

A team led by Professor Jun-Ichi Hayashi from the University of Tsukuba in Japan, known as the white lion to his students given his white hair and powerful voice, challenges the current consensus surrounding the mitochondrial theory of aging, proposing epigenetic regulation, and not genetic mutation, may be responsible for the age-related effects seen in mitochondria. When Hayashi and colleagues tested their theory, they reversed the age defects in cell lines collected from 97-year-old Japanese participants. They then singled out two genes involved in glycine production which they believed are responsible for the mitochondria reversal. The findings thus suggest that a glycine supplementation could help curb aging or age-related diseases.

Global warming has never looked so beautiful: Glowing plankton in Tasmania

Tasmania's Derwent River has put on a garb of surreal blue these past few nights as blooms of bioluminescent plankton light up the dark waters. But while photographers scramble to catch breathtaking pictures, scientists point to the more dire implications of the invasion of these tiny organisms so far south.

UN: fewer hungry people worldwide, but still a long way to go

The number of hungry people worldwide has dropped to 800 million, down from a billion more than a quarter century ago. Progress in Latin America and East Asia accounts for the massive reduction in the number of undernourished people, but the UN warns there are still many challenges that need to be overcome if world hunger is to end by 2030. The report proposes rich countries divert more of their resources to poorer environments, while vulnerable countries need to invest more in social protection schemes, incentives for rural areas and promote peace in conflict ridden countries like those in Africa.  Sub-Saharan Africa still has the highest level of undernourishment in the world - almost one in four people there do not have access to enough food.

Robo-roach and robo-bird team up to conduct recon mission

It’s almost like a Disney movie: a roach helps a bird take off from its back in order to save their friends – except both the roach and the bird are robotic, and the recon mission was just a test conducted in a lab from the University of California, Berkeley. But this technology could save lives […]

Some influential studies are "sleeping beauties", going unnoticed for decades after publishing

A study which combed through millions of research papers published over the span of a century measured their citations and found many obscure studies surfaced much later into attention and were recognized for their true worth. Typically, if a study hasn't received any citations within the first couple of years since it got published, it will likely stay as it is - forgotten and uninteresting. But this is no rule. The exception are those works of science that were ahead of their time. For instance, the statistical model the researchers employed cites one paper published by Albert Einstein and others which didn't became influential until 1994. This insight into the "science of science" will prove useful in assessing citation dynamics in general.

Last ditch effort gives endangered turtles another chance

A female Yangtze giant softshell turtle (quite possibly the last female of her species) has been given another chance to breed. She has been artificially inseminated at the Suzhou Zoo in China, in a last ditch effort to attempt to preserve her species.

Scientists 3D print eggs, trick birds into thinking they're real

It's more than just a nasty trick - scientists have actually 3D printed eggs to help them better understand bird behaviour. They were especially interested in bird perception and what particular characteristics make them identify real eggs from fake ones.

NASA presents toolkit to search for life on Jupiter's Moon Europa

Sending a probe to look for alien life is just half of the work - it's the tools you send there that will actually do the job, and NASA has decided which tools it wants to send to Jupiter's moon Europa, a place considered by many the likeliest to hold alien life.

Sturdy virus might help us treat infectious diseases

Scientists are studying a virus that survives in extremely hot environments in the hope that it will give us better ways of fighting infectious diseases.

Tinder usage caused STD spike, officials say

It's taking the world by storm, and allowing millions of people world wide to meet friends... and hook up. But for all the joy that is bringing to the world, Tinder also has its downsides - a new study reports the app has actually led to an increase of STD incidence.

Key protein that prevents Ebola outbreak found. Preventive vaccine now in works

A breakthrough study confirmed what scientists have long suspected: Ebola attaches itself to a singular, "gateway" protein to infect hosts. When mice were genetically engineered to lack the protein, these failed to become infected. Though extremely early, these promising results suggest Ebola outbreaks could be contained using vaccines that inhibit the protein either to stop the spread or prevent infection altogether. Nine out of ten infected Ebola patients die, and last year was the worst outbreak in history killing more than 11,000 people in Africa in official numbers, and likely twice as much in reality.

First Hyperloop ever will be built in California

With the Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. signing a deal to build the first test track in California, Elon Musk's "fifth mode of transport", the Hyperloop, took its first big step from the realm of geeky to the concrete. Work on building the track is set to begin next year.

Bad Science - Study on Gay Marriage Was Fake, Gets Retracted

The scientific community is in shock after one of the largest scientific publishers, Science, was forced to retract a study on gay marriage; the reason? The data on which it was based was almost certainly fake.

Ecstasy might be used to relieve Anxiety in Autistic adults in new clinical trial

Some researchers are considering a pilot treatment that involves MDMA, the active psychoactive ingredient in ecstasy pills, to help adults diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) ooze out anxiety. ASD adults typically report difficulties in bonding with other people and often feel nervous in a social setting. Though illegal in the United States, MDMA has been recently explored for psychotherapeutic purposes with promising results reported in battling addiction or post traumatic stress disorder. If it receives approval - and there's a great deal of paperwork that needs to be filled before they get the green light - this would make it the first MDMA-assisted therapy for the treatment of social anxiety in autistic adults.

Wearable FES-robot hybrid eases stroke recovery

Hong Kong PolyU has designed a new FES (functional electrical stimulation)-robot hybrid that promises to ease recovery of mobility in stroke victims.

Panther chameleon is a biological ninja

Scientists have discovered what they thought to a different species of chameleon - but DNA analysis revealed that they were in fact dealing with 11 different species, hiding in plain sight.

Scientists make single-molecule diode: the farthest we can go with electronic minituarization

A team at Columbia University School of Engineering designed a new kind of diode comprised of a single molecule capable of halting or releasing current (a diode is basically a valve) that is 50 times better than previous molecular diode attempts. The breakthrough was its novel design: a clever tweaking of the tiny diode's environment, and not the molecule's structure itself as previously described. Though the currents involved are genuinely tiny, it might be enough to make this the first molecule-sized diode worthy of real world applications. Other universities and labs around the world also demonstrated working molecular resistors, switches or transistors. Together, all of these form the basis of a new kind of nano-circuitry that's as miniaturized as it can get. Already, these sort of circuits are plagued by the uncertainties and challenges that follow at the quantum scale. But can we build electronics even smaller than this? it's unfathomable at this point, but imagination must not succumb. Somewhere, there's a common ground between fantasy and reality, and who knows what we'll get

Galapagos islands' Wolf volcano erupts, threatening unique pink iguanas

This Monday morning, a volcano perched on one of Ecuador's Galapagos islands erupted spewing lava on its side and dark plume overhead. The Wolf shiled volcano is the highest peak in the Galapagos Islands, reaching 1,707 m. Wolf is situated at the northern end of Isabela Island in the Galapagos, which is barely populated. The authorities have indeed confirmed that the population isn't at risk, however the local, richly diverse fauna is another thing. The tiny island is the only place in the world that the pink iguana calls home.

UAE moves to space: new space agency, academic programs and Mars mission in 2020

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Monday its strategic framework for a newly established space agency, and also the first academic space program in the federation. The Space Research Center will be the first of its kind in the Middle East, as will be a graduate degree program in Advanced Space Science at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology and Orbital ATK Inc. What's the federation's end game, though? Last year, UAE announced it will launch an orbiting probe around Mars in 2020. Is it all about scientific missions or, like Dubai's towering skyscrapers, merely a show of force, of grandeur? Apparently, it's part science, part showoff, part money. It's hard to tell at this point which weighed more when UAE first considered its new space agency and subsequent missions.

Millions of public domain photos turned into beautiful time lapse videos by Google

There are millions and millions of photos under the public domain, and no doubt for some these can be nothing short of a gold mine. For instance, some scientists could find them most useful to compare things like glacial retreat or deforestation with what we're seeing today or with results generated by models. Shifting through such a catalog is no easy feat, though. Almost mockingly, Google not only shows that this isn't half as challenging as it may seem, but also manages to turn image processing and sorting code into spectacular works of art. Using millions of photos scrapped from social networks like Flickr or Picasa, Goggle engineers made an algorithm that stitches them together to make 10,000 timelapse videos. Some are so accurate that you wouldn't think for a moment each frame is actually a photo taken by some random, different person. Quite amazing, and a nice demonstration of what can be achieved in the future using other, much older data sets.

Robot learns by doing. Starts off plain stupid, then grows smarter - just like us

Using a novel deep learning algorithm, a team at UC Berkeley demonstrated a robot that learns on the fly and performs various tasks that weren't pre-programmed. It starts off shy and clumsy, but eventually gets the ahead of it. For instance, after it stomped a bit around its environment, when given a new task, but with no further instructions, the robot learned by itself to assemble LEGO bricks or twist caps onto pill bottles.

LHC back in business after two year hiatus: already breaks record

Two years ago, following the discovery of the Higgs boson - heralded as one of the greatest scientific achievements of this century - the Large Hadron Collider at CERN was shut down for much needed maintenance and upgrades. A few days ago, the massive particle accelerator was shifted into gear and powered up. The first test run wasn't only successful, it set a new record by producing collision energies of around 13 trillion electron-volts. The highest speed that was previously achieved was of only 6.5 TeV. More tests will be made throughout the remainder of this month and June.

Obese teens are much more susceptible to junk food commercials, brain scans reveal

It's no secret that TV food commercials stimulate pleasure and reward centers in the brain, after all advertisers wouldn't pay big money for them to air if they didn't entice people to order more. In fact, food advertising has increased dramatically over the past 30 years. Teenagers are exposed on average to 13 food commercials on any given day. At the same time, childhood and adolescent obesity in the US has been on the rise fast and worrisome, so we can't help but notice the connection. Now, researchers at Dartmouth found overweight teens are disproportionately affected by TV food commercials, as key brain regions that control pleasure, taste and - most surprisingly - the mouth are all much more stimulated than those teens with less body fat. The findings are important since they suggest overweight teens exposed to this kind of environment will experience further difficulties when they try to lose weight. A further insight is that dietary plans should also target subsequent thinking concerning eating food, not just the temptation.

Nasty, cannibal star reveals cosmic secrets

Astronomers have captured a glimpse in the life of a massive star, a brief transitory stage in its evolution that might reveal the secrets of a unique class of stars. It’s called Nasty1, a name derived from its catalogue name, NaSt1; but the name is quite fitting, considering that the star itself has a pretty erratic […]

Spectacular solar halo seen in Mexico [with explanation... and memes]

A stunning round solar halo caused a social media frenzy - people were out in the streets, taking photos, sharing them, while scientists were also excited to see such a rare phenomenon. But what are solar halos, and why did this one appear in Mexico?

Bronze Age Priestess Traveled Huge Distances

In 1921, archaeologists found the remains of a Bronze Age priestess, dubbed the Egtved Girl. Now, a new study reveals that the priestess, who was found in Denmark, likely traveled hundreds of kilometers and was born somewhere in Germany. The Egtved Girl was, according to all clues, an extraordinary person. She only lived to be […]

Ocean trek reveals the massive diversity of the oceanic plankton [with photos]

In what's perhaps one of the most amazing marine science study, a team of researchers scoured the world's oceans fishing for microbes, viruses and other tiny life during a three and a half year trip aboard a schooner. The trip was long and arduous for sure, but ultimately it paid out - big time! The team collected 35,000 samples at 210 stations over the voyage, and found 35,000 species of bacteria, 5,000 new viruses and 150,000 single-celled plants and creatures. Most of these are new to science. Only a small fraction of the newly discovered and known species alike had been genetically sequenced, but results so far show just how interconnected and symbiotic marine life is. It also means it's also vulnerable in the face of environmental changes, particularly climate change.

Even more glaciers in Antarctica set to melt in the near future

Just a few days ago were telling you about a huge, 10,000 year old ice shelf that is set to collapse in less than 10 years and now... the same thing is happening again, a bit more to the south.

Constructive noncompliance - when citizens disobey the laws... and it's a good thing

When citizens stop complying with the laws, it's generally a bad thing - laws are there for a reason, and not respecting the laws carries negative consequences - for the people involved, and for social order. But what if, consciously or not, citizens are actually disobeying the laws in order to enact positive changes? A new MIT study found that sometimes, that's exactly the case.

Massive MIT study says solar is the future, but governments need to be supportive

A massive study conducted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology concluded that solar has the most chances to meet our planet's long term energy demands, while also reducing greenhouse emissions. However, governments should be more supportive of the industry's development.

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