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In a study published Monday in the journal Scientific Reports, researchers from the University of Queensland caution that the surge in scarlet fever cases may pose an unexpected threat.
The study recorded the biological responses (a fancy wording for arousal) of a sample of 345 women who watched videos of nude males and females. And the data is quite surprising: 82% of participants responded sexually to both men and women.
The fossils were discovered in the Parnaiba Basin of north-eastern Brazil, and are some 278 million years old, corresponding to the Permian period, when all the continents we know today were still fused together.
All models of particle physics are based on the mundane assumption that matter and anti-matter are indistinguishable, but we can't be sure. Luckily, an experiment at Brookhaven National Lab seems to confirm this basic caveat of particle physics after it found the attractive forces between antiprotons are the same as those seen in regular matter.
ZME Science reported earlier that Exxon Mobil might be liable for a RICO case similar to tobacco companies for withholding information about the risks of climate change and actively seeking to manipulate public opinion to favor its business. Now, a NY Times article reports New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman is investigating the oil & gas company on suspicion that the company failed to mention critical information to its investors about the risks of climate change. A subpoena was issued on Wednesday evening to Exxon Mobil, demanding extensive financial records, emails and other documents.
NASA figured out how Mars transformed from a lush environment to a red desert.
Scientists have discovered a new chemical that could reverse cataracts, one of the leading causes of blindness.
When one-year-old Layla Richards, from London, was diagnosed with an aggressive strain of leukaemia, the word 'incurable' struck like a hammer.
According to recently released data from Chinese authorities, the country is burning out even more than previously thought
Illegal marijuana farms often spray the vicinity of their crops with rodenticides to exterminate pests that lurk about and compromise the plants. The farmers will most often than sprinkle the rat poison on delicious treats like peanut butter or bacon to attract the rodents and kept them away from their precious cannabis. It's not just rats that fall for it though. Red foxes, spotted owls and, sadly, the endangered weasel-like fishers. According to a new study published in PLoS One, one in ten fishers die because of rodenticide ingestion from illegal marijuana farms.
"Any cars that are being made that don’t have full autonomy will have negative value. It will be like owning a horse," Musk said.
In what can only be called a medical oddity, doctors in Columbia found that a man's lung tumor wasn't actually caused by human cancer cells, but those of a parasite. Apparently, due to the patient's weakened immune system, cells from the parasite leached into the rest of the body and eventually developed into cancer. This is the very first reported case of a patient sick with cancer sourced from outside the body. It's literally alien cancer.
From Dec. 14, NASA is opening applications for its new astronaut crew. The minimal requirements aren't that strict, but as you might imagine to make the cut you'll have to prove you're better than a stellar class of applicants.
Using a newly-developed production method, the Institute of Industrial Science at Tokyo University succeeded in producing a type of glass that rivals steel in hardness. The new material opens huge developmental lanes for any glass and glass-related product, from tableware to bulletproof glass.
The Scottish government announced that it approved the construction of UK's first, and the world's largest floating offshore wind farm.
A meta-analysis of 53 weight-loss studies spanning over several decades and focusing on 68,000 people found that weight loss have a very low impact - if any.
The NPR was recently investigating into records pertaining to secret experiments and found the names of nearly 4,000 individuals that were exposed to mustard gas. The names are joined by a further 1,700 individuals that the NPR could only find a "last known location" for.
NASA just loves to hype up its announcements, but so far, they've never disappointed.
Backed by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, an Artificial Intelligence institute has launched a new, innovative and perhaps most importantly - free, science search engine.
Tyrannosaurus was one of the fiercest land predators ever, despite claims that the dinosaur was mostly a scavenger. While this is true to a degree, T-Rex was most definitely a hunter at heart even though the predator might have munched on a carcass or two from time to time. Apparently, the dinosaur even ate its own kind, a new study suggests.
The pineapple is the second most grown fruit crop behind bananas, with 85 countries producing about 25 million metric tons each year. It's sweet, exotic, tasty. Most people love it. But there's more to the pineapple than meets the eye. It's one of the most drought resistant crops out there, and scientists have now finally identified the genes that make the pineapple so resilient. By genetically engineering similar crops that share a genetic history with the pineapple it's possible to lend its drought resistance, and thus help curb the stress these face at the hand of global warming.
NASA recently celebrated 15 years of continuous habitation on the International Space Station. During this time, the ISS and other satellites brought us an inestimable trove of information, pushing forth our understanding of the planet by a wide margin. Let’s have a look at some of these accomplishments. Detecting the ozone hole Monitoring the ozone hole […]
A new study has found that by the age of 5, children already have a sense of self-esteem comparable in strength to that of adults.
Just like an ecosystem inhabits an area, so to is your skin inhabited by a swarm of micro-organisms - including viruses.
It's no secret that people nowadays spend most of their time indoors. In high-income countries, as many as 66% of jobs are in the service sector. If you fall in this category, you most likely work in an office environment, which might seem benign enough and boring, of course. However, not all office buildings are built the same. The various materials and furnishings can not only affect your performance at work, but also our health. A new study published in the journal Environmental Health Reports quantified the effects of air quality and found employees working in environments with minimum pollutants in the air performed up to twice as better on cognitive tests.
A new study from the University of California looks at the link between the bonding hormone oxytocin and the effect of marijuana in social contexts that improve interpersonal bonding. Their findings offer insight into how the hormone could make social interactions more fulfilling and satisfying by enhancing our natural cannabinoid receptors.
It's a remarkable landmark for the International Space Station (ISS) - it's been successfully orbiting the Earth for 15 years.
Saturn's moon Titan has some odd similarities to Earth: it has clouds, lakes and rain, except they're made of methane and ethane.
A study published by British researchers caused a storm among biologists; the question on everyone's lips - do chimps have accents?
The world of robotics is extremely exciting. Everyday we come closer to building R2-D2, Terminators, and the Iron Giant. The days of having a Betamax, our “personal healthcare assistant” are even closer still, thanks to robotics in healthcare.
The tiny mollusk measures only 0.033 inches (0.86 mm) on average.
Like all living beings, plants also have natural defense mechanisms in the form of spikes, stings and thorns to protect themselves from animals. Some of the plants are as dangerous as snakes or spiders are, this is to deter animals from touching them. In fact, many deadly poisonous plants grow in our own yards or neighborhoods, […]
For decades, scientists have been discussing about the possibility of a clean, virtually inexhaustible source of energy – and they still are. But with the work of researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Plasma Physics, that may soon change, and the way we think of energy might change. After over 1.1 million construction hours, they […]
A new finding is sending waves throughout the marine biology community: Omura's whale, a whale so rare that researchers weren't even sure if it exists anymore
Havana lawyer, Dr Fidel Castro, in Washington DC, 1959. (Wikipedia) Besides sunshine and sugar cane, what has Cuba got? It looks like the USA is serious about letting Americans party along Havana’s beaches and carry home a cigar or two. For two generations, two of the continent’s closest neighbours have been estranged with nary a […]
Usually, when we hear something about IndieGoGo, we're excited; it's either an innovative product, a service, or something awesome. Not this time.
It was exciting at first when Russia announced that six female astronauts would live in a spacecraft in Moscow for eight days, but it went downhill fast.
Our solar system likely had a fifth gas giant in its initial configuration, but the planet was ejected by Jupiter a new study suggests.
A new model of a spectrometer was unveiled by Australian national nuclear research and development organisation. But this one is made of LEGOs.
The Finnish Social Insurance Institution, Kela, is currently drawing plans for a nation-wide implementation of basic income.
Changes in surface height as measured by satellite altimeters suggest the Antarctic peninsula is experiencing a net gain of ice cover. The analysis suggests Antarctic ice sheet showed a net gain of 112 billion tons of ice a year from 1992 to 2001. However, this net gain slowed to 82 billion tons of ice per year between 2003 and 2008. Some parts the peninsula experienced substantial ice cover gain (East Antarctica), while other parts showed evidence of ice discharge (West Antarctica).
Cod fisheries around the US, and especially in the Gulf of Maine have reached catastrophic levels - only 3% of sustainable levels.
Researchers at MIT have developed a device that can track human silhouettes behind walls using Wi-Fi.
The concepts of biodiversity and evolution are generally thought of as something that occurs in thousands, maybe millions of years - but every once in a while, scientists catch a species red handed: evolving, becoming a new species.
Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, scientists from the universities of Michigan and Pennsylvania scanned the brains of 50 smokers while they viewed anti-smoking ads. They recorded their neural activity spikes as they watched the sample of 40 images one at a time, looking for increase activity in the medial prefrontal cortex, the area that handles decision making processes.
Ahh, the phallus. In most sexually-reproductive species, half of the individuals lack one, while the other half is constantly trying to share theirs as much as possible with the first group, with varying degrees of success -- bragging, fighting or impressing their way to the continuation of the species. Marvelous!
For the second time this year, however, the desert bloomed as thousands of dormant species of flowers and plants awoke after El Niño brought a rainy boom to the region.
Russia is locking up six women together to simulate a trip to the moon and back. But no one is taking this too seriously, it seems.
After using relaxation-response technique, such as yoga, meditation and even prayer, participants involved in a study coordinated by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) solicited health care services 43% less frequently. The researchers involved in the study say simply learning how to relax to fend off anxiety and depression -second only to cancer and heart diseases in terms of health care costs - might significantly reduce the strain on the health care system. As such, more wide spread use of relaxation-response techniques could free up immense resources that can be diverted for chronic diseases.
It seems bees may suffer from the same drowsy morning moods and weary fatigued afternoons as their human cousins. And it may be similarly cured with a jolt of joe.
