Science on ZME Science

EU Meeting underway in Brussels hints of Divided Interests

European Union leaders are currently meeting in Brussels to discuss the terms under which the Union will set its 2030 energy targets. Right now on the table, the plan is to cut CO2 emissions by 40% from 1990 levels by raising energy efficiency and the renewable energy slice. Such a convention is never without compromise, however. […]

Algorithm predicts the Price of Bitcoin - Developers Double Their Investment in 50 Days

A team at MIT has developed a prediction algorithm that allows them to determine when the price of the infamous volatile cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, will drop or rise. Using this method, the researchers managed to double their initial investment in 50 days, all through an automated process that involved more than 2,800 transactions. Money forecast Since the […]

Humans first interbred with Neanderthals at least 50,000 Years Ago

Following the genome sequence of the oldest modern human remains outside of Africa using the most refined DNA analysis to data, scientists believe they arrived at a more price time frame when humans and Neanderthals first interbred – sometimes between 50,000 and 60,000 years ago. The findings also suggest modern humans arrived in northern Eurasia substantially earlier […]

Over half of 2007-2012 published research is now available for free

More than half of all peer-reviewed studies published between 2007 and 2012 are now available, for free, on the internet, for everyone to access. The results were published in a report made by the European Commission. The report is part of the European Commission’s effort to monitor the evolution of scientific data availability. “A substantial part […]

Tractor beam smashes existing records

A team of scientists has managed to develop a tractor beam which can pull and push objects over 20 cm – 100 times more than previous records. There are a myriad of potential applications for this kind of research, including studying atmospheric pollutants or retrieving delicate particles of material for examination. “Recent advances in lightwave technology […]

Texas chief toxicologist: No need for smog regulations, just stay indoor

Dr. Michael Honeycutt, the top toxicologist in the state of Texas argued that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) shouldn’t tighten smog rules because there would be little to no health benefit. “Ozone is an outdoor air pollutant because systems such as air conditioning remove it from indoor air,” he argues on a blog post on […]

Your Taste in Music Might Reveal How Dumb (or Smart) You Are

Virgil Griffith, a student at Caltech, embarked on a most interesting project to seek whether there’s any connection between the music you enjoy and, uhm, your intellectual abilities. Griffith used aggregated Facebook data about the favorite bands among students of various colleges and plotted them against the average SAT scores at those schools. This allowed him […]

More than 23,000 Ebola Cases in 2014, According to Estimates

This year the world saw the worst Ebola outbreak on record with more reported cases than in all the past years combined. Much more. The latest update from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports 9,178 patients, of which 4546 have died. The actual number of people infected with Ebola is actually much larger, […]

What the World looks like when the Internet is asleep

There are over 4 billion IP addresses registered all over the globe and this number is constantly growing as developing countries get wired and more people use smartphones and tablets. The internet isn’t the same all over the world (yet) and activity heavily fluctuates from day to night. A new study mapped the world’s internet […]

Natural gas is not a clean energy bridge, further studies find

A trio of newly published studies showed once again that natural gas is not a clean energy bridge – the studies highlighting the various problems associated with natural gas. Firstly, it was shown that emissions databases underestimate the methane released from fossil-fuel extraction in the U.S. Southwest. “A global gas boom is not a replacement for […]

Goby fish hide in plain sight by changing their colors

When you think about changing colors, the word ‘chameleon’ usually comes to mind. But there are other animals which can change their colors – the mimic octopus is the most noteworthy example, and there’s also the fish that mimics the mimic octopus. Now, researchers have found yet another fish which can change its color – the […]

Earth’s magnetic field could flip within a human lifetime

Geologists have known for quite a while that the Earth’s magnetic field has flipped many times throughout the planet’s history. Its dipole magnetic field, like that of a bar magnet maintains the same intensity, but for unknown reason(s), it sometimes becomes weaker and changes polarity. Now, a new study has showed that this phenomenon could happen much […]

Just 1 in 10 Alpine Rivers still flow Today

The Alps may seem like a paradise, but the environmental situation is extremely dire. Just one in ten rivers are healthy enough to maintain water supply and to cope with climate impacts according to a report by WWF. The study is the first ever to take a look at all the Alpine rivers. The choked […]

Researchers make 32 differently-shaped DNA crystals - is this the Future of Nanotech?

A team at Harvard’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering demonstrated the latest advances in programmable DNA self-assembly by crystallizing 32 structures with precisely prescribed depths and complex 3D features. The DNA crystals could potentially be used as the basis of a programmable material platform that would allow scientists to build extremely precise and complex […]

Only Six Northern White Rhinos left in the World

Suni, a 37-year-old northern white rhino and only the second male of his kind left in the world, died recently of natural causes in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy reserve in Kenya. After his death merely six other specimens are now alive that still carry the legacy of this subspecies. Conservation efforts were heavily direct towards Suni, but now that the […]

Paralyzed man Walks again after Nose Cells Transplant into the Spinal Chord

Regeneration of the spinal chord following a paralyzing injury was thought to be impossible, but groundbreaking efforts stirred by surgeons in Poland and Britain have turned this paradigm upside down. A team of dedicated surgeons and scientists transplanted cells from the nasal cavity of a patient who had been paralyzed from the waist down for […]

The shortlist for the EEA's photography competition

What does the environment mean to you? The European Environment Agency asked this question and invited photographers to have their take through a visual essay. Ducks floating along garbage; a lone, yet dominant windmill set on a twilight background; a small frog resting by the petals of a beautifully colored flower. Each artist shared an unique […]

Majority doesn't always decide when it comes to teen drinking

Peer pressure doesn’t always drive teenagers to drink – in fact, it often goes the other way around, a new study shows. Having just one like-minded friend who doesn’t drink reduces instances of drunkenness among teen drinkers by 38 percent, a new study has shown. Criminologist Carter Rees, now at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, […]

The 1918 Spanish flu killed between 50 and 100 million people. This man is recreating it in a lab

Yoshihiro Kawaoka has caused massive uproar in the scientific community when he announced he is attempting to recreate the world’s most lethal virus. Biologists are polarized on the issue, with some claiming that it is reckless, while others approving that it will help us better understand pandemics and how we can protect ourselves against them. […]

Lockheed Martin announces 10 year plan to reach cold fusion, scientists react with skepticism

Lockheed Martin has officially entered the race to achieve nuclear fusion at room temperature on 15 October, laying out a 10-year roadmap to commercialize a reactor that would fit on the back of a lorry. The company has been working on the project for several years, but they’ve been extremely secretive about it until now, when […]

World's First Vertical Forest is Finally Complete in Milan

In 2011, we were telling you about the planned vertical forests in Milan – you can read the entire article here. Recently, the project has finally reached fruition, and we finally get to see the world’s first vertical forest. Stefano Boeri Architects’ amazing Bosco Verticale towers rise up, adding some 2.5 acres of lush vegetation (over 100 […]

A Rogue gone Good: Mitochondria was initially an Energy Parasite

A new milestone study found that mitochondria – the energy factories in animal and plant cells – were initially very similar to parasitic bacteria some two billion years ago, and only later did they become energy sources. Very little is known about the origins of mitochondria, but by probing the genomes of bacteria closely related to […]

Building houses with bacteria

Houses of the future might be built with bacteria – at least partially. It may sound like science fiction, but a Spanish company located in Madrid is working to make that a concrete reality. It all starts with a common type of soil bacterium being. Put it in some soil, provide it with nutrients, and keep the […]

Beijing marathoners wear masks due to massive air pollution

Thousands of runners signed up for the Beijing marathon, hoping to better themselves in the 42 km race. But the 34th Beijing International Marathon which took place on Sunday was not a fit place for a record, as air  pollution soared to 16 times the maximum recommended level. The air in Beijing is among the most polluted […]

Top-Secret Air Force plane lands after 2 year mission in Earth's orbit

After exactly 674 days in orbit, the Air Force’s top secret spaceplane landed in California on Friday. There’s very little anyone knows about the plane, apart from its name – X-37B – and the fact that it can fly in orbit unmanned. The two main assumptions are that it’s either a space plane or a bomber. Maybe […]

Ancient 385-million-year old Fish pioneered Sex

Paleontologists have identified the first known animals that used internal fertilization instead of spawning – armor-coated swimmers, called antiarchs, which lived around 385 million years ago in lakes in what is now Scotland. The discovery is truly monumental since its the earliest known example of sexual dimorphism or differences in appearance between the sexes in the […]

Males may be Wired to choose Sex over Food

Men are from Mars and women are from Venus, or so the old adage goes, but how different are men and women? I won’t go into debates like whether or not men and women are neurologically the same – it’s a far too exhaustive and exhausting subject for such a short article. Clearly, however, men […]

Computer Simulation shows How Bacteria Resist Antibiotics

Researchers at the University of Bristol used a complex computer simulation to determine how enzymes in bacteria breakdown antibiotics, rendering them useless. The same simulation could be used to see how certain drugs respond to various bacteria, predicting their resistance and efficacy. This way, doctors will be able to prescribe the best antibiotics for a […]

Magnetic Mirror reflects Light like No Other. Opens new suit of Optical Applications

In Lewis Caroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (1871), the sequel to the classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. Though far from Alice’s spectacular feat, scientists at the Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, […]

Developing smart cities: In the Spanish city of Santander, the walls will have ears

Urban noise can be quite a nuisance, but it can also provide a lot of valuable information about the city’s needs. A first of its kind project in the city of Santander will check if this data can actually be used to improve the lives of citizens and develop a better, smarter city. “The EAR-IT project is […]

This is your brain... on dogs

We all know the bond between dogs and humans is very powerful and meaningful – but a group of researchers took it to the next level. They wanted to see how this relationship actually mirrors the one between a parent and a child. The researchers, from Massachusetts General Hospital, have detailed their findings in the journal PLOS ONE. “Pets […]

Of Yeast and Flies: The Science of why Beer is so Delicious

Whether you enjoy a strong malty taste, or a fruity savor, or even just a subtle aroma in your beer – you have yeast to thank for. Yeast imbues beer with aromatic molecules that account for most, if not all of the final flavor. But why is it that they create all this wide array of […]

UK Launches Space Weather Forecasting Program

The UK has officially opened its first space weather forecasting program this week. Space weather is a term referring to environmental changes in the solar system, especially those concerning near-Earth space. Magnetic fields, radiation, particles and matter which have been ejected from the Sun interact with and can affect the Earth’s magnetosphere to produce a […]

Mind-Blowing $1.4 billion Thirty Meter Telescope begins construction in Hawaii

After years of planning and engineering schemes, the construction of the $1.4 billion telescope in Hawaii has finally begun. The unimaginatively named Thirty Meter Telescope (TMT) will provide astronomers with unparalleled power to observe the stars – it will have a resolution 10 times better than Hubble. The telescope is designed for observations from near-ultraviolet to […]

UK to allow fracking companies to use 'any substance' under homes, despite 99% public opposition

A new proposed amendment in the UK would make a mockery of existing European shale gas regulation. If the new regulation would pass, it would allow fracking companies to put “any substance” under people’s homes and property and leave it there, as part of the Infrastructure Bill. The wording of the bill would also allow storing nuclear […]

Alien Mussels Threaten U.K. Biodiversity

The single most threatening species to U.K.’s biodiversity is a species of mussels – the quagga mussel. Coming from the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea in Eastern Europe, the quagga mussel came with four other freshwater invaders which have now become a huge danger for Britain’s wildlife. The quagga mussel, scientific name Dreissena rostriformis […]

NASA confirms there's a huge cloud of methane over southwest US

A cloud of methane gas about the size of Delaware was detected over the Four Corners area of the American southwest years ago. But people didn’t take it seriously, because (believe it or not) – it was so big that they thought it was an instrument error. “We didn’t focus on it because we weren’t sure […]

Amateur archaeologist finds 1000-year old Viking treasure hoard with a Metal Detector

A magnificent Viking treasure has been unearthed in Scotland, in Dumfries and Galloway. More than 100 objects, including solid gold jewelry, arm bands and silver ingots, were discovered not by archaeologists, but by an amateur researcher working with a metal detector. The artifacts are thought to have been buried between the 9th and 10th century and they […]

Hybrid Semiconductors might Smash PV Efficiency through the Roof

A team at University of Cambridge have harvested so-called ‘dark’ spin-triplet excitons with close to 100% efficiency, a breakthrough achievement which could vastly improve the efficiency of hybrid solar cells that use both organic and inorganic semiconductor junctions. An exciting solar future Excitons are basically electrons coupled to a hole (they’re attracted to each other and […]

Quantum Robots learn Faster, respond Better and Smarter

While robots today have become more adapted, they’re still essentially stupid – limited to a particular pre-programmed series of tasks, slow to respond to complex environments and unable to learn from past experience. The future belongs to machine learning and cognitive computing, a new field that’s set to have a great impact on our lives, […]

Fibonacci Art Comes to Life in Golden Ratio Forest

We rarely get to showcase talent such as Agnes Denes, a visionary who blends mathematics, philosophy and art. Today, you’re in for a treat! Denes first gained worldwide recognition in 1982 when she single-handedly planted 1,000 wheat seeds on a four-acre empty lot, right next to the World Trade Center. The grains grew to yield […]

Genes that Define How Tall You Grow Identified

It’s common knowledge that babies born out of tall parents will most likely grow to be just as tall, but it’s only recently that scientists report finding most of the genes responsible for height. Information like this could prove to be useful in diagnosing genetic growth deficiencies or, in the not so distant future, genetic manipulation to […]

Ocean Abyss hasn't Warmed - Where's All The Heat?

The ocean abyss hasn’t warmed significantly since 2005, according to a new NASA study, further deepening the mystery of why global warming has apparently ground to halt in the past couple of years. The researchers stress, however, that the findings do not indicate that there isn’t any man-made climate change; sea levels are still rising, it’s […]

All Solar Systems likely have Water (just like ours!)

We live in a solar system filled with water. Not only does liquid water cover 72% of our planet Earth, we have also found ice water in asteroids and comets, on the Moon, on Mars, and even in the shadows of craters on Mercury; while Europa and other moons of Jupiter and Saturn almost certainly […]

Featured Researchers: This Week in Science #40

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 […]

Curiosity sparks Brain Mechanisms that Facilitate Learning

Whether we’re assigned a learning task or choose to follow it, those subjects that interest us are always easier to comprehend, assimilate and remember over a long time. In this context, interest is actually another word for curiosity and a new research found that it is an important factor for effective learning. The team at University […]

New crystal might allow us to breathe Underwater

Researchers from Denmark have synthesized crystalline materials that can bind and store oxygen in high concentrations, releasing them when needed. A single crystal about the size of a sponge can suck all the oxygen from a room. Naturally, there are many potential applications for this type of technology. The most obvious one would be breathing underwater […]

Most detailed Map of the Seafloor yet exposes Thousands of New Mountains

The Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has released a new map of the world’s seafloor – the first in nearly 20 years – which exposes new terrain, including thousands of mountains. The unprecedented detail was attained using radar satellites that captures gravity measurements of the ocean seafloor. Armed with this more precise understanding of […]

New Paint-on, See-through bandage Emits Phosphorescent Glow for Healing Below

An interdisciplinary team of researchers has created a paint-on, see-through, “smart” bandage that glows to indicate a wound’s tissue oxygenation concentration. Oxygenation plays a crucial role in healing, so mapping it in severe wounds and burns can help to significantly improve the success of surgeries to restore limbs and physical functions. “Information about tissue oxygenation is […]

Ancient Magma found on the Moon, below the Dark Spots

Scientists have discovered an almost rectangular feature consisting of ancient magma. The features are similar to rifts here on Earth, a linear zone where the Earth’s crust and lithosphere are being pulled apart. However, since the Moon doesn’t have any plate tectonics to cause rifts, the origin of this magma is still questionable. Magma on the […]

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