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We often cherish our closest friends as if they were family. Well, this isn’t actually too far from the truth, considering a new study from the University of California, San Diego, and Yale University found friends who aren’t biologically related resemble each other genetically. In fact, on average friends are as “related” as fourth cousins […]
A new painkiller chemical derived from human spit has proven to be up to six times more potent than morphine when tested on rats in a laboratory setting. While painkillers have been thoroughly researched for decades, the industry alone amounting to billions of dollars every year, it’s been rather difficult for scientists to find natural […]
Expect the price of sand to skyrocket! Researchers at University of California, Riverside have devised a coin-sized battery that uses silicone at its anode (negative side), instead of the over-used graphite, that lasts up to three times longer than conventional lithium-ion batteries. The key of the research is the silicon extraction method which uses quartz-rich […]
While marijuana use is becoming less of a tabu, in light of medical legalization in places like Colorado, California or Uruguay, the same can’t be said about marijuana research. A while ago, I mentioned how only 6% of marijuana research studies the benefits, which is completely biased and absurd to begin with, considering policymakers have […]
A few months ago I went hiking with some of my friends in an absolutely stunning mountain setting. We climbed a country road for half an hour or so on foot, then reached a chalet right in the middle of a pine tree clearing and had a few beers with the keeper there, who was […]
You might have thought black is too solemn or boring, but you may just change your mind. Through careful material science manipulation, involving thousands of tightly packed carbon nanotubes, British company Surrey NanoSystems made a super black coating that absorbs almost 99.96% of visual light – a world record. Practically only a tiny fraction of the visual […]
Talk about a comeback! An international group of scientists report they’ve encountered evidence that suggests a long lost marine animal whose lineage can be traced back hundreds of millions of years ago and which was thought extinct for the past 4 million years is actually alive and well. The findings were made in Picton, New […]
Since the 1990s, biologists have witnessed a sudden demise of amphibian species. So far, hundreds of species have become extinct after becoming plagued by a wretched fungus. From mountain lakes to meadow puddles, no matter the continent, frogs are dying everywhere – a demise that might spell an ecological meltdown. There may still be hope yet, according […]
Over the past six months, the Earth’s magnetic field – the bubble that protects our planet from incoming radiation and solar winds – has weakened by a factor of ten than what’s been registered in previous years. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), this discrepancy might indicate that the magnetic field is about to flip. […]
Greenpeace premiered a video yesterday that campaign’s against Shell’s plans of drilling in the Arctic, but primarily targets a proxy company, Lego. The ad wants to move the Danish toy company to cancel its deal with Shell that will put Lego toys in hundreds of gas stations. In the video, an oil-stricken Arctic depicted in […]
Researchers at the Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute (Sanford-Burnham) have found a chemical switch that both regulates the generation of new neurons from neural stem cells and the survival of existing nerve cells in the brain. Postmortem examination of the brains of Alzheimer’s patients and stroke victims found the switch that shuts off the signals was […]
Giant whirlpools or mesoscale eddies, as described in scientific literature, can grow between 100 km and 500 km in diameter, forming around islands where ocean currents become disrupted. These whirlpools carry immense amounts of water and heat, but up until now they’ve been largely ignored in climate models. A novel research, however, found that energy dispersed […]
Scientists have identified the fossilized remains of what they believe to be the the largest flying bird. The species, now long extinct, had an estimated wingspan of 7-8 meters (20-24 feet) – twice as big as the royal albatross, today’s largest flying bird. Interestingly enough, the bird was initially unearthed in 1983 near Charleston, South […]
This year, Oklahoma already had over 230 earthquakes with a magnitude of over 3. In 2008, the average number was 1! It seems quite unlikely for such a dramatic change to happen naturally, especially without other geological indicators. Many geologists and seismologists suspected that this was connected with the recent oil explorations in the area, […]
By virtue of its clogginess, the human gut, particularly the small intestine, is difficult to examine and diagnose for potential diseases or afflictions. Irritable bowel syndrome, coeliac disease and Crohn’s disease are just a few of the most common diseases that affect the small intestine and can lead to severe complications. In fact, some 35,000 […]
The Earth contains a lot of iron, but it is not alone in the solar system in that aspect. Venus, Mars, the Moon and asteroids such as Vesta all have iron in their structure, but Mercury is the champion in that aspect: about 70 percent of its mass is iron! Now, researchers believe they have […]
If you’ve ever watched chimps during a nature program and became startled by your own empathy towards them, you’re not alone. It’s no secret that chimps are our closest relatives out of all primates, having 98% similar DNA. It goes further than genetics – it’s enough to look a chimp in the eye. The reflection is more […]
British researchers at Imperial College London and Cardiff University have provided more insights into the mechanics of consciousness-altering psychedelics. Their work suggests the brain is altered while on psilocybin – the active psychoactive ingredient found in magic mushrooms – expanding consciousness and activating regions of the brain that are typically channeled during dream state. The study […]
Here’s a weird study. A group of psychologists at University of Virginia introduced men and women alone in a room for fifteen minutes with nothing to distract them. No TV, no phone, no internet, no books, nothing but their thoughts… and a zapping device that sent a mild electric shock. Conclusion: most people would rather kill […]
Renewable energy is clean, getting cheaper by the day and in many respects becoming more efficient thanks to rapid advancements coming from the world’s top-notch labs. It has one major drawback – storage. Before people can find a clever and cost-effective way to store all of that excess energy from wind and solar farms, chances […]
Researchers at the School of Psychology, University of Vienna surveyed 13000 adults from Austria and Germany and found that most left-handed males are born during the winter. The difference is statistically significant, suggesting there’s a lot more at play than just chance. Namely, the findings seem to back the Geschwind-Galaburda theory of cerebral lateralization, which […]
Humans tend to “see” patterns in winning and losing streaks in situations which are actually random. A new study has shown that this “hot hand bias”also occurs in non-human monkeys. “Human decision-makers often exhibit the hot-hand phenomenon, a tendency to perceive positive serial autocorrelations in independent sequential events. The term is named after the observation […]
Advancements in genetic sequencing has allowed genomic research to flourish. DNA sequencing is now much faster, cheaper and accurate than ever before, and we’re only now beginning to reap the rewards. It’s the first step to a complete understanding of our bodies. The Human Genome Project, once finally completed, mapped and identified all the genes of […]
According to latest estimates by the World Health Organisation, over 3.4 billion people are at risk from contracting malaria and an estimated 627,000 people die each year from the disease. Thanks to the painstaking efforts of leading researchers in the field, however, much progress has been made in curbing down on malaria. Since 2000, increased […]
A novel and highly effective technique was found to enhance regrowth of human corneal tissue to restore vision, using a newly identified molecule that acts as a marker for limbal cells – stem cells that are paramount to retinal regeneration. The findings could greatly improve the vision of patients suffering from severe burns, victims of […]
Materials found in nature often speak of at least one comprise. Metals for instance are highly conductive, but not transparent. Plastics on the other hand can be made to be transparent, but they’re very poor electrical conductors. This annoying tradeoff has aggravated scientists for some time in their efforts to design better solar cells or […]
For cockroaches, it seems, collaboration comes naturally: when 50 cockroaches are presented with 3 shelters which can only host 40 (each), they’ll split into two groups, leaving the third shelter empty. Basically, they find a way to split themselves equally, in a democratic fashion. In cockroach groups, there are no members higher than others – […]
Professor Terry Dawson of the University of New South Wales and colleagues found that kangaroos use their tail as an extra leg when walking, actively participating with energy in the process, instead of using it like a strut as some literature would had us believe. The findings might prove to be important for robotics applications. Hoppity hop […]
A new species of ground beetle perfectly adapted to extreme environments has been discovered in the world’s deepest cave system, the Krubera-Voronja, in Russia. The insect is about a quarter of an inch long and blind. In fact, given there isn’t light whatsoever reaching it, the bug has evolved extended antennae and a body that has […]
One of the most popular urban myths speaks of Bigfoot – an 8-foot tall creature, covered in thick, dark hair. The creature, also known as sasquatch or Yeti (the Asian counterpart) has spurred the imagination of countless people, some of whom went a step farther to report actual sightings of the elusive beast. If you […]
Drug and alcohol addiction affects millions of people around the world, but despite decades worth of research and billions of dollars, our understanding of addiction is still far from being complete. Brigham Young University professor Scott Steffensen and his team have recently contributed with a few pieces in the addiction puzzle, which are of vital […]
Rashid Bashir, the head of bioengineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is one of the pioneers leading a new field of robotics which deals with bio-bots. These tiny robots, less than a centimeter in size, combine biological and mechanical components to meet a certain purpose. Recently, Bashir and his team demonstrated a bio-bot […]
It’s estimated that only a sixth of the original coral reef that covered the Caribbean waters is still alive today, according to a recent report released by the Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network (GCRMN), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). If no major interference occurs, most […]
Defects in fracked oil and gas wells in Pennsylvania much more likely to leak methane in shale wells throughout the state, a new study concluded. The study analyzed more than 75,000 publicly available state environmental compliance records for about 41,000 oil and gas wells dug in 2012, where the oil industry has been extracting oil from the Marcellous […]
Deforestation records Despite its forest being only a quarter the size of the Amazonian rainforest, Indonesia lost 840,000 hectares of forest in 2012 – almost double compared to 460,000 hectares in Brazil. Indonesia has been steadily increasing its deforestation rates. According to UN estimates, they cut down 310,00 hectares of all its forest a year between 2000 […]
Facebook being unethical – again I think at this point it’s safe to say that ethics isn’t necessarily one of Facebook‘s concerns, and this study shows it once again. What am I talking about? A covert experiment which influenced the emotions of 600,000 people, without asking for permission. The entire situation is starting to become one big […]
Primates are among a couple of mammals that have a dedicated system for processing faces, something that involves a lot of neuropower and energy expenditure. While there are people that resemble each other, no two humans have the same exact faces (not even identical twins). Some people see, and thus analyze, thousands of faces each […]
Guns today are looking more and more like they’re from a video game or something. Take TrackingPoint’s latest Precision-Guided Firearm (PGF) – a sniper rifle that allows the user to tag targets so that the gun will come off only when the tag is in scope. Actually, considering the rifle doesn’t actually have an optical scope, […]
The Mima mounds are low, flattened, domelike, natural mounds covered with vegetation, covering the landscape in an apparent pattern; they are most noticeable in the prairies in Washington, but appear in several places in the world. Aside from the fact that they look really interesting, there’s something about them which makes them really special: we don’t […]
A newfound alien planet located “just” 16 light years away from Earth might be able to support life, a new study has shown. To get some perspective, the Milky Way is approximately 100,000 light-years across. The closest planet to our solar system is Proxima Centauri – 4.2 light-years away. A recent study concluded that there are […]
We’ve mentioned on numerous occasions the growing problem of space debris and voiced our concerns that, if left unchecked, the thousands of metal junk fragments currently out there could seriously affect space missions and even threaten lives. In Earth’s orbit, even a tiny metal fragment could potentially wreak havoc upon impact with a spacecraft or satellite because of […]
An ancient burial stash containing chariots, gold artifacts and potentially human sacrifices was unearthed in the country of Georgia, in Europe. The burial site was constructed for a very important person, in a time archaeologists call the Early Bronze Age (4000 years ago). Archaeologists dug and discovered the burial chamber made from wood inside a 39-foot-high […]
It’s a trend that has taken a chimp group by storm: a blade of grass dangling from an ear. All the cool chimps are doing it and, well, you’re not cool if you don’t do it! It’s the first time when chimps have created a tradition with no practical and discernible purpose – in other words, […]
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 […]
A common stereotype is that people who wear glasses are labeled as nerds, but sooner than later most people from the developed world will end up wearing glasses, if the current trend continues. There are many reasons why more and more suffer from nearsightedness, ranging from urbanization, spending more time indoors and in front of […]
Cluttered classrooms filled with anything from artwork to ABC boards to portraits – the kind we often see in schools – disrupt attention and learning in young children, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University. The study doesn’t necessarily suggest, however, that a sparser decoration should be used. Instead, teachers are advised to be careful how […]
Most people would be surprised to find out that you don’t only hear with your ears – you can also hear directly with your skull. Our skull bone can pick up and conduct sounds to an extent and a new model developed by German and British researchers has shown why and how we actually perceive sounds […]
Nanofluids, fluids containing nanometer-sized particles, show immense potential for future engineering. Even water flowing through nanotubes flows much faster than traditional mechanics says it should be possible. Now, researchers have found a way to directly image nanofluids. Researchers at Caltech have applied a new imaging technique called four-dimensional (4D) electron microscopy to the nanofluid dynamics problem. The technique […]
Corals have been around for hundreds of millions of years, but even before them, 550 million years ago, animals were building reefs. A new study has found that Cloudina, the first animals to have hard shells built reefs too. Cloudina lived towards the end of the Ediacaran period – the last geological period of the Proterozoic Eon, immediately […]
The Moon and sleep For centuries, people have thought that the Moon affects sleep patterns. But does it really? Many people report increased sleepiness when there is a full moon, and there have even been some studies linking the Moon with sleep patterns. However, a new study conducted by researchers from the Max Planck Institute of […]
