Newsdesk Archive

Millions of years before LSD and rock and roll, dinosaurs munched on psychedelic fungus, a new study suggests. The hints that dinos got high come from the first amber fossil ever found of ergot, a grass parasite that can have poisonous and mind-altering effects on animals that nibble the dark fungi.Alt: Amber fossil links earliest grasses, dinosaurs and fungus used to produce LSD

The scientific team of the Institute for Archaeological Sciences, which has been researching the Nok Culture in Nigeria since 2005, can continue its successful work: The German Research Foundation (DFG) will support the total 12-year duration of the planned long-term project for another three years with 1.6 million euros.However, the study of the Nok Culture, which is the source of the oldest figurative art in sub-Saharan Africa at 2000 to 3000 years old, will not be able to proceed as planned, because of the political unrest in Nigeria, and in particular the attacks of the Islamist terrorist group Boko Haram.

Some 100 prehistoric "cult sites," complete with penis stone structures and artifacts with vulva shapes cut into them, have been discovered in the Eilat Mountains, an extremely arid area of the Negev Desert in Israel.At the sites, which date back around 8,000 years, archaeologists discovered a variety of stone structures and artifacts, including stone circles that measure 1.5 to 2.5 meters across (roughly 5 to 8 feet) with penis-shaped installations pointing toward them. Other findings there include standing stones that reach up to 2.6 feet (80 centimeters) high, stone bowls and stone carvings that have a humanlike shape.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS have discovered new artefacts suggesting a Highland village resident of 4,500 years ago fought with bow and arrow.A Bronze Age burial cist in Drumnadrochit, near Inverness, was found last month, and researchers have now found shards of pottery and a wrist guard, for use when shooting using bow and arrow, at the same site.

Researchers at the University of Pisa, Italy, have solved the mystery over the honeycombed skull of one of the Italian martyrs beheaded by 15th century Ottoman Turk invaders when they refused to give up their Christian faith.Featuring 16 perfectly round holes of various sizes and depth, the skull belonged to an individual who was executed on a hill outside the town of Otranto in Apulia along with more than 800 other men.

In an experimental carbon storage process, gas emissions and water are injected into volcanic rock, turning the mixture into minerals.Related: Ancient Earth Had Weird Chemistry: Vanilla Rocks, Lemon-Juice Soil

Generating electricity from biomass, such as urban waste and sustainably-sourced forest and crop residues, is one strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, because it is carbon-neutral: it produces as much carbon as the plants suck out of the atmosphere.Related: Ancient climate records 'back predictions'

In the future, those with substantial hearing loss may no longer need a doctor to surgically implant a cochlear device into their ear to restore their sense of sound.If researchers at Colorado State University are successful, they may just pop a retainer into their mouths. The team of engineers and neuroscientists are developing a hearing device that bypasses the ear altogether and puts words in the mouth.

Humans talk happy.Maybe it comes from our being on top of the evolutionary heap. Maybe we suppress the language of naysaying and grouchiness to make social relations smoother. Maybe we're just happy.Alt: Spanish is the happiest language; Chinese, not so much

Possession of small amounts of marijuana for personal use has been decriminalised in Jamaica after a drugs law that was passed on Friday was debated by senators for five hours.Having up to two ounces (around 56 grams) will only be punishable by a fixed penalty ticket, instead of a criminal charge.Related: Unreleased interview with Bob Marley - special excerpt for birthday tribute (YouTube)

Canada's Supreme Court has ruled that doctors may help patients who have severe and incurable medical conditions to die, overturning a 1993 ban.In a unanimous decision, the court said the law impinged on Canadians' rights.

The universe may have existed forever, according to a new model that applies quantum correction terms to complement Einstein's theory of general relativity. The model may also account for dark matter and dark energy, resolving multiple problems at once.The widely accepted age of the universe, as estimated by general relativity, is 13.8 billion years. In the beginning, everything in existence is thought to have occupied a single infinitely dense point, or singularity. Only after this point began to expand in a "Big Bang" did the universe officially begin.

The moon has long been viewed as a crucial component in creating an environment suitable for the evolution of complex life on Earth, but a number of scientific results in recent years have shown that perhaps our planet doesn't need the moon as much as we have thought.In 1993, French astronomer Jacques Laskar ran a series of calculations indicating that the gravity of the moon is vital to stabilizing the tilt of our planet.Related: This Crater Is Our Best Shot At Finding Water On The Moon

The steady glow of high-energy gamma-ray light that spreads across the cosmos has puzzled astronomers for decades. One team of researchers thinks it has the best explanation yet for the source of this strange emission.After observing the universe with NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope for six years, scientists with the mission say the majority of the gamma-ray glow they have seen can be explained by objects already known to science. If there are any as-yet unknown sources out there, their contribution to the glow would be very small, scientists say.

Understanding biological water oxidation is central to achieving artificial photosynthesis and providing cheap and efficient hydrogen production. However, cracking the mystery of such a complex system has resulted in two competing oxidation state schemes, accompanied by controversy and debate over which is correct. Now, Dimitrios Pantazis, of the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion in Germany, and his colleagues feel they have proven one scheme more valid than the other.Related: Cheap and abundant chemical outperforms precious metals as a catalyst

Do fire and ice link up to alter Earth's climate?The climate-driven rise and fall of sea level during the past million years matches up with valleys and ridges on the seafloor, suggesting ice ages influence underwater volcanic eruptions, two new studies reveal.Alt: Do underwater volcanoes alter Earth's climate?

Discovered by geologists in what's now known as Yellowstone National Park in 1871, the Grand Prismatic Spring is the third largest hot spring in the world with a diameter of 90 metres and a depth of 50 metres.It's arguably the most famous of the area's countless thermal pools, often described as 'liquid rainbows.'

Research at the Universities of St Andrews and Dundee has confirmed that levels of neonicotinoid insecticides accepted to exist in agriculture cause both impairment of bumblebees' brain cells and subsequent poor performance by bee colonies.The contribution of the neonicotinoids to the global decline of insect pollinators is controversial and contested by many in the agriculture industry.Related: Eating Organic Produce Can Limit Pesticide Exposure

Oryx, giraffes and cheetahs roam an "Arabian Ark" nature reserve on a desert Gulf island where species once facing extinction in the region are making a comeback.Since animals were first brought to Sir Bani Yas off the coast of Abu Dhabi more than four decades ago, their total population has soared to more than 13,000.Twenty-five species of mammals and 170 types of birds are found in a nature reserve covering an area of 1,400 hectares (3,500 acres).

An early edition of Magna Carta has been found in a Victorian scrapbook during a search of a council's archivesThe discovery has come months ahead of the 800th anniversary of the sealing of Magna Carta in Runnymede in 1215.

A weighty stone carved with a mysterious pattern that may be writing has been discovered in a garden in Leicester, England.The hefty carving was up for sale as a garden ornament when archaeologist and TV presenter James Balme found it. The carving, which was very dirty, may have been plowed up many years ago, Balme said. Despite the carving's poor shape, he thought it was no ordinary ornament; so he purchased it and carefully cleaned it.

A team of University of Sydney archaeologists, led by Dr Damian Evans, have used groundbreaking laser imaging to map central Angkor and to help identify how unstable climate change damaged the city's water system and contributed to its demise. Their groundbreaking work is the subject of a new SBS documentary.Professor Roland Fletcher leads the Greater Angkor Project in Cambodia, a major international effort to map the great pre-industrial, dispersed, low-density city, covering an area of about 1,000 sq km.

A new exhibition of ancient clay tablets discovered in modern-day Iraq is shedding light for the first time on the daily life of Jews exiled to Babylon 2,500 years ago.Related: Tomb raiders arrested in Ashkelon National Park for looting, damaging ancient siteRelated: Nicaragua canal developers collect 15,000 relics along route

The case of a normal-weight woman who rapidly became obese after receiving a fecal transplant from an overweight relative has raised new concern over the screening of donated stool.The patient, who underwent the novel procedure to treat a recurring bacterial infection in her intestines, has gained more than 40 pounds since the transplant and continues to gain weight.Related: Oatmeal for Breakfast May Result in Greater Fullness, Lower Calorie Intake at Lunch

Having the wrong kind of gut bugs might help cause type-1 diabetes. But a genetically engineered form of a microbe found in some dairy products could trick intestine cells into making much-needed insulin.The discovery that "the wrong bacteria" can make type-1 diabetes more likely comes from a 3-year analysis of 33 Finnish infants genetically identified to be at a higher risk of diabetes.

You'd expect red wine to make remembering harder not easier, but in fact it helps prevent age related memory decline, according to new research.Scientists at Texas A&M say it's all down to the wonder antioxidant resveratrol, also found in the skin of red grapes, some berries and peanuts.Related: Another reason to drink wine: It could help you burn fat, study suggests

Marijuana appears to ease symptoms of depression caused by chronic stress, new research with animals suggests.Related: Does Binge-Watching Make Us Depressed? Good QuestionRelated: Facebook can cause depression in people who compare themselves with othersRelated: Why Cambodians Never Get 'Depressed'Related: 'Darwinian' test uncovers an antidepressant's hidden toxicity

Scientists may have cracked the answer to one of the great mysteries of the animal kingdom: why do cats sleep in cardboard boxes?Anyone who lived with a cat has probably come home to find their feline companion sleeping in a strange place. Carelessly discarded cardboard boxes are as good as any.Related: Florida 'zombie cat' crawls out of grave

Video taken at Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming, USA appears to show as many as four bigfoot roaming around between the trees.The footage shows several bison in the foreground, but among the trees at the back it is possible to see four elusive figures. However, only one of the figures continues to walk across the snow.Related: Loch Ness Monster Photo Wins Prize But is it Nessie?

Discoveries of extreme life here on Earth often provoke speculation about what might lurk in other worlds. And so it was, when I reported on January 21 that fish were found living in an isolated corner of the ocean beneath 740 meters of ice in Antarctica: People asked what this might mean for finding life on distant worlds such as Europa, a moon of Jupiter that very likely harbors an ocean of liquid water beneath a crust of ice.

Humans are still evolving even though modern housing and sanitation, medical science and a rich and varied diet appear to have largely insulated much of the population from the life-or-death struggle of natural selection, a study has found.Falling death rates and a decrease in family size in the western world since the start of the industrial revolution 250 years ago have not prevented Darwinian evolution from exerting its effect on the human gene pool, scientists said.

Scientists are discovering ways in which single cells might have evolved traits that entrenched them into group behavior, paving the way for multicellular life. These discoveries could shed light on how complex extraterrestrial life might evolve on alien worlds.Related: How Did the Code Of Life Pass Through Primitive Cells?

Archaeologists have discovered the first use of pottery in north-eastern North America was largely due to the cooking, storage and social feasting of fish by hunter-gatherers.Related: Prehistoric caves found in Papua

Until a few months ago different scientific articles dated the disappearance of the Neanderthals (Homo neanderthalensis) from Europe at around 40,000 years ago. However, a new study shows that these hominids could have disappeared before then in the Iberian Peninsula, closer to 45,000 years ago.

They were big, brutish and probably not particularly good-looking. Now it seems that Neanderthals had to contend with an ailment that affected their appearance too - psoriasis.A new genetic study has suggested that these now extinct ancient cousins of modern humans may have suffered from the skin condition that causes red, flaky - and often painful - patches of skin.The research has also revealed that they may have suffered from other modern medical disorders such as Crohn's disease, a condition that affects the digestive system.

Let's pretend it is 56 B.C. and you have been fortunate enough to be invited to a party at the home of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, a great social coup. Piso, after all, was Julius Caesar's father-in-law and a consul of Rome. What's for dinner?You need to prepare for pig. Archaeologists studying the eating habits of ancient Etruscans and Romans have found that pork was the staple of Italian cuisine before and during the Roman Empire.

Archaeologists say they've made a grim discovery in Siberia: the grave of a young mother and her twins, who all died during a difficult childbirth about 7,700 years ago.The finding may be the oldest confirmed evidence of twins in history and one of the earliest examples of death during childbirth, the researchers say.

Alcohol has been part of human existence for millennia. Alcoholic beverages are an integral part of human culture. Like the wines consumed in Jewish and Christian rituals, these drinks have ceremonial and religious uses. Until the nineteenth century, beer, brandy, rum or grog was the drink of choice for sailors in lieu of stagnant water during long voyages. Alcohol is a social lubricant, an anesthetic and an antiseptic. It is one of the most widely used drugs in the world and has been manufactured since the advent of agriculture nearly 9000 years ago.Related: Drinking A Little Whiskey Might Actually Help Relieve Cold Symptoms

Hunter-gatherers had almost no malocclusion and dental crowding, and the condition first became common among the world's earliest farmers some 12,000 years ago in Southwest Asia, according to findings published (04 Feb 2015) in the journal PLOS ONE.By analysing the lower jaws and teeth crown dimensions of 292 archaeological skeletons from the Levant, Anatolia and Europe, from between 28,000-6,000 years ago, an international team of scientists have discovered a clear separation between European hunter-gatherers, Near Eastern/Anatolian semi-sedentary hunter-gatherers and transitional farmers, and European farmers, based on the form and structure of their jawbones.

Scientists say the largest ever rodent probably used its huge front teeth like tusks, defending itself and digging with them instead of just biting food.The bull-sized cousin to the guinea pig died out around two million years ago.

Researcher looks at why the Norwegian lemming is so boldly colored and brave. The conspicuous, bold colors of the Norwegian lemming's fur and its loud barks serve as warnings to predators that it is not a creature to be messed with. This ferocity makes it unique among small rodents.

Running electric current through the brains of cocaine-addicted mice can change the behaviors associated with their dependency, according to a study published today. The new therapy combines deep brain stimulation (DBS) with a drug treatment to normalize brain behavior in cocaine-addled mice, raising the possibility that similar approaches could one day be used to treat addiction in humans.

Since 1970, life expectancy around the world has risen dramatically, with people living more than 10 years longer. That's the good news.The bad news is that starting when people are in their mid-to-late-20s, the brain begins to wither -- its volume and weight begin to decrease. As this occurs, the brain can begin to lose some of its functional abilities.

In fiction, as in a cemetery, there's a limited number of plots. We just aren't sure how many. Carlos Gozzi, a 18th-century Italian playwright, thought there were 36 dramatic situations, but ever since then, the number has been going down, cratering with Christopher Booker's popular 2004 The Seven Basic Plot Structures.But now, with the help of CERN-level mathematics and computers, researchers have evidence that the appropriately named Booker was off by just one, probably.Related: Saving Human Knowledge at 800 Pages an Hour

A 1,500-year-old book that contains a previously unknown gospel has been deciphered. The ancient manuscript may have been used to provide guidance or encouragement to people seeking help for their problems, according to a researcher who has studied the text.Anne Marie Luijendijk, a professor of religion at Princeton University, discovered that this newfound gospel is like no other. "When I began deciphering the manuscript and encountered the word 'gospel' in the opening line, I expected to read a narrative about the life and death of Jesus as the canonical gospels present, or a collection of sayings similar to the Gospel of Thomas (a non-canonical text)," she wrote in her book "Forbidden Oracles?: The Gospel of the Lots of Mary".

Planetary scientists have calculated that there are hundreds of billions of Earth-like planets in our galaxy which might support life, by applying a 200 year old idea to the thousands of exo-planets discovered by the Kepler space telescope.

It is a fact rarely appreciated by the general public that to professional astronomers, the Sun is a pretty boring star. Which in fact is great news for the rest of us.Even a slight change in this precariously controlled violence can have drastic consequences on Earth. And so astronomers have been keeping careful watch on the sun in recent years as the number of sunspots blotting its surface approached an 11-year peak in 2014, ushering in what is often a season of dangerous storms on the sun.Related: Fractals seen in throbs of pulsating golden stars

An international research team led by the High Council for Scientific Research (CSIC in its Spanish acronym) and with the participation of the University of Granada, has found that there is a direct relation between the changes in the earth's orbit and the stability of the Eastern ice cap of Antarctica, more specifically, on the continental fringe of Wilkes Land (East Antarctica).Related: Ice ages boost production of new ocean crust

From shipping containers to skyscrapers to turbines, good old steel is still the workhorse of our modern world. Now, scientists are discovering new secrets to make the material better, lighter, and stronger.Today a team of material scientists at Pohang University of Science and Technology in South Korea announced what they're calling one of the biggest steel breakthroughs of the last few decades: an altogether new type of flexible, ultra-strong, lightweight steel.

They have mastered the art of poker, helped write a cookbook and can cope with a basic conversation. The decision by a Japanese bank to staff their frontdesk with a bevy of robots is just the latest in a series of advances and predictions that at times appear to suggest we will all be replaced, professionally and socially, by automatons.Ray Kurzweil, director of engineering at Google, has estimated that robots will reach human levels of intelligence by 2029, purportedly leaving us about 14 years to reign supreme. So, how far are we along this trajectory?.

Special fences built around dams in arid parts of Australia could help eradicate the menace of cane toads, according to new research.The toads, regarded as poisonous pests, are drawn to the dams by the need for water and die in large numbers if fences hold them back, scientists said.Related: Frogs use their eyes to push food down while swallowing.

Animal testing may soon be a thing of the past. A new "multi-organ chip" could replace the need for animal testing, an industry that causes 100 million animals to suffer every year. The chip simulates a kind of "mini organ," mimicking metabolic processes in the human body.Last year, the technology was awarded an animal safety research prize. Now, the Fraunhofer research institute has released details about exactly how it works.

Chimpanzees have special grunts for particular types of foods, and their fellow chimps know exactly what those calls mean. Now, by studying what happened after two separate groups of adult chimpanzees moved in together at the Edinburgh Zoo, researchers have made the surprising discovery that our primate cousins can change those referential grunts over time, to make them sound more like those of new peers.Alt: Tomato, Tomahto? Chimps Can Learn 'Dialects'

In the muddy sediments beneath the deep sea, scientists have found ancient communities of bacteria that have remained virtually unchanged for 2.3 billion years. Researchers say these microscopic organisms are an example of "extreme evolutionary stasis" and represent the greatest lack of evolution ever seen.They may also, paradoxically, prove that Darwin's theory of evolution is true.Alt: Scientists discover organism that hasn't evolved in more than 2 billion years

The waiting list for organ transplants is growing at an alarming rate while the number of potential organ donors has failed to keep pace. Encouragingly, scientists are working several high-tech solutions in the field of regenerative medicine.Related: Recipient of Artificial Heart Goes HomeRelated: 3-D printers to make human body parts? It's happening

Taking in such spine-tingling wonders as the Grand Canyon, Sistine Chapel ceiling or Schubert's 'Ave Maria' may give a boost to the body's defense system. Researchers have linked positive emotions -- especially the awe we feel when touched by the beauty of nature, art and spirituality -- with lower levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines.Related: Collaboration needed on nature and wellbeing links

Hey, fitness junkies, here's something to ponder the next time you lace up your athletic shoes for that long, heart-pounding run: A Danish study recently concluded that high-intensity, high-mileage joggers die at the same rate as channel-surfing couch potatoes.The study, published Monday in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, is the latest to confront the controversial topic of what constitutes too much exercise.

We all know the type -- people who can talk on and on about their latest adventures, seemingly unaware that those around them may not be interested. They also get really psyched up about their own experiences. A new paper suggests that what separates such people from the rest of us is their perceived sense of power: Powerful people, researchers found, draw inspiration from themselves rather than others.

New research suggests that men on lower incomes are more likely to help their partners with housework than higher-earners.Researchers at the University of Warwick found that while the burden of keeping the home clean is starting to be shared more equally between couples, signs of a class divide are beginning to emerge. However, women are still by far doing the most around the home, no matter how many hours they work or how much they are paid.

Both men and women fall into two groups, one more inclined to be promiscuous and the other more inclined to be faithful. Unlike other species, which are inclined to be either promiscuous or faithful, both mating strategies seem to be used by humans.They measured the length of the index (second) finger and the ring (fourth) finger. The shorter the index finger in relation to the ring finger (the 2D:4D ratio), the higher the levels of testosterone that person is likely to have been exposed to while developing in the womb.

Chronic cocaine use alters brain circuits that help us learn from mistakes, a new study suggests.The study, published online Tuesday in the Journal of Neuroscience, could offer a biological marker for the cycle of destructive decisions that many addicts exhibit.Related: Hungry Bees Lose Self-Control

If you're a member of a wasp species in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia, you'd better hope your colony-mates can recognize you on sight, or you risk being punched in the mouth.That's what scientists from Queen Mary, University of London (QMUL) found when they took a look at how the wasp species Liostenogaster flavolineata weighs facial recognition vs. odor cues when trying to tell friend from foe.

Two sculptures that languished in obscurity for more than a century may be the only surviving bronze works by Michelangelo, researchers announced in Britain on Monday.The international research team led by Britain's University of Cambridge and the Fitzwilliam Museum uncovered new evidence linking the two nude works to Michelangelo, whose famed works include the painted ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.

The four surviving original copies of the 1215 Magna Carta have been brought together for the first time in London.Magna Carta is one of the most important, well-known documents in history and this year marks its 800th anniversary.

Some people are the unfortunate owners of faces that just look guilty, while others have faces that help them get away with stuff, according to the results of a study led by Brian C. Holtz of Temple University, published recently in the journal Personnel Psychology. In a series of three experiments, Holtz found that people were less likely to blame others who have more "trustworthy" faces.

LAWYERS on average are much more liberal than the general population, a new study has found. But judges are more conservative than the average lawyer, to say nothing of the graduates of top law schools.What accounts for the gap? The answer, the study says, is that judicial selection processes are affected by politics.

Older people are continuing to enjoy active sex lives well into their seventies and eighties, according to new research. More than half (54%) of men and almost a third (31%) of women over the age of 70 reported they were still sexually active, with a third of these men and women having frequent sex.Related: It turns out male sexuality is just as fluid as female sexuality

Every year, new words get added to dictionaries around the world, while other words slip from our lexicon. A recent study looked at the rate at which languages pick up or lose vocabulary. The researchers found that, similar to biological evolution, languages evolve at different speeds depending on the size of the population that speaks them.

Eve, an artificially-intelligent 'robot scientist' could make drug discovery faster and much cheaper, say researchers writing in the Royal Society journal Interface. The team has demonstrated the success of the approach as Eve discovered that a compound shown to have anti-cancer properties might also be used in the fight against malaria.Robot scientists are a natural extension of the trend of increased involvement of automation in science. They can automatically develop and test hypotheses to explain observations, run experiments using laboratory robotics, interpret the results to amend their hypotheses, and then repeat the cycle, automating high-throughput hypothesis-led research.

Scientists from Germany and Japan have developed a new magnetic sensor, which is thin, robust and pliable enough to be smoothly adapted to human skin, even to the most flexible part of the human palm. The achievement suggests it may be possible to equip humans with magnetic sense.Magnetoception is a sense which allows bacteria, insects and even vertebrates like birds and sharks to detect magnetic fields for orientation and navigation. Humans are however unable to perceive magnetic fields naturally.

The key to eternal life could be a procedure to lengthen chromosomes.The procedure would allow scientists to lengthen telomeres, the protective caps that are on the end of chromosomes and shorten with age.The telomeres protect chromosomes from getting damage as cells divide and grow.

Fossils on the moon may be our best bet for discovering the origins of life in our solar system. New experiments suggest that if the precursors to life arrived on Earth encased in a comet or asteroid, the moon could have preserved a record of it, despite being covered in lava at the time.The simplest forms of life appeared on Earth some 3.8 billion years ago, but scientists still have no idea how. Since that crucial time, Earth's tectonic forces have destroyed almost all the rocks that might have kept records of the beginnings of life.

Humanoid can communicate in 19 languages, determine customers' feelings from their facial expressionsStanding less than 23 inches tall and with only three digits on hands that are too big for his body, Nao is an unusual appointment at Japan's biggest bank.Alt: Robots to help out at Mitsubishi UFJ branches

The oceans have long taunted those who thirst. Records dating to A.D. 200 show that sailors boiled seawater and used sponges to absorb fresh water from the steam. Today, desalination is more sophisticated: multistage flash distillation, reverse osmosis, electrodialysis, and more.But one thing hasn't changed since the time of the ancient mariners: It takes a lot of energy to squeeze drinkable water from salt water.

2014 was a banner year for making automotive fuel from nonfood crops, with a series of major new production plants opening in the United States. However, producing this so-called cellulosic ethanol remains considerably more expensive than gasoline. So researchers are always on the lookout for new ways to trim costs. Now they have a new lead, a microbe that can use abundant nitrogen gas as the fertilizer it needs to produce ethanol from plants.

Every February, a small, furry mammal with buck teeth gets trotted out in front of a crowd in Pennsylvania to take part in a time-honored Groundhog Day tradition: If the beloved groundhog Punxsutawney Phil "sees" his shadow, the country is in for six more weeks of winter; if he doesn't, we're in for an early spring.The prognosticating woodchuck saw his shadow today (Feb. 2), according to news reports. He also saw it last year, foretelling a brutal winter throughout the Northeast. But how often are Phil's shadowy forecasts accurate?

Scientists have found some of the strongest evidence yet that musical training in younger years can prevent the decay in speech listening skills in later life. "Musical activities are an engaging form of cognitive brain training and we are now seeing robust evidence of brain plasticity from musical training not just in younger brains, but in older brains too," said the study's leader.

Neanderthals probably cooked their food before eating but would have struggled to eat root vegetables, according to a new study.Geneticists have analysed ancient DNA from the remains of Neanderthals and another ancient human relative, the Denisovans.They found that these prehistoric human ancestors lacked key genes needed to chew hard foods - just like modern humans alive today.

Opium, "magic" mushrooms and other psychoactive substances have been used since prehistoric times all over the world, according to a new review of archaeological findings.The evidence shows that people have been consuming psychoactive substances for centuries, or even millennia, in many regions of the world, said Elisa Guerra-Doce, an associate professor of prehistory at the University of Valladolid in Spain, who wrote the review.

This new cartogram scales each country's geographic area by its population, and it's taught us so much.Before we begin, you're going to have to click here to access the zoomable, high res version. Because without it, countries like Iceland, Mongolia, and Vanuatu are going to be too tiny to even see.Related: Why Racism is Bad For Your Health

This image, taken by Expedition 41 aboard the International Space Station, looks like the fine artwork of some extra-terrestrial, but it's actually decades old scarred earth and entrenchments of warfare along the Iraq/Iran border.

From birth, we instinctively yelp whenever we are hurt.Now, scientists say there is a reason behind our spontaneous groans as being vocal helps us tolerate pain.In a study, 56 people were asked to immerse their hands in painfully cold water.

Galaxies can die early because the gas they need to make new stars is suddenly ejected, new research suggests. Most galaxies age slowly as they run out of raw materials needed for growth over billions of years. But a pilot study looking at galaxies that die young has found some might shoot out this gas early on, causing them to redden and kick the bucket prematurely.Related: Stunning supernova has a bubbly interior

The socioeconomic shocks following the collapse of the Soviet Union also affected the region's wildlife, researchers have suggested.A study of large mammal species in Russia found that most experienced a sharp decline in numbers from 1991.Related: Urban rabbits downsize to smaller, 'studio' warrens

The E-Cat, or Energy Catalyser, is an alleged cold fusion reactor invented by Andrea Rossi. While many researchers claim to have produced small quantities of excess heat using nickel and hydrogen, Rossi claims he can produce kilowatts and his technology is ready for industry. Rossi's claims are far-fetched, but the E-Cat refuses to go away. Now it appears to have been not only verified, but replicated. Should we start taking Rossi seriously?

A researcher at Missouri University of Science and Technology has discovered a bacterium that can produce hydrogen, an element that one day could lessen the world's dependence on oil.Dr. Melanie Mormile, professor of biological sciences at Missouri S&T, and her team discovered the bacterium "Halanaerobium hydrogeninformans" in Soap Lake, Washington. It can "produce hydrogen under saline and alkaline conditions in amounts that rival genetically modified organisms," Mormile says.

The 3-D cerebellum-like structures appear to function like normal brain tissue, and could one day help to heal people with neurodegenerative diseases and brain damage.Researchers from Japan have worked out how to make human embryonic stem cells organise themselves into functioning, cerebellum-like brain tissue.Related: 'Vast majority' of neurosurgeons practice defensive medicine

With an estimated 1.6 billion tonnes of water ice at its poles and an abundance of rare-earth elements hidden below its surface, the moon is rich ground for mining.In this month's issue of Physics World, science writer Richard Corfield explains how private firms and space agencies are dreaming of tapping into these lucrative resources and turning the moon's grey, barren landscape into a money-making conveyer belt.

A unique 2,500-year-old wall relief showing an unidentified pharaoh and two deities, a rare depiction of obelisks being cut and loaded onto boats, and two large sandstone obelisks have been discovered within the ancient quarry of Gebel el Silsila, 65 km north of Aswan, by archaeologists from the Gebel el Silsila Survey Project.The ancient wall relief (46 x 38.5 cm in size) shows an unidentified Egyptian pharaoh presenting offerings to the gods Amun-Ra and Thoth, a unique combination rarely depicted as a pair. The combination of the pair may be due to a lunar aspect of the cult at Gebel el Silsila.

Hearts, kidneys and other donated organs have added more than 2 million years to the lives of the American patients who received them, according to a new analysis.That tally, published this week by the journal JAMA Surgery, covers 25 years of organ donation in the U.S. Researchers started with 1987, the year when the United Network for Organ Sharing began keeping track of all organ transplants in the U.S.

Earth's magnetic field shields the life on our planet's surface from cosmic rays. It is generated by turbulent motions of liquid iron in Earth's core. Iron is a metal, which means it can easily conduct a flow of electrons. New findings show that a missing piece of the traditional theory explaining why metals become less conductive when they are heated was needed to complete the puzzle of this field-generating process.Related: Metal explosions 'driven by charge'

Powerful bursts of radiation may have wiped out life on the majority of other planets and even caused a major extinction on Earth, according to research.Physicists have calculated that gamma-ray bursts - caused by some of the largest explosions in the universe - may have prevented the development of complex life in 90 per cent of galaxies.The intense high energy radiation given off by these explosions is known to be lethal to even the most hardy of organisms and can strip away important gases in the atmosphere.

In a paper published last month in the journal Astrobiology, geobiologist Nora Noffke drew attention to features in Martian rocks that she suggested bore striking resemblance to trace fossils of microbial mats on Earth.Not everyone agreed with her interpretation. As Curiosity's project scientist Ashwin Vasavada explained to other news outlets (including Space.com), the team had evaluated the features as non-biological, likely having been shaped by erosion or the transport of sand in water.

Astrophysics and medical pathology don't, at first sight, appear to have much in common. What do sunspots have to do with liver spots? How does the big bang connect with cystic fibrosis?Astrophysicist Karel Schrijver, a senior fellow at the Lockheed Martin Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory, and his wife, Iris Schrijver, professor of pathology at Stanford University, have joined the dots in a new book, Living with the Stars: How the Human Body is Connected to the Life Cycles of the Earth, the Planets, and the Stars.

Two phenomena known to inhibit the potential habitability of planets -- tidal forces and vigorous stellar activity -- might instead help chances for life on certain planets orbiting low-mass stars, University of Washington astronomers have found.In a paper published this month in the journal Astrobiology, UW doctoral student Rodrigo Luger and co-author Rory Barnes, research assistant professor, say the two forces could combine to transform uninhabitable "mini-Neptunes" -- big planets in outer orbits with solid cores and thick hydrogen atmospheres -- into closer-in, gas-free, potentially habitable worlds.

Norovirus, the most common cause of gastroenteritis in the world, can be killed with "cold plasma," researchers in Germany have reported.The virus, which elicits vomiting and diarrhea, has gained international notoriety for causing outbreaks on cruise ships. However, such incidents represent merely a fraction of the tens of millions of cases that occur around the world each year.

Moderate-intensity exercise, or even just walking, can improve quality of life for depressed middle-aged women, a large Australian study suggests.Women who averaged 150 minutes of moderate exercise (golf, tennis, aerobics classes, swimming, or line-dancing) or 200 minutes of walking every week had more energy, socialized more, felt better emotionally, and weren't as limited by their depression when researchers followed up after three years.

Scientists who claimed last year to have found a pattern in the sky left by the super-rapid expansion of space just fractions of a second after the Big Bang were mistaken.The signal had been confounded by light emission from dust in our own galaxy.Related: Could a new proposed particle help to detect Dark Matter?

NWA 7034, a meteorite found a few years ago in the Moroccan desert, is like no other rock ever found on Earth. It's been shown to be a 4.4 billion-year-old chunk of the Martian crust, and according to a new analysis, rocks just like it may cover vast swaths of Mars.Related: Gully patterns document Martian climate cyclesRelated: 'Knobby terrain' a sign of Mars's explosive past

The two hemispheres of Mars are more different from any other planet in our solar system. Non-volcanic, flat lowlands characterize the northern hemisphere, while highlands punctuated by countless volcanoes extend across the southern hemisphere. Although theories and assumptions about the origin of this so-called and often-discussed Mars dichotomy abound, there are very few definitive answers. Geophysicists are now providing a new explanation.