Newsdesk Archive
Public opinion towards science has made headlines over the past several years for a variety of reasons
Stopping Internet piracy may benefit filmmakers
University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.Using electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, Rajesh Rao sent a brain signal to Andrea Stocco on the other side of the UW campus, causing Stocco
8 hour sleeping is a modern invention.Imagine you are a denizen of the 18th century. It
When something is unlikely to happen, people often say that there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning. The fact is however that lightning does strike, and is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury.Furthermore, important infrastructure including airports, hospitals, sports stadiums and power lines can often be affected by lighting. Electronic components are particularly vulnerable to lightning-induced transient voltages.
The concept of a time machine typically conjures up images of an implausible plot device used in a few too many science-fiction storylines. But according to Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which explains how gravity operates in the universe, real-life time travel isn't just a vague fantasy.
A virus that is similar to measles in humans is suspected of killing hundreds of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins since July, US officials said Tuesday.Morbillivirus infects the lungs and the brain, causing pneumonia and abnormal behavior, and is often fatal, experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Wolves howl more when a close companion or high-ranking group member leaves.That's what scientists found when they analysed how captive wolves reacted when one was taken to the forest for a walk.Known to be social creatures, the work further emphasises the importance of a wolf's relationships within its pack.The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest the wolf's howl is explained by social factors rather than physiological ones such as stress.
The return of sea otters has caused a remarkable recovery of endangered sea grasses which grow in estuaries, bays and inlets and provide food and shelter for a wide variety of marine wildlife, a study has found.Sea otters are considered to be top predators and it has surprised scientists to find that they have caused the growth of vegetation at the very bottom of the food chain. But the discovery is one of number of recent observations pointing to the importance of animals at the top of the ecological hierarchy to restore the overall health of a threatened habitat.
Humans may be responsible for a jump in brain growth among mice and some other small mammals living around us in both urban and rural settings, a new study finds.Small mammals that either produce a lot of babies or eat a lot of bugs exhibited the greatest cranial capacity (i.e. brain growth) due to human-caused environmental changes over the past century, suggests the study, which is published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
University of Michigan researchers and their University of Hawaii colleagues say they've solved the longstanding mystery of how mercury gets into open-ocean fish, and their findings suggest that levels of the toxin in Pacific Ocean fish will likely rise in coming decades.
A new study on an array of marine animals shows that they all will suffer in different ways in the acidified oceans of coming decades. That means rising carbon dioxide levels will trigger some profound reshuffling of life in the seas as some species are more hurt than others.Because some of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels is sucked up by the oceans, it causes sea water to gradually become more acidic. This ocean acidification, as it
British researchers are developing robots capable to work with people and act intelligently in real-world environments.Funded through EU
AN INDIAN geologist believes he may have evidence of gods from the sky landing on earth.Nitish Priyadarshi says that ancient foot prints and an engraved image of a mysterious flying object in a village in Central India could signify the presence of gods.
European hunter-gatherers acquired domesticated pigs from nearby farmers as early as 4600BC, according to new evidence.The international team of scientists, including researchers at Durham and Aberdeen universities, showed there was interaction between the hunter-gatherer and farming communities and a 'sharing' of animals and knowledge. The interaction between the two groups eventually led to the hunter-gatherers incorporating farming and breeding of livestock into their culture, say the scientists.
The 5000 year old gold mine of Sakdrissi in Georgia lies 50 km southwest of the capital Tbilisi and was placed under state heritage law protection in 2006 as a site of international importance. However, this status was removed on the 5th July 2013 to pave the way for an opencast mine to begin work by the end of September 2013.
Tel Hazor in northern Israel has long been a treasure trove for archeologists, but a recent discovery of part of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian sphinx has been a most unexpected find.Inexplicably buried far from Egypt, the paws of a sphinx statue, resting on its base, have been unearthed with an inscription in hieroglyphs naming King Mycerinus. The pharaoh ruled in 2500 BC and oversaw the construction of one of the three Giza pyramids, where he was enshrined.
Supervolcanoes, such as the one sitting dormant under Yellowstone National Park, are capable of producing eruptions thousands of times more powerful than normal volcanic eruptions. While they only happen every several thousand years, these eruptions have the potential to kill millions of people and animals due to the massive amount of heat and ash they release into the atmosphere. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that the ash produced by supervolcanoes can be so hot that it has the ability to turn back into lava once it hits the ground tens of miles away from the original eruption.
Public opinion towards science has made headlines over the past several years for a variety of reasons
Stopping Internet piracy may benefit filmmakers
University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.Using electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, Rajesh Rao sent a brain signal to Andrea Stocco on the other side of the UW campus, causing Stocco
8 hour sleeping is a modern invention.Imagine you are a denizen of the 18th century. It
When something is unlikely to happen, people often say that there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning. The fact is however that lightning does strike, and is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury.Furthermore, important infrastructure including airports, hospitals, sports stadiums and power lines can often be affected by lighting. Electronic components are particularly vulnerable to lightning-induced transient voltages.
The concept of a time machine typically conjures up images of an implausible plot device used in a few too many science-fiction storylines. But according to Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which explains how gravity operates in the universe, real-life time travel isn't just a vague fantasy.
A virus that is similar to measles in humans is suspected of killing hundreds of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins since July, US officials said Tuesday.Morbillivirus infects the lungs and the brain, causing pneumonia and abnormal behavior, and is often fatal, experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Wolves howl more when a close companion or high-ranking group member leaves.That's what scientists found when they analysed how captive wolves reacted when one was taken to the forest for a walk.Known to be social creatures, the work further emphasises the importance of a wolf's relationships within its pack.The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest the wolf's howl is explained by social factors rather than physiological ones such as stress.
The return of sea otters has caused a remarkable recovery of endangered sea grasses which grow in estuaries, bays and inlets and provide food and shelter for a wide variety of marine wildlife, a study has found.Sea otters are considered to be top predators and it has surprised scientists to find that they have caused the growth of vegetation at the very bottom of the food chain. But the discovery is one of number of recent observations pointing to the importance of animals at the top of the ecological hierarchy to restore the overall health of a threatened habitat.
Humans may be responsible for a jump in brain growth among mice and some other small mammals living around us in both urban and rural settings, a new study finds.Small mammals that either produce a lot of babies or eat a lot of bugs exhibited the greatest cranial capacity (i.e. brain growth) due to human-caused environmental changes over the past century, suggests the study, which is published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
University of Michigan researchers and their University of Hawaii colleagues say they've solved the longstanding mystery of how mercury gets into open-ocean fish, and their findings suggest that levels of the toxin in Pacific Ocean fish will likely rise in coming decades.
A new study on an array of marine animals shows that they all will suffer in different ways in the acidified oceans of coming decades. That means rising carbon dioxide levels will trigger some profound reshuffling of life in the seas as some species are more hurt than others.Because some of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels is sucked up by the oceans, it causes sea water to gradually become more acidic. This ocean acidification, as it
British researchers are developing robots capable to work with people and act intelligently in real-world environments.Funded through EU
AN INDIAN geologist believes he may have evidence of gods from the sky landing on earth.Nitish Priyadarshi says that ancient foot prints and an engraved image of a mysterious flying object in a village in Central India could signify the presence of gods.
European hunter-gatherers acquired domesticated pigs from nearby farmers as early as 4600BC, according to new evidence.The international team of scientists, including researchers at Durham and Aberdeen universities, showed there was interaction between the hunter-gatherer and farming communities and a 'sharing' of animals and knowledge. The interaction between the two groups eventually led to the hunter-gatherers incorporating farming and breeding of livestock into their culture, say the scientists.
The 5000 year old gold mine of Sakdrissi in Georgia lies 50 km southwest of the capital Tbilisi and was placed under state heritage law protection in 2006 as a site of international importance. However, this status was removed on the 5th July 2013 to pave the way for an opencast mine to begin work by the end of September 2013.
Tel Hazor in northern Israel has long been a treasure trove for archeologists, but a recent discovery of part of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian sphinx has been a most unexpected find.Inexplicably buried far from Egypt, the paws of a sphinx statue, resting on its base, have been unearthed with an inscription in hieroglyphs naming King Mycerinus. The pharaoh ruled in 2500 BC and oversaw the construction of one of the three Giza pyramids, where he was enshrined.
Supervolcanoes, such as the one sitting dormant under Yellowstone National Park, are capable of producing eruptions thousands of times more powerful than normal volcanic eruptions. While they only happen every several thousand years, these eruptions have the potential to kill millions of people and animals due to the massive amount of heat and ash they release into the atmosphere. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that the ash produced by supervolcanoes can be so hot that it has the ability to turn back into lava once it hits the ground tens of miles away from the original eruption.
Public opinion towards science has made headlines over the past several years for a variety of reasons
Stopping Internet piracy may benefit filmmakers
University of Washington researchers have performed what they believe is the first noninvasive human-to-human brain interface, with one researcher able to send a brain signal via the Internet to control the hand motions of a fellow researcher.Using electrical brain recordings and a form of magnetic stimulation, Rajesh Rao sent a brain signal to Andrea Stocco on the other side of the UW campus, causing Stocco
8 hour sleeping is a modern invention.Imagine you are a denizen of the 18th century. It
When something is unlikely to happen, people often say that there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning. The fact is however that lightning does strike, and is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury.Furthermore, important infrastructure including airports, hospitals, sports stadiums and power lines can often be affected by lighting. Electronic components are particularly vulnerable to lightning-induced transient voltages.
The concept of a time machine typically conjures up images of an implausible plot device used in a few too many science-fiction storylines. But according to Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which explains how gravity operates in the universe, real-life time travel isn't just a vague fantasy.
A virus that is similar to measles in humans is suspected of killing hundreds of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins since July, US officials said Tuesday.Morbillivirus infects the lungs and the brain, causing pneumonia and abnormal behavior, and is often fatal, experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Wolves howl more when a close companion or high-ranking group member leaves.That's what scientists found when they analysed how captive wolves reacted when one was taken to the forest for a walk.Known to be social creatures, the work further emphasises the importance of a wolf's relationships within its pack.The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest the wolf's howl is explained by social factors rather than physiological ones such as stress.
The return of sea otters has caused a remarkable recovery of endangered sea grasses which grow in estuaries, bays and inlets and provide food and shelter for a wide variety of marine wildlife, a study has found.Sea otters are considered to be top predators and it has surprised scientists to find that they have caused the growth of vegetation at the very bottom of the food chain. But the discovery is one of number of recent observations pointing to the importance of animals at the top of the ecological hierarchy to restore the overall health of a threatened habitat.
Humans may be responsible for a jump in brain growth among mice and some other small mammals living around us in both urban and rural settings, a new study finds.Small mammals that either produce a lot of babies or eat a lot of bugs exhibited the greatest cranial capacity (i.e. brain growth) due to human-caused environmental changes over the past century, suggests the study, which is published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
University of Michigan researchers and their University of Hawaii colleagues say they've solved the longstanding mystery of how mercury gets into open-ocean fish, and their findings suggest that levels of the toxin in Pacific Ocean fish will likely rise in coming decades.
A new study on an array of marine animals shows that they all will suffer in different ways in the acidified oceans of coming decades. That means rising carbon dioxide levels will trigger some profound reshuffling of life in the seas as some species are more hurt than others.Because some of the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by the burning of fossil fuels is sucked up by the oceans, it causes sea water to gradually become more acidic. This ocean acidification, as it
British researchers are developing robots capable to work with people and act intelligently in real-world environments.Funded through EU
AN INDIAN geologist believes he may have evidence of gods from the sky landing on earth.Nitish Priyadarshi says that ancient foot prints and an engraved image of a mysterious flying object in a village in Central India could signify the presence of gods.
European hunter-gatherers acquired domesticated pigs from nearby farmers as early as 4600BC, according to new evidence.The international team of scientists, including researchers at Durham and Aberdeen universities, showed there was interaction between the hunter-gatherer and farming communities and a 'sharing' of animals and knowledge. The interaction between the two groups eventually led to the hunter-gatherers incorporating farming and breeding of livestock into their culture, say the scientists.
The 5000 year old gold mine of Sakdrissi in Georgia lies 50 km southwest of the capital Tbilisi and was placed under state heritage law protection in 2006 as a site of international importance. However, this status was removed on the 5th July 2013 to pave the way for an opencast mine to begin work by the end of September 2013.
Tel Hazor in northern Israel has long been a treasure trove for archeologists, but a recent discovery of part of a 4,000-year-old Egyptian sphinx has been a most unexpected find.Inexplicably buried far from Egypt, the paws of a sphinx statue, resting on its base, have been unearthed with an inscription in hieroglyphs naming King Mycerinus. The pharaoh ruled in 2500 BC and oversaw the construction of one of the three Giza pyramids, where he was enshrined.
Supervolcanoes, such as the one sitting dormant under Yellowstone National Park, are capable of producing eruptions thousands of times more powerful than normal volcanic eruptions. While they only happen every several thousand years, these eruptions have the potential to kill millions of people and animals due to the massive amount of heat and ash they release into the atmosphere. Now, researchers at the University of Missouri have shown that the ash produced by supervolcanoes can be so hot that it has the ability to turn back into lava once it hits the ground tens of miles away from the original eruption.
When something is unlikely to happen, people often say that there is a greater chance of being struck by lightning. The fact is however that lightning does strike, and is one of the leading weather-related causes of death and injury.Furthermore, important infrastructure including airports, hospitals, sports stadiums and power lines can often be affected by lighting. Electronic components are particularly vulnerable to lightning-induced transient voltages.
The concept of a time machine typically conjures up images of an implausible plot device used in a few too many science-fiction storylines. But according to Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which explains how gravity operates in the universe, real-life time travel isn't just a vague fantasy.
A virus that is similar to measles in humans is suspected of killing hundreds of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins since July, US officials said Tuesday.Morbillivirus infects the lungs and the brain, causing pneumonia and abnormal behavior, and is often fatal, experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
Wolves howl more when a close companion or high-ranking group member leaves.That's what scientists found when they analysed how captive wolves reacted when one was taken to the forest for a walk.Known to be social creatures, the work further emphasises the importance of a wolf's relationships within its pack.The findings, published in Current Biology, suggest the wolf's howl is explained by social factors rather than physiological ones such as stress.
The return of sea otters has caused a remarkable recovery of endangered sea grasses which grow in estuaries, bays and inlets and provide food and shelter for a wide variety of marine wildlife, a study has found.Sea otters are considered to be top predators and it has surprised scientists to find that they have caused the growth of vegetation at the very bottom of the food chain. But the discovery is one of number of recent observations pointing to the importance of animals at the top of the ecological hierarchy to restore the overall health of a threatened habitat.
Humans may be responsible for a jump in brain growth among mice and some other small mammals living around us in both urban and rural settings, a new study finds.Small mammals that either produce a lot of babies or eat a lot of bugs exhibited the greatest cranial capacity (i.e. brain growth) due to human-caused environmental changes over the past century, suggests the study, which is published in the latest Proceedings of the Royal Society B.
University of Michigan researchers and their University of Hawaii colleagues say they've solved the longstanding mystery of how mercury gets into open-ocean fish, and their findings suggest that levels of the toxin in Pacific Ocean fish will likely rise in coming decades.
Small mammals live alongside urbanite humans around the world. These metropolitan habitats are a far cry from the field or forest they originally evolved to thrive in. The city presents a myriad of obstacles
Leicester archaeologists have revealed the bones of Richard III came within inches of destruction.A team from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) have discovered during a second, follow-up dig, a massive disturbance at the Grey Friars site where the bones of the medieval monarch were found last year.
The dark secrets of the legend of Beowulf, England
Why did humans invent music?Until the hot tub time machine becomes a reality, the answer to that question will remain as mysterious as the true identity of the '60s garage band ? and the Mysterians.
The passenger pigeon, the dodo and the woolly mammoth are just a few of the species wiped off the Earth by changing environments and human activities.Now, advances in biotechnology could enable scientists to bring extinct animals back from the grave. But critics argue the practice would only hinder conservation efforts, by resurrecting creatures that could not survive in the wild.
A chance find in a quarry led to the discovery that Leedsichthys problematicus grew up to 50ft long
India has banned hunting sharks for only their fins in a move to protect endangered species from indiscriminate hunting for parts wanted abroad.The practice of shark 'finning', or slicing off a shark's fins and throwing it back to die slowly on the ocean floor from starvation or inability to move, has exploded worldwide due to demand from China, where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy.
Mercury spilled into the air from polluting industrial centres travels thousands of miles before raining into the oceans to poison fish, according to scientists.The findings suggest that levels of the toxic metal in edible fish is likely to rise in the coming decades.
Sea ice decline and warming trends are changing the vegetation in nearby arctic coastal areas, according to two University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists.Uma Bhatt, an associate professor with UAF's Geophysical Institute, and Skip Walker, a professor at UAF's Institute of Arctic Biology, contributed to a recent review of research on the response of plants, marine life and animals to declining sea ice in the Arctic.
A 400-year-old banyan tree in Hong Kong will be cut down, authorities said Friday, after being hit by a fungal disease brought on when a park development starved its roots of oxygen and nutrients.Nestled in the heart of the city in Kowloon Park, the tree, Hong Kong's oldest Chinese banyan, has been infected with the deadly brown root rot disease that authorities fear could spread to others nearby.
The slow and inexorable increase in the oceans
The wings of the experimental aircraft arch more than 63 metres, the same span as an Airbus A340, but they look frail, supported on the airstrip by wheeled struts. They are covered in a patina of 11,268 photovoltaic cells, which look dark blue in the grey predawn. The four 10-horsepower propellers they power now start to spin silently. Bertrand Piccard, a 55-year-old explorer and psychiatrist, dons his helmet and oxygen mask and completes his final checks. The Solar Impulse quietly taxies forwards. The plane is travelling impossibly slowly
A leaden cloak of responsibility lies on the shoulders of UN scientists as they put the final touches to the first volume of a massive report that will give the world the most detailed picture yet of climate change.Due to be unveiled in Stockholm on September 27, the document will be scrutinised word by word by green groups, fossil-fuel lobbies and governments to see if it will yank climate change out of prolonged political limbo.
Self-driving taxis could become a reality. Google is reportedly now designing and developing its own self-driving car, instead of solely modifying existing vehicles as it's done up to this point, reports the recently departed Wall Street Journal writer Amir Efrati. Google's efforts to get its self-driving vehicle technology built into major automakers' cars have reportedly failed to bring about a partnership, and the company is now said to be interested in making a car of its own.
These are lean times for Ashif Mohamed
The Moon probably had water when it first formed four and a half billion years ago, according to a new study.Research reported in the journal Nature Geoscience, found evidence of water that was brought to the surface from deep within the lunar mantle by a series of ancient impacts."I think it would be very tough to have this water be anywhere other than original to the material that formed the moon," says the study's lead author Dr Rachel Klima of Johns Hopkins University.
The Dutch-based Mars One venture says more than 165,000 people around the world have voiced interest in a one-way trip to the Red Planet
A new study of insect pests found in an ancient storage jar on the Greek island of Santorini suggests the major volcanic eruption that took place there around 1600 B.C.
Small mammals live alongside urbanite humans around the world. These metropolitan habitats are a far cry from the field or forest they originally evolved to thrive in. The city presents a myriad of obstacles
Leicester archaeologists have revealed the bones of Richard III came within inches of destruction.A team from the University of Leicester Archaeological Services (ULAS) have discovered during a second, follow-up dig, a massive disturbance at the Grey Friars site where the bones of the medieval monarch were found last year.
The dark secrets of the legend of Beowulf, England
Why did humans invent music?Until the hot tub time machine becomes a reality, the answer to that question will remain as mysterious as the true identity of the '60s garage band ? and the Mysterians.
The passenger pigeon, the dodo and the woolly mammoth are just a few of the species wiped off the Earth by changing environments and human activities.Now, advances in biotechnology could enable scientists to bring extinct animals back from the grave. But critics argue the practice would only hinder conservation efforts, by resurrecting creatures that could not survive in the wild.
A chance find in a quarry led to the discovery that Leedsichthys problematicus grew up to 50ft long
India has banned hunting sharks for only their fins in a move to protect endangered species from indiscriminate hunting for parts wanted abroad.The practice of shark 'finning', or slicing off a shark's fins and throwing it back to die slowly on the ocean floor from starvation or inability to move, has exploded worldwide due to demand from China, where shark fin soup is considered a delicacy.
Mercury spilled into the air from polluting industrial centres travels thousands of miles before raining into the oceans to poison fish, according to scientists.The findings suggest that levels of the toxic metal in edible fish is likely to rise in the coming decades.
Sea ice decline and warming trends are changing the vegetation in nearby arctic coastal areas, according to two University of Alaska Fairbanks scientists.Uma Bhatt, an associate professor with UAF's Geophysical Institute, and Skip Walker, a professor at UAF's Institute of Arctic Biology, contributed to a recent review of research on the response of plants, marine life and animals to declining sea ice in the Arctic.
A 400-year-old banyan tree in Hong Kong will be cut down, authorities said Friday, after being hit by a fungal disease brought on when a park development starved its roots of oxygen and nutrients.Nestled in the heart of the city in Kowloon Park, the tree, Hong Kong's oldest Chinese banyan, has been infected with the deadly brown root rot disease that authorities fear could spread to others nearby.
The slow and inexorable increase in the oceans
The wings of the experimental aircraft arch more than 63 metres, the same span as an Airbus A340, but they look frail, supported on the airstrip by wheeled struts. They are covered in a patina of 11,268 photovoltaic cells, which look dark blue in the grey predawn. The four 10-horsepower propellers they power now start to spin silently. Bertrand Piccard, a 55-year-old explorer and psychiatrist, dons his helmet and oxygen mask and completes his final checks. The Solar Impulse quietly taxies forwards. The plane is travelling impossibly slowly
A leaden cloak of responsibility lies on the shoulders of UN scientists as they put the final touches to the first volume of a massive report that will give the world the most detailed picture yet of climate change.Due to be unveiled in Stockholm on September 27, the document will be scrutinised word by word by green groups, fossil-fuel lobbies and governments to see if it will yank climate change out of prolonged political limbo.
Self-driving taxis could become a reality. Google is reportedly now designing and developing its own self-driving car, instead of solely modifying existing vehicles as it's done up to this point, reports the recently departed Wall Street Journal writer Amir Efrati. Google's efforts to get its self-driving vehicle technology built into major automakers' cars have reportedly failed to bring about a partnership, and the company is now said to be interested in making a car of its own.
These are lean times for Ashif Mohamed
The Moon probably had water when it first formed four and a half billion years ago, according to a new study.Research reported in the journal Nature Geoscience, found evidence of water that was brought to the surface from deep within the lunar mantle by a series of ancient impacts."I think it would be very tough to have this water be anywhere other than original to the material that formed the moon," says the study's lead author Dr Rachel Klima of Johns Hopkins University.
The Dutch-based Mars One venture says more than 165,000 people around the world have voiced interest in a one-way trip to the Red Planet
A new study of insect pests found in an ancient storage jar on the Greek island of Santorini suggests the major volcanic eruption that took place there around 1600 B.C.
Small mammals live alongside urbanite humans around the world. These metropolitan habitats are a far cry from the field or forest they originally evolved to thrive in. The city presents a myriad of obstacles