SCIENCE

Compared with the rest of the animal kingdom, mammals have the biggest brains and produce some of the smallest litters of offspring. A newly described fossil of an extinct mammal relative — and her 38 babies — is among the best evidence that a key development in the evolution of …

The adult mammalian body has an incredible ability to heal itself in response to injury. Yet, injuries to the spinal cord lead to devastating conditions, since severed nerve fibers fail to regenerate in the central nervous system. Consequently, the brain’s electrical commands about body movement no longer reach the muscles, …

With threats of sea level rise, storm surge and other natural disasters, researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science are turning to nature to protect humans from nature. They are developing innovative ways to guard coastlines and prevent scouring and erosion from waves and storms using …

The oceans contain large numbers of particles of biological origin, including, for example, living and dead plankton organisms and their faecal material. These so-called biogenic particles interact with each other and often form lumps, or scientifically correct aggregates, many of which sink down in the water column. In addition to …

Climate change may have played a more important role in the extinction of Neanderthals than previously believed, according to a new study published in the journal, Proceedings of the Natural Academy of Sciences. A team of researchers from a number of European and American research institutions, including Northumbria University, Newcastle, …

Bumblebees acquire a taste for pesticide-laced food as they become more exposed to it, a behaviour showing possible symptoms of addiction. This study of bumblebee behaviour indicates that the risk of pesticide-contaminated food entering bee colonies may be higher than previously thought, which can have impacts on colony reproductive success. …

During their annual migration to wintering sites in Mexico, monarch butterflies encounter dangers ranging from cars and trucks to storms, droughts and predators. A study led by ecologists at the University of Georgia has found evidence that these iconic insects might be facing a new challenge. At sites along their …

Biological anthropologists from The University of Texas at Austin have described three new species of fossil primates that were previously unknown to science. All of the new primates were residents of San Diego County at a time when southern California was filled with lush tropical forests. Since the 1930s, numerous …

At roughly 415,000 acres, Northern California’s Mendocino Complex Fire is now the state’s largest recorded wildfire, surpassing the record held by Santa Barbara and Ventura counties’ Thomas Fire, which occurred less than a year before. Roughly 10 other large-scale conflagrations are threatening the state. And California is not yet even …

What exactly happens when you blow on a soap film to make a bubble? Behind this simple question about a favorite childhood activity is some real science, researchers at New York University have found. In a series of experiments replicating bubble blowing, NYU’s Applied Math Lab has discovered two ways …

One of the most intriguing questions about the human brain is also one of the most difficult for neuroscientists to answer: What sets our brains apart from those of other animals? “We really don’t understand what makes the human brain special,” said Ed Lein, Ph.D., Investigator at the Allen Institute …

Bone marrow, the spongy tissue inside most of our bones, produces red blood cells as well as immune cells that help fight off infections and heal injuries. According to a new study of mice and humans, tiny tunnels run from skull bone marrow to the lining of the brain and …

Levels of some persistent organic pollutants (POPs) regulated by the Stockholm Convention are decreasing in the Arctic, according to an international team of researchers who have been actively monitoring the northern regions of the globe. POPs are a diverse group of long-lived chemicals that can travel long distances from their …

Over the past 50 years researchers, clinicians, professional organizations, and health charities have waged war on sugar, calling for dietary recommendations to be changed and for a sugar tax on soft drinks and sweet treats in an effort to reduce obesity and cardiovascular diseases. In 2014, the WHO recommended that …

With an equator diameter of around 143,000 kilometers, Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system and has 300 times the mass of the Earth. The formation mechanism of giant planets like Jupiter has been a hotly debated topic for several decades. Now, astrophysicists of the Swiss National Centre …

Understanding the origin and time evolution of near-Earth asteroids (NEAs) is an issue of scientific interest and practical importance because they are potentially hazardous to the Earth. However, when and how these NEAs were formed and what they suffered during their lifetime remain enigmas. Japanese scientists, including those from Osaka …

Kanazawa – Diamonds are adored for their dazzling beauty, often displayed in exquisite jewelry. But, this solid form of carbon is also renowned for its outstanding physical and electronic properties. In Japan, a collaboration between researchers at Kanazawa University’s Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology and AIST in Tsukuba, …

A sedentary lifestyle combined with a diet dominated by processed foods has widely resulted in a range of conditions including diabetes, obesity, and high blood pressure, which are known collectively as metabolic syndrome. Although many insights into the causes of metabolic syndrome have been made, much remains to be understood …

A geographic profiling tool used to catch serial criminals could help reduce the casualties of human-tiger conflict, according to scientists who collaborated on an innovative conservation research study. The results of their research, published in Nature Communications, help explain how villagers in Sumatra coexist with tigers. If used pre-emptively it …

Happy older people live longer, according to researchers at Duke-NUS Medical School in Singapore. In a study published today in Age and Ageing, the scientific journal of the British Geriatrics Society, the authors found that an increase in happiness is directly proportional with a reduction in mortality. The study utilised …