SCIENCE

If you’ve ever felt nauseous before an important presentation, or foggy after a big meal, then you know the power of the gut-brain connection. Scientists now believe that a surprising array of conditions, from appetite disorders and obesity to arthritis and depression, may get their start in the gut. But …

Scientists from The Australian National University (ANU) and overseas have discovered molecules of fat in an ancient fossil to reveal the earliest confirmed animal in the geological record that lived on Earth 558 million years ago. The strange creature called Dickinsonia, which grew up to 1.4 metres in length and …

Mammals are unique in many ways. We’re warm-blooded and agile in comparison with our reptilian relatives. But a new study, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and led by Harvard University researchers Stephanie Pierce and Katrina Jones, suggests we’re unique in one more way — the makeup of our …

In the modern world, people cooperate with other people including strangers all the time. We give blood, tip providers of various services, and donate to charity despite the fact that there is seemingly nothing in it for us. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on September 20 who’ve studied Hadza …

A UK team of astronomers report the first detection of matter falling into a black hole at 30% of the speed of light, located in the centre of the billion-light year distant galaxy PG211+143. The team, led by Professor Ken Pounds of the University of Leicester, used data from the …

A novel mathematical approach has uncovered that some animal cells have robust 12-hour cycles of genetic activity, in addition to circadian or 24-hour cycles. The method, published in the journal PLOS ONE, assessed the periodicity of gene expression data and compared the results with those obtained with other computational methods. …

Researchers at The Australian National University (ANU) have uncovered a previously unconfirmed population boom across South East Asia that occurred 4,000 years ago, thanks to a new method for measuring prehistoric population growth. Using the new population measurement method, which utilises human skeletal remains, they have been able to prove …

Days after a fire tore through Brazil’s National Museum and destroyed specimens of irreplaceable heritage, a team of scientists has quantified the vast number of fossils that sit unstudied in natural history collections. Based on their findings, the team estimates only 3 to 4 percent of recorded fossil locations from …

A collaborative team of marine biologists has discovered that basking sharks, hundreds of which are found off the shores of Ireland, Cornwall, the Isle of Man and Scotland, can jump as fast and as high out of the water as their cousins, the famously powerful and predatory great white shark. …

The words “fly like an eagle” are famously part of a song, but they may also be words that make some scientists scratch their heads. Especially when it comes to soaring birds like eagles, falcons and hawks, who seem to ascend to great heights over hills, canyons and mountain tops …

A recent study of more than 100 years of river level records from the Amazon shows a significant increase in frequency and severity of floods. The scientists’ analysis of the potential causes could contribute to more accurate flood prediction for the Amazon Basin. Water levels of the Amazon River have …

A typical desk globe is designed to be a geometric sphere and to rotate smoothly when you spin it. Our actual planet is far less perfect — in both shape and in rotation. Earth is not a perfect sphere. When it rotates on its spin axis — an imaginary line …

Quantum jumps are usually regarded to be instantaneous. However, new measurement methods are so precise that it has now become possible to observe such a process and to measure its duration precisely — for example the famous ‘photoelectric effect’, first described by Albert Einstein. It was one of the crucial …

Parts of the world’s largest ice sheet would melt if Antarctic warming of just 2°C is sustained for millennia, according to international research. University of Queensland scientist Dr Kevin Welsh was part of a team that used evidence from warm periods in Earth’s history to see how the East Antarctic …

A group of scientists from UNSW Sydney, the University of Sydney, Deakin University, Portugal and Brazil have unlocked the DNA of the cane toad, a poisonous amphibian that is a threat to many native Australian species. The findings were published in academic journal GigaScience today. “Despite its iconic status, there …

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has often credited his success to spending countless hours studying his opponent’s movements on film. This understanding of movement is necessary for all living species, whether it’s figuring out what angle to throw a ball at, or perceiving the motion of predators and prey. But simple …

Scientists have known for years that warming global climate is melting the Greenland Ice Sheet, the second largest ice sheet in the world. A new study from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), however, shows that the rate of melting might be temporarily increased or decreased by two existing climate …

Two of the closest galaxies to the Milky Way — the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds — may have had a third companion, astronomers believe. Research published today describes how another “luminous” galaxy was likely engulfed by the Large Magellanic Cloud some three to five billion years ago. ICRAR Masters …

If getting to the gym seems like a struggle, a University of British Columbia researcher wants you to know this: the struggle is real, and it’s happening inside your brain. The brain is where Matthieu Boisgontier and his colleagues went looking for answers to what they call the “exercise paradox”: …

With sea ice in the Arctic melting at an alarming rate, opportunities for trans-Arctic shipping are opening up, and by mid-century ships will be able to sail right over the North Pole — something not previously possible for humankind. UConn geographer Scott Stephenson and colleagues say the growth of trans-Arctic …