Other Sciences News

Australopithecus africanus, a mother with an infant. Image credit: Jose Garcia & Renaud Joannes-Boyau, Southern Cross University.

Australopithecus Mothers Breastfed Their Infants for Year after Birth

Jul 17, 2019 by News Staff

A high-resolution trace-element analysis of 2.6-2.1-million-year-old teeth from an extinct hominin called Australopithecus africanus has revealed that...

Matcha tea. Image credit: Dung Thuy Vu Nguyen.

Matcha Tea Has Anti-Anxiety Properties, New Study Shows

Jul 16, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

In a study done in mice, a team of researchers at Kumamoto University, Japan, demonstrated that Matcha tea powder exerts strong and synergistic anxiolytic...

Earth’s internal structure: dense solid metallic core, viscous metallic outer core, mantle and silicate based crust. Image credit: NASA.

Material from Earth’s Core Has Been Leaking into Mantle for Billions of Years

Jul 12, 2019 by The Conversation

Earth’s magnetic field protects and makes our planet habitable by stopping harmful high-energy particles from space, including from the Sun. The source...

Artist’s reconstruction of an Asian caveman. Image credit: Peter Schouten.

Enigmatic Skull Found in Greece Suggests Early Homo sapiens Reached Europe 210,000 Years Ago

Jul 11, 2019 by Enrico de Lazaro

A 210,000-year-old partial skull found in southern Greece about four decades ago has been identified as the earliest example of anatomically modern Homo...

Schematic for the fabrication of the eggshell microparticle-reinforced hydrogels and cell encapsulation in 3D. Image credit: Wu et al, doi: 10.1039/C9BM00230H.

Eggshell Particle-Reinforced Hydrogel Can Help Grow and Repair Bones

Jul 11, 2019 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the University of Massachusetts Lowell has found that chicken eggshell microparticles inserted into a hydrogel matrix can be used...

Denisovans were probably dark-skinned, unlike the pale Neanderthals. The picture shows a Neanderthal man. Image credit: Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London.

Modern Asians Acquired Rare Dental Trait from Denisovans: Study

Jul 10, 2019 by News Staff

A 3-rooted lower molar, a rare trait primarily found in modern Asian lineages, was previously thought to have evolved after Homo sapiens dispersed from...

Nighttime exposure to blue light causes glucose intolerance in diurnal rodents, with a stronger effect in males when they were fed high caloric diet. Image credit: Nicholas Robb.

Nighttime Exposure to Blue Light Increases Sugar Consumption, Animal Study Finds

Jul 10, 2019 by News Staff

Nocturnal exposure to light containing short wavelength emissions (450-500 nm) — the kind of light produced by the screens of many devices —...

Yu et al report a method to translate amino acid sequences into audible sound, use the representation in the musical space to train a neural network, and then apply it to generate protein designs using artificial intelligence. Image credit: Yu et al, doi: 10.1021/acsnano.9b02180.

Researchers Translate Proteins into Musical Compositions, and Back

Jul 8, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists at MIT has developed a system for converting protein sequences into audible sound that resembles musical passages. Then, reversing...

Surface meltwater in Greenland. Image credit: Winnie Chu, Stanford University.

Geoscientists Find 56 New Subglacial Lakes beneath Greenland Ice Sheet

Jul 5, 2019 by News Staff

A new analysis of data from NASA’s Operation IceBridge airborne science mission has revealed 56 previously uncharted subglacial lakes beneath the Greenland...

Short bursts of exercise directly boost the function of a gene that increases connections between neurons in the hippocampus, the region of the brain associated with learning and memory. Image credit: Matan Ray Vizel.

Brief Periods of Exercise Enhance Brain Function, Animal Study Shows

Jul 5, 2019 by News Staff

In a study done in mice, a team of researchers found that short-term bursts of exercise — the human equivalent of a weekly game of pickup basketball,...

Nolden et al assessed the ability of common beverages to reduce oral burn from capsaicin. Image credit: Jill Wellington.

Milk is Best Choice to Mitigate Oral Burn from Chili Peppers: Study

Jul 4, 2019 by News Staff

Capsaicin, a chemical compound derived from chili peppers, is classically considered an irritant, due to the warming and burning sensations it causes....

Scheiman et al found Veillonella bacteria in the microbiome of elite athletes. Image credit: Composita.

Researchers Find Performance-Enhancing Bacteria in Gut Microbiome of Marathon Runners

Jul 3, 2019 by News Staff

In a study published online in the journal Nature Medicine, an international team of researchers identified a link between members of the bacterial genus...

Diet that restricts glucose may help brain function. Image credit: Cattalin.

Atkins-Style Diet May Improve Brain Function and Memory in Older Adults

Jul 2, 2019 by News Staff

A modified Atkins diet (very low carbohydrates and extra fat) may improve brain function and episodic memory, according to a small study of 14 older adults...

In virtually all countries citizens were more likely to return wallets that contained more money. Image credit: Steve Buissinne.

Study: People More Likely to Return Lost Wallet with More Money

Jun 28, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of researchers from the United States and Switzerland turned 17,303 ‘lost’ wallets containing varying amounts of money into public...

Reconstruction of a Neanderthal. Image credit: Neanderthal Museum.

DNA of Early Neanderthals Reveals 80,000 Years of Genetic Continuity in Europe

Jun 27, 2019 by News Staff

An international team of scientists has sequenced the nuclear genomes of two Neanderthals who lived in Europe around 120,000 years ago. They found that...

The occasional use of stone tools as ‘strike-a-lights’ was a technocultural feature shared among Neanderthals in France.

Neanderthals Used Pine Resin as Glue to Haft Stone Tools into Handles

Jun 27, 2019 by News Staff

The hafting of stone tools was an important advance in the technological evolution of Paleolithic humans. Joining a handle to a knife or scraper and attaching...

Soft pretzels have a uniform brown crust color and elicit a characteristic aroma that is clearly different from those of other small types of bread. Image credit: Kerstin Riemer.

Chemists Identify Key Aroma Compounds in Pretzels

Jun 26, 2019 by News Staff

A team of scientists at the Technische Universität München in Germany has identified the key compounds that give soft pretzels their distinctive scent. Soft...

A radiograph of a 28-year-old male participant. Image credit: Shahar & Sayers, doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-21625-1.

Study: Young People are Developing ‘Hornlike Spikes’ at Back of Their Skull Due to Poor Posture

Jun 26, 2019 by News Staff

Aberrant postures have led to an increase in young adults developing a bone growth at the back of the skull, according to a study by University of the...

Regular coffee consumers can sniff out even small amounts of coffee and are faster at recognizing the aroma. Image credit: StockSnap.

Coffee Directly Stimulates Your Body’s Brown Fat, New Study Finds

Jun 26, 2019 by News Staff

Drinking a cup of coffee can stimulate brown adipose tissue (also known as brown fat), an important part of the human body which plays a key role in how...