Earth’s Largest Organism is Deteriorating
Researchers in Utah say what many consider to be the world’s largest living organism is dying but could be saved with what they call a ‘mega-conservation’ effort. The Pando aspen clone looks like a forest of trees, but since each of the trees is linked by common genetic markers and possibly one giant root system, […]
Odd Feature from Galactic Collision; Crack in the Magnetosphere; Smartphones Make Us Trust Less?
Galactic Fender-Bender Produces Eye-Lid Shaped Feature A team of astronomers say what started as a fender-bender between two galaxies has sent a torrent of stars and gas crashing through the center of one, which then produced a rare eyelid shaped star formation. Working with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), in Chile, the astronomers identified […]
Venusian Atmosphere; Space Mice Liver Trouble; Gravitation Wave Light Pulse
New Details of Venusian Atmosphere Revealed The European Space Agency’s Venus Express orbited Earth’s closest planetary neighbor for over eight years until its mission ended in December 2014. In its final months the spacecraft was sent deep into the Venusian atmosphere for a series of low-altitude orbits. Studying data of a previously unexplored piece of […]
Babies Smile to Make You Smile Back
Most people agree that there’s something very special about a baby’s smile. But is there a purpose behind that smile? What are they trying to communicate to us? A new multidisciplinary study has found that babies smile to get you to interact with them and smile back. Writing in the recent issue of the journal PLOS […]
Scientist Proposes New DNA-based Naming System for All Living Organisms
All living organisms on Earth could soon have a new name if a Virginia Tech professor has his way. Boris Vinatzer has developed a system that classifies and names organisms based on their genome sequence. His study was published today in PLoS One. Vinatzer says his new system would provide scientists and others with a […]
Have Researchers Debunked Idea of “Sixth Sense” ?
There are people who claim to have a sixth sense or extrasensory perception (ESP), the ability to acquire or “see” information about the future through means other than normal human senses. Researchers at the University of Melbourne have looked into the matter and say their findings help debunk the belief that a sixth sense actually […]
Laughter Triggers Different Parts of Brain
Laughter can be a valuable communications tool; it can indicate ridicule, humor, joy or maybe just a physical response to being tickled. German scientists have found these different laugh responses are handled by different networks in our brains, depending on the specific context of the laughter. The different patterns of brain connectivity brought on by […]
Report Finds Asians, Africans and South Americans Might Make Better Musicians
If you speak a tonal language like Cantonese or Vietnamese, you might have a better ear for learning musical notes, even if you’re not a musician. Tonal languages, found mostly in Asia, Africa and South America, are those that use a number of high and low pitch sounds in patterns of speech. In these languages, […]
Mars Mission Could Accelerate Alzheimer’s in Astronauts
Traveling into deep space could accelerate the onset of Alzheimer’s disease, an incurable form of dementia, according to a new report. The NASA-funded study assessed how cosmic radiation would impact the astronauts throughout their trip in deep space. The effect of cosmic radiation on the human body has been a concern for the US space agency as […]
Your Body Odor Can Reveal Your Age
People can tell how old you are by how you smell, according to new research published in the journal PLoS One. It appears that “old person smell” some people complain about is for real, that elderly people emit a unique identifying odor. An elderly individual’s “old person smell” is actually acknowledged and accepted in cultures […]