Obesity Found to Age the Liver Faster
U.S. and German scientists have found, for the first time, that obesity significantly quickens the aging process of the liver and have revealed that carrying excessive weight can negatively impact certain human tissues. While scientists have suspected that obesity does play a significant role in aging a person faster the American/German team said that their […]
Science Images for September, 2014
Sunblock Could Harm Sea Animals, Seals/Sea Lions Once Spread TB, Link Between Colds/Infections and Strokes in Children, Life Found Deep Beneath Antarctic Ice
Sunblock Good For You – May Be Bad For Marine Animals For many people, especially in the northern hemisphere, summer time is also vacation time, and one of the most popular destinations is the beach. One of the most important rituals for beachgoers is slathering on gobs of sunblock on their bodies. But what people […]
Woodpeckers Provide Scientists with Clues on Brain Injury Prevention
Sounding like a miniature jackhammer in overdrive, a quiet morning’s peace is suddenly interrupted by bursts of loud, rapid tapping. It doesn’t take long, however, to realize that the intense and precise tapping is actually the sound of a woodpecker using his beak to search for his breakfast – usually insects or tree sap – […]
Science Scanner: Mars Rover Sets Off-Earth Distance Record; Infants Smell Mom’s Fear
Opportunity Mars Rover Sets Record Although NASA’s newest Mars rover, Curiosity, has hogged most of the attention since landing on the Red Planet nearly two years ago, Opportunity, the space agency’s Mars rover, which preceded its newer sibling by about 8 years, is the one to set a new record. Opportunity mission officials said that, […]
Rising Levels of Human-Caused Water Vapor in Troposphere will Intensify Climate Change Projections
When it comes to greenhouse gases that contribute most to global warming, most people think of substances such as carbon dioxide, methane or even hydrofluorocarbons. But did you know that, for a while now, scientists have considered the vapor of the most important ingredient in sustaining life on Earth – water – as one of […]
Science Images of the Week
Science Scanner: Bacteria Go Dormant Until Antibiotics Wear Off, Spacecraft Dives by Saturn’s Ring, and Antartica’s Disappearing Penguins
NASA Launches Mission to Study Atmospheric C02 NASA’s successfully launched its Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) from California’s Vandenberg Air Force Base Wednesday morning. OCO-2’s mission, which is expected to last at least two years, will study atmospheric carbon dioxide, which scientists say is not only an important element of Earth’s carbon-cycle, but also the primary […]
Astronomers May Have Spotted A Moon Orbiting an Extrasolar Planet
According to NASA, more than 1,000 extrasolar planets have been confirmed in recent years. There are also thousands more potential planets beyond our solar system that are waiting to be discovered. Now, an international group of astronomers think they may have found the first exomoon, or moon circling an exoplanet, some 1,800 light years away […]
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 […]