Ancient Cooking Stones Help Reconstruct Earth’s Magnetic History
Cooking stones that line Maori steam ovens in New Zealand are helping scientists study the history of the Earth’s magnetic field. The cooking process generates…
Science News
Asteroid Collision Led to the Mass Extinction of Lizards and Snakes
A newly published study details the mass extinction of lizards and snakes that occurred after an asteroid struck the Earth 65.5 million years ago, finding…
Lonely People Experience Vasoconstriction Making Them Colder
When people feel lonely, or when someone is being excluded by others, the person’s skin becomes colder. This is how people respond to exclusion and…
Multiple Media Use Linked to Depression & Anxiety
In a new report published this week by Michigan State University’s psychology department, researchers found evidence that using multiple forms of media at the same…
AusFestival Pineapple, A Coconut-Flavored Pineapple
Australia’s Department of Agriculture announced that it is in the final stages of developing a new breed of pineapple that is sweet and juicy, but…
Inherent Complexity of the Wheat Genome
An international team has produced a rough draft of wheat’s DNA sequence. The draft identifies many of its genes and makes it possible to identify…
Special Fishing Weights Could Help Save Hammerhead Sharks
The global population of hammerhead sharks, a group of sharks in the family Sphyrnidae, has plummeted by 89% in the last 20 years, largely due…
Body Language Is a Better Indicator of Intense Emotions Than Facial Expressions
Intense emotional experiences are more easily read in body language than in watching facial expressions. Facial clues in most studies rely on a set of…
Dryland Farmers Work With Little Water
A new generation of extremely efficient farmers sees irrigation as a non-viable alternative. These farmers use dryland farming, which has helped farmers to get through…
Exposomics Looks to Tie Environmental Exposure to Biological Triggers of Disease
European researchers are going to monitor thousands of people by giving them smartphones, which will record the chemicals to which they are exposed to every…
Cancer-Causing Flame Retardants Remain in Homes Years After Being Banned
Flame retardant chemicals, which are designed to slow household fires from burning through homes, have been found in worrisome quantities in US homes, long after…
Ethanol Production Stalls in Brazil
Brazil experienced a biofuel boom in March 2007, topping out at second in world output behind the USA. The fermentation of sugars produced motor fuel…
Ecologists Explore Interactions of People, Buildings, Wildlife & Pollution
Most cities brew up a blend of gases that covers the urban area like a dome. The top of most buildings can sit outside or…
High-Speed Video Helps Scientists Understand Hummingbird Pollination
Hummingbirds are part of the family Trochilidae and are among the smallest birds on the planet, with most species measuring between 7.5 to 13 cm….
European Union’s Initiative to Clean Up Waterways Faces Opposition
The EU is about to stop a precedent-setting initiative that was designed to tackle a common side effect of drugs, their impact on aquatic life….
Laboratory-Based Astrophysics Leads to Dedicated Discipline
The gigantic orange magnets at MIT were originally built decades ago to confine hydrogen nuclei in the search for nuclear fusion. However, since 1998 plasma…
Swallows & Homing Pigeons Monitor Environmental Factors
A new study indicates that nesting birds that feed on insects that hatch in lake or stream-bed sediments make good biological monitors for pollution. The…
Communities in California Are Plagued by Contaminated Drinking Water
Impoverished agricultural communities in Central Valley, California have been plagued for decades by contaminated drinking water. This is the result of more than five decades…
