Science News
How small is the tiniest possible particle of ice? According to new research, the smallest nanodroplet of water in which ice can form is only as big as 90 water molecules -- a tenth the size of the smallest virus. »
Male birds of species that form long-lasting pair-bonds often continue to make elaborate displays of plumage, color and dance after they mate with a female, encouraging the female to invest more energy into their brood. »
Some of the world's most exquisite fossil beds were formed millions of years ago during time periods when Earth's oceans were largely without oxygen. »
Scientists have developed an investigational vaccine that protected cynomolgus macaques against four types of hemorrhagic fever viruses endemic to overlapping regions in Africa. »
Researchers manufacture micro-doughnuts that mimic swimming bacteria for biomedical purposes. »
Research offers evidence that DNA-sharing may be far more common than thought. »
Researchers suggest that you can reduce the risk of early death no matter how many hours you clock up a week or how fast you run. »
Dangers to ancient Antarctic ice portend a future of rapidly rising seas, but a new study may relieve one nagging fear. Meltwater ponds fracturing the ice below them may not cause protracted chain reactions that unexpectedly collapse floating ice shelves. »
USDA Red, the world's first true red spinach variety has been developed and released by the Agricultural Research Service. »
Too many hours looking at smartphones and tablets 'slows down toddlers' language and reading development because it changes the structure of their brains. »
Scientists from the University of Granada have used magnetic materials in “smart” asphalts that modify their properties in the presence of external magnetic fields. »
Antarctica's ice sheet spans close to twice the area of the contiguous United States. Its land boundary is buttressed by massive, floating ice shelves extending hundreds of miles out over the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean. »
Scientists from the University of Granada, the IGME, and the Universities of Cologne and Lisbon have demonstrated that the careo irrigation channels of Sierra Nevada constitute the oldest underground aquifer recharge system on the continent. »
A new study led by researchers at the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and the Institute of Marine Research in Norway found that European glass eels use their magnetic sense to "imprint" a memory of water currents in the estuary where they become juveniles. »
When waves break in the ocean, they inject tiny particles into the air, called aerosols, that carry organic molecules more than 5,000 years old. »
You'd think that losing 25 percent of your genes would be a big problem for survival. But not for red algae, including the seaweed used to wrap sushi. »
A new lithium-ion battery design makes it possible for electric vehicle drivers to charge their cars and hit the road in as little as ten minutes, according to a new study. »
Scientists at the Great Lakes Center for Fresh Waters and Human Health showed that shifts in metabolic functions of freshwater cyanobacteria present in toxic algal blooms take place according to the time of day. »
Researchers have identified 57 genetic variations of a gene strongly associated with declines in blood oxygen levels during sleep. »
Scientists designed the first test to detect dysphagia, a disorder that prevents sufferers from swallowing while eating, among patients with cognitive problems. »
Earth system scientists from the University of California, Irvine have identified another culprit when a river overflows its banks: leafy plants. »
A study of lemur scents conducted by researchers at Duke University finds that an individual's distinctive body odor reflects genetic differences in its immune system and that other lemurs can detect these differences by smell. »
Cambridge researchers have captured the visible nanostructure of living wood for the first time using an advanced low-temperature scanning electron microscope. »
Newly created strontium, an element used in fireworks, detected in space for the first time following observations with ESO telescope. »
Cells undergo natural aging and death, processes that impact a multitude of cellular factors. A new Stony Brook University-led study provides a biophysical model that reveals how with age, damage accumulates in the shapes of cellular proteins and triggers death. »
Aftershocks of a powerful earthquake with reported magnitude 6.3 that struck southern Philippines on Wednesday night have increased the death toll of the extended event from five people to six due to a massive landslide following a 5.0 magnitude aftershock on Saturday. »
A new study found that overweight men who exercised before eating breakfast burned twice the fat of those who exercised after breakfast. »
New research published by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution shows that polystyrene, one of the world's most ubiquitous plastics, may degrade in decades or centuries when exposed to sunlight, rather than thousands of years as previously thought. »
Scientists have discovered an antibiotic produced by a soil bacterium in a Mexican tropical forest that may help lead to a "plant probiotic." »
A widely-used gas that is currently produced from fossil fuels can instead be made by an ‘artificial leaf’ that uses only sunlight, carbon dioxide and water, and which could eventually be used to develop a sustainable liquid fuel alternative to petrol. »
Local fish catch could help reduce nutrient deficiencies in developing countries — but only if more of it is distributed regionally. »
A study describes a new rapid assay for Lyme disease that could lead to a practical test for use by healthcare providers. »
Nanoparticles (particles just a few hundred atoms in size) are ending up in the environment by the ton, but scientists are still unclear about the long-term effects of these super-small particles. »
A new study by chemists at the University of Arkansas shows that X-ray crystallography, the standard method for determining the structure of proteins, may provide inaccurate information about a critical set of proteins -- those found in cell membranes -- which in turn could be leading to poor and inefficient drug design. »
Researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU Boulder) in Colorado and the College of Wooster in Ohio reported a new mechanism by which warm ocean currents erode the ice shelves along the coast of Antarctica, contributing to the planet's rising oceans. »
Materials so small they make nanomaterials look like behemoths. »
NIH mouse study could prompt scientists to rethink how benzodiazepines work. »
Scientists find that eastern U.S. forest complexity improves carbon capture. »
A promising replacement for the toxic and flammable greenhouse gases that are used in most refrigerators and air conditioners has been identified by researchers from the University of Cambridge. »
Researchers have successfully used sound waves to control quantum information in a single electron, a significant step towards efficient, robust quantum computers made from semiconductors. »
Astronomers have spotted three giant black holes within a titanic collision of three galaxies. »
Hotter temperatures mean birds need more water to cool off -- if it's available. »
Scientists determining how today's corn plants will respond to future ozone levels. »
Researchers reported warming seas appear to decrease the efficacy of the chemical compounds that corals release into the water to defend themselves from bacteria and encroaching seaweed, but these losses may be mitigated if there are large numbers of hungry fish around. »
Iridium "loses its identity," and its electrons act oddly, in an ultra-thin film when interfaced with nickel-based layers. »
Researchers have developed a tiny nanolaser that can function inside living tissues without harming them. »
Children born to women who have high blood levels of lead are more likely be overweight or obese, compared to those whose mothers have low levels of lead in their blood. »
In a remote village, an aid worker pricks a sickly toddler's fingertip and, like most of the other village children's blood samples, this one turns a test strip yellow. »
New kinds of organic compounds, the ingredients of amino acids, have been detected in the plumes bursting from Saturn's moon Enceladus. »
Deafness in early childhood is known to lead to lasting changes in how sounds are processed in the brain, but new research shows that even mild-to-moderate levels of hearing loss in young children can lead to similar changes. »