Science News
Dwarf planets tend to be a mysterious bunch. With the exception of Ceres, which resides in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, all members of this class of minor planets in our solar system lurk in the depths beyond Neptune. »
Interventions that included frequent self-weighing helped 18- to 35-year olds prevent weight gain over an average of 3 years. »
Earth could contain nearly 1 trillion species, with only one-thousandth of 1 percent now identified, according to the results of a new study. »
Through the use of powerful genomic techniques, researchers at the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases have found that the development of immune cells, called innate lymphoid cells, gradually prepares these cells for rapid response to infection. »
A study of rat and human brains revealed how seizure-like activity may disrupt memory consolidation. »
Researchers discovered how dim-light detecting cells are used for color vision in mice. The findings shed light on a color vision circuit in mice that may explain aspects of color processing in the human eye and brain. »
Corals and algae release nutrients that support a complex and efficient reef food chain. But when the system gets out of whack, the cycle breaks down and endangers the reef's health. »
Scientists have discovered the first-ever fossil evidence of monkeys from the North American landmass: a 21-million-year-old specimen that changes our understanding of the biological history of the continent. »
Long-necked sauropod dinosaurs include the largest animals ever to walk on land, but they hatched from eggs no bigger than a soccer ball. »
Craters with bright material on dwarf planet Ceres shine in new images from NASA's Dawn mission. »
Researchers determined the 3-D structure of the serotonin transporter and visualized how 2 common antidepressants interact with the protein. »
The sun emitted a mid-level solar flare, peaking at 8:29 pm EDT on April 17, 2016. NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which watches the sun constantly, captured an image of the event. »
Scientists with NOAA and the University of Miami identified how patterns in the spring phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), coupled with variability in North Atlantic sea surface temperatures, could help predict U.S. regional tornado outbreaks. »
Women with the highest levels of vegetation, or greenness, near their homes had a 12 percent lower death rate compared to women with the lowest levels of vegetation near their homes. »
A nebula known as "the Spider" glows fluorescent green in an infrared image from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. The Spider, officially named IC 417, lies near a much smaller object called NGC 1931. »
Using an engineered protein, researchers were able to improve heart function in mice and protect the animals from heart attacks. »
A poor night’s sleep can leave you feeling foggy and drowsy throughout the day. Sleep deprivation has also been associated with higher risks of weight gain and obesity. »
Astronomers have uncovered a near-record breaking supermassive black hole, weighing 17 billion suns, in an unlikely place: in the center of a galaxy in a sparsely populated area of the universe. »
NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) mission has released its second year of survey data. The spacecraft has now characterized a total of 439 NEOs since the mission was re-started in December 2013. Of these, 72 were new discoveries. »
Our eyes constantly send bits of information about the world around us to our brains where the information is assembled into objects we recognize. Along the way, a series of neurons in the eye uses electrical and chemical signals to relay the information. »
A NASA-led team of scientists has developed the first-ever method for detecting the presence of different types of underground forest fungi from space, information that may help researchers predict how climate change will alter forest habitats. »
Increasing the level of a naturally-produced protein, called tristetraprolin, significantly reduced or protected mice from inflammation, according to researchers. »
Astronomers had previously identified G1.9+0.3 as the remnant of the most recent supernova in our Galaxy. It is estimated to have occurred about 110 years ago in a dusty region of the Galaxy that blocked visible light from reaching Earth. »
An experimental dengue vaccine protected all the volunteers who received it from infection with a live dengue virus. »
Astronomers were watching when comet P/2016 BA14 flew past Earth on March 22. At the time of its closest approach, the comet was about 2.2 million miles (3.5 million kilometers) away, making it the third closest comet flyby in recorded history. »
For what may be the first time, NOAA and partner scientists eavesdropped on the deepest part of the world’s ocean and instead of finding a sea of silence, discovered a cacophony of sounds both natural and caused by humans. »
Two comets that will safely fly past Earth later this month may have more in common than their intriguingly similar orbits. They may be twins of a sort. »
A new discovery by Arizona State University scientists shows that two specific metallic elements in the right kinds of clay can kill disease-causing bacteria that infect humans and animals. »
A monoclonal antibody derived from a person who survived Ebola virus disease protected non-human primates when given as late as 5 days after Ebola infection. »
The first operational dive of Okeanos Explorer’s 2016 season, on February 27, explored depths of over 4,000 meters northeast of Necker Island (Mokumanamana) in the Hawaiian Archipelago. »
For the first time, scientists have observed ripples in the fabric of spacetime called gravitational waves, arriving at the earth from a cataclysmic event in the distant universe. This confirms a major prediction of Albert Einstein's 1915 general theory of relativity and opens an unprecedented new window onto the cosmos. »
A small asteroid that two years ago flew past Earth at a comfortable distance of about 1.3 million miles (2 million kilometers) will safely fly by our planet. »
National Institutes of Health and Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists identified a previously unappreciated role for the soft palate during research to better understand how influenza (flu) viruses acquire the ability to move efficiently between people. »
If you have ever heard a clap of thunder, the boom of fireworks, or the roar of a supersonic jet, you already know how shock waves sound. Now a team of NASA researchers has generated images that show how the remarkable waves look. »
NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photo on Oct. 2, 2015, from the International Space Station and wrote "Early morning shot of Hurricane Joaquin from space station before reaching Bahamas." »
In the first-ever sequencing of the entire octopus genome, researchers discovered unusual features that shed light on octopus evolution and biology, and set the stage for future studies on complex nervous system development. »
Scientists have found this year’s Gulf of Mexico dead zone — an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — is, at 6,474 square miles, above average in size and larger than forecast by NOAA in June. »
Researchers identified a sensor that detects the Earth’s magnetic field in nerve cells of tiny worms. »
A protein previously linked to acute symptoms following a traumatic brain injury (TBI), may also be responsible for long-term complications that can result from TBI, according to a new research. »
Mysterious objects called brown dwarfs are sometimes called "failed stars." They are too small to fuse hydrogen in their cores, the way most stars do, but also too large to be classified as planets. But a new study suggests they succeed in creating powerful auroral displays, similar to the kind seen around the magnetic poles on Earth. »
Carrying a gene variant that affects the release of a specific brain protein may put one at greater risk of developing an alcohol use disorder, according to the results of a recent animal study. »
CERN's Large Hadron Collider announced that researchers discovered a remarkable class of particles known as pentaquarks that could reshape scientists' understanding about the properties of matter. »
Spider-like cells inside the brain, spinal cord and eye hunt for invaders, capturing and then devouring them. These cells, called microglia, often play a beneficial role by helping to clear trash and protect the central nervous system against infection. But a new study shows that they also accelerate damage wrought by blinding eye disorders, such as retinitis pigmentosa. »
Though they occupy a small fraction of Earth's surface, freshwater wetlands are the largest natural source of methane emitted into the atmosphere. New research identifies an unexpected process that acts as a key gatekeeper in regulating methane emissions from these freshwater environments. »
New images of Ceres from NASA's Dawn spacecraft provide more clues about its mysterious bright spots, and also reveal a pyramid-shaped peak towering over a relatively flat landscape. »
For more than 30 million years after dinosaurs first appeared, they remained inexplicably rare near the equator, where only a few small-bodied meat-eating dinosaurs made a living. Scientists have developed a new explanation: rapid vegetation changes related to climate fluctuations between arid and moist climates and the resulting extensive wildfires of the time. »
Researchers of the University of Virginia School of Medicine recently discovered a series of channels that surround blood vessels within the brains of mice. This system, managed by the brain’s glial cells, was termed the glymphatic system. It moves cerebrospinal fluid, a clear liquid surrounding the brain and spinal cord, quickly and deeply thoughout the brain, removing waste. »
A relatively new method of targeting specific DNA sequences in zebrafish could dramatically accelerate the discovery of gene function and the identification of disease genes in humans. »
New images of dwarf planet Ceres, taken by NASA's Dawn spacecraft, show the cratered surface of this mysterious world in sharper detail than ever before. »
Several studies have shown that humans and other mammals produce more milk during second pregnancies than first pregnancies. This suggests that the first pregnancy causes a long-lasting change in the mammary gland. »