Researchers identify genetic variant that helped shape human skull base evolution
Humans, Homo sapiens, have unique features compared with other closely related hominin species and primates, including the shape of the base of the skull. The evolutionary changes underlying these features were significant in allowing the evolution o.....»»
Saturday Citations: Parrots on the internet; a map of human wakefulness; the most useless rare-earth element
We field a torrent of science news updates every week and on Saturday morning, we highlight three or four of them based on the observed preferences of a panel of dogs as shown by the Paired-Stimulus Preference Assessment, a standardized evaluation of.....»»
Boeing"s Starliner joins select club of crewed US spaceships
Throughout the annals of American space exploration, a select few spacecraft have had the distinction of carrying human beings beyond Earth......»»
New quantum sensing scheme could lead to enhanced high-precision nanoscopic techniques
Researchers from the University of Portsmouth have unveiled a quantum sensing scheme that achieves the pinnacle of quantum sensitivity in measuring the transverse displacement between two interfering photons......»»
When injecting pure spin into chiral materials, direction matters
Researchers from North Carolina State University and the University of Pittsburgh studied how the spin information of an electron, called a pure spin current, moves through chiral materials. They found that the direction in which the spins are inject.....»»
Microsoft plans to lock down Windows DNS like never before. Here’s how.
ZTDNS brings the best of both worlds to DNS: encryption and fine-grained control. Enlarge (credit: Getty Images) Translating human-readable domain names into numerical IP addresses has long been fraught with gaping secur.....»»
We still don’t understand how one human apparently got bird flu from a cow
A genetic analysis and case report reveal new insights and big gaps in our knowledge. Enlarge / Holstein dairy cows in a freestall barn. (credit: Getty | ) The US Department of Agriculture this week posted an unpublished.....»»
Aligned peptide "noodles" could enable lab-grown biological tissues
A team of chemists and bioengineers at Rice University and the University of Houston have achieved a significant milestone in their work to create a biomaterial that can be used to grow biological tissues outside the human body......»»
NASA is helping protect tigers, jaguars, and elephants—here"s how
As human populations grow, habitat loss threatens many creatures. Mapping wildlife habitat using satellites is a rapidly expanding area of ecology, and NASA satellites play a crucial role in these efforts. Tigers, jaguars, and elephants are a few of.....»»
Rising mercury levels may contribute to declining Steller sea lion populations
A team of researchers from Texas A&M University and other institutions has made a surprising discovery about rising mercury levels in Steller sea lion pups that may have detrimental effects on the endangered species......»»
Functionalized chitosan as a biobased flocculant for the treatment of complex wastewater
Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB have developed a biobased and functionalized flocculant to efficiently treat complex wastewaters. Furthermore, toxic phenols are removed from the water by the e.....»»
New study is first to use statistical physics to corroborate 1940s social balance theory
Most people have heard the famous phrase "the enemy of my enemy is my friend." Now, Northwestern University researchers have used statistical physics to confirm the theory that underlies this famous axiom. The study, "Proper network randomization is.....»»
Male or female? Scientists discover the genetic mechanism that determines sex development in butterflies
Scientists of the Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, in collaboration with University of Liverpool have found the genetic mechanism that determines whether individuals of the butterfly species Bicyclus anynana become male or female......»»
Ice shelves fracture under weight of meltwater lakes, study shows
When air temperatures in Antarctica rise and glacier ice melts, water can pool on the surface of floating ice shelves, weighing them down and causing the ice to bend. Now, for the first time in the field, researchers have shown that ice shelves don't.....»»
New mirror that can be flexibly shaped improves X-ray microscopes
A team of researchers in Japan has engineered a mirror for X-rays that can be flexibly shaped, resulting in remarkable precision at the atomic level and increased stability......»»
"Degree of Kevin Bacon" gene provides possible basis for central players in group connectedness
A team of biologists and geneticists at the University of Toronto at Mississauga has found a possible genetic basis for a central player in group connectedness. In their study, published in the journal Nature Communications, the group conducted genet.....»»
Demystifying the complex nature of Arctic clouds
With dancing ribbons of light visible in the sky, a team of researchers flew on a series of scenic and sometimes stormy flights into the cold unknown, trying to learn more about why one of the most frigid places on Earth is warming at a feverish pace.....»»
How mantle movements shape Earth"s surface
The movement of tectonic plates shapes the rocky features of Earth's surface. Plates' convergence can form mountain ranges or ocean trenches, and their divergence can form oceanic ridges. But it's not just the plates themselves that influence Earth's.....»»
Researchers determine large numbers of wild mountain goats are killed every year by avalanches
A multi-institutional team of animal behaviorists, snow impact specialists and biologists from Alaska, Montana, Switzerland and Canada has found that large numbers of wild mountain goats die every year in Alaska due to avalanches. For their study, th.....»»
Novel chemical tool for understanding membrane remodeling in the cell
In a study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Umeå researchers describe a natural product-like molecule, Tantalosin, that inhibits interaction between two proteins in complexes that reshape membranes inside the cell......»»
New discovery of a mechanism that controls cell division
Researchers at Umeå University, Sweden, have discovered that how a special protein complex called the Mediator moves along genes in DNA may have an impact on how cells divide. The discovery may be important for future research into the treatment of.....»»