Gene Variant May Have Helped Ancient Humans Survive Starvation
When there’s no food, it pays to be small -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com.....»»
Victorian London was a city in flux: Architectural models helped the public visualize the changes
In 1848, the British government decided to draw up a precisely measured map of London. Imperial expansion had seen the city develop quickly, particularly around the docks and the City of London......»»
Researchers discover previously unknown gene that indirectly promotes photosynthesis in blue-green algae
Cyanobacteria—also called blue-green algae—are known as the "plants of the ocean" because they carry out photosynthesis on a gigantic scale, produce oxygen and extract the greenhouse gas CO2 from the environment. However, to do this they need add.....»»
How do trees survive dry and hot summers? Leaf lifespan and growth recovery are key
Climate change has an effect on forests and trees. They suffer from heat waves and periods of drought. But although we see tree mortality increase as a result, much is still unknown about the underlying mechanisms......»»
Newly sequenced genome reveals coffee"s prehistoric origin story, and its future under climate change
The key to growing coffee plants that can better resist climate change in the decades to come may lie in the ancient past......»»
This is the new spaceship that will take humans back to the moon
The completed Orion spacecraft, built by NASA and ESA, is seen fully stacked in a newly released photo. This craft will fly around the moon on the Artemis II mission. Next year, NASA will blast astronauts back to the moon. This is their 21st-ce.....»»
Google One VPN Shutting Down Because No One Uses It
In late October of 2020, Google added a VPN service to its 2TB storage plans. In early 2023, the company expanded the same VPN to all of its plans, but apparently that still hasn’t helped boost user numbers. With Google not being one to support.....»»
Aboriginal people made pottery, sailed to distant islands thousands of years before Europeans arrived
Pottery was largely unknown in Australia before the recent past, despite well-known pottery traditions in nearby Papua New Guinea and the islands of the western Pacific. The absence of ancient Indigenous pottery in Australia has long puzzled research.....»»
Physicists solve puzzle about ancient galaxy found by Webb telescope
Last September, the James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, discovered JWST-ER1g, a massive ancient galaxy that formed when the universe was just a quarter of its current age. Surprisingly, an Einstein ring is associated with this galaxy. That's because.....»»
Bird Flu Is Spreading in Alarming New Ways
H5N1 has infected cattle across the US and jumped from a mammal to a human for the first time. Experts fear it may someday evolve to spread among humans......»»
Side Hustle or Scam? What to Know About Data Annotation Work
As artificial intelligence evolves, data annotation—or the work done by humans to train AI models—has emerged as a potential way to make money. On TikTok, Reddit, and elsewhere, posts are popping up from users claiming they&rsqu.....»»
Learn about the O.J. Simpson trial from CNN"s ancient "90s website
It's impossible to explain how central O.J. Simpson's trial for the murder of his former wife was to American culture in the 1990s. But CNN's internet archive does a decent job of documenting it. O.J. Simpson, perhaps the most infamous celebrit.....»»
Female zebra finches seek mate who sings one song just right
Humans aren't the only living beings who find a singing voice attractive in the opposite sex—songbirds do too. For about a third of the approximately 4,000 songbird species that sing only one song, the features that make these tunes alluring to a p.....»»
Computer scientist wins Turing Award for seminal work on randomness
Avi Wigderson helped prove that randomness is not required for efficient computation. Enlarge / Avi Wigderton of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton is the recipient of the 2023 A.M. Turing Award. (credit: Andrea Kane/I.....»»
Precision agriculture research identifies gene that controls production of flowers and fruits in pea plants
The end of the reproductive period, when flowers and fruits are produced, is a crucial moment in plants' life cycles. However, the factors that control this process must be better understood......»»
NASCAR driver"s on-track tantrum lands him sponsorship from bumper maker
Video of driver Joey Gase throwing a piece of his wrecked Chevrolet Camaro SS at a rival during the Toyotacare 250 went viral and helped him get a fitting new sponsorship......»»
Fox bones found in ancient Argentinian burial site might have been from a human pet
A team of archaeologists, anthropologists and evolutionary specialists from Argentina, the U.K. and Germany has found possible evidence of a tamed fox living with a human hunter/gatherer companion, approximately 1,500 years ago in what is now Argenti.....»»
Humans shape the journey of mud, study reveals
Mud can be surprisingly clear. A global team of scientists has uncovered a hidden truth: Human actions are shaping the journey of mud. Over the course of decades, our activities have wielded significant influence over the movement and dispersion of m.....»»
Researchers discover how we perceive bitter taste
Humans can sense five different tastes: sour, sweet, umami, bitter, and salty, using specialized sensors on our tongues called taste receptors. Other than allowing us to enjoy delicious foods, the sensation of taste allows us to determine the chemica.....»»
3D mouth of an ancient jawless fish suggests they were filter-feeders, not scavengers or hunters
Early jawless fish were likely to have used bony projections surrounding their mouths to modify their mouth shape while they collected food......»»
This Woman Will Decide Which Babies Are Born
Noor Siddiqui founded Orchid so people could “have healthy babies.” Now she’s using the company’s gene technology on herself—and talking about it for the first time......»»