Eureka! Science News | Latest science articles & news

Climate change and the mystery of the shrinking sheep

Changing winter conditions are causing Scotland's wild Soay sheep to get smaller despite the evolutionary benefits of having a large body, researchers report in a study that shows how climate change can trump natural selection.

New type of El Nino could mean more hurricanes make landfall

El Niño years typically result in fewer hurricanes forming in the Atlantic Ocean. But a new study suggests that the form of El Niño may be changing potentially causing not...

Prostate cancer patients disease free after 5 years likely to be disease free after 10 years

Prostate cancer patients who receive brachytherapy and remain free of disease for five years or greater are unlikely to have a recurrence at 10 years, according to a study in...

Second Life data offers window into how trends spread

Do friends wear the same style of shoe or see the same movies because they have similar tastes, which is why they became friends in the first place? Or once...

Learning from locusts

A similarity in brain disturbance between insects and people suffering from migraines, stroke and epilepsy points the way toward new drug therapies to address these conditions.

Pacific Northwest forests could store more carbon, help address greenhouse issues

The forests of the Pacific Northwest hold significant potential to increase carbon storage and help mitigate greenhouse gas emissions in coming years, a recent study concludes, if they are managed...

Doubts cast on credibility of some published clinical trials

Randomised Controlled Trials (RCTs) are considered the 'gold standard' research method for assessing new medical treatments. But research published in BioMed Central's open access journal Trials shows that the...

Poor health among indigenous peoples a question of cultural loss as well as poverty

The health problems of Indigenous peoples around the world are intimately tied to a number of unique factors, such as colonization, globalization, migration, and loss of land, language and culture....

Existing Parkinson's disease drug may fight drug-resistant TB

Existing drugs used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease could be repositioned for use in the treatment of extreme drug-resistant tuberculosis, which kills about 2 million people each year, according...

'Jumping gene' diminishes the effect of a new type 2 diabetes risk gene

Research led by the German Institute of Human Nutrition (DIfE) has identified a new gene associated with diabetes, together with a mechanism that makes obese mice less susceptible to diabetes....

New targeted therapy finds and eliminates deadly leukemia stem cells

New research describes a molecular tool that shows great promise as a therapeutic for human acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a notoriously treatment-resistant blood cancer. The study, published by Cell Press...

New focus on the moon

This Locator Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera's Narrow Angle Camera image shows the position of the first two images. This image is 253x1000 pixels or 3,542 meters (2.2 miles) wide by 14,000 meters (8.7 miles) long.

VLBA locates superenergetic bursts near giant black hole

Using a worldwide combination of diverse telescopes, astronomers have discovered that a giant galaxy's bursts of very high energy gamma rays are coming from a region very close to the...

MIT researchers find new actions of neurochemicals

Although the tiny roundworm Caenorhabditis elegans has only 302 neurons in its entire nervous system, studies of this simple animal have significantly advanced our understanding of human brain function because...

NASA's Fermi Telescope reveals a population of radio-quiet gamma-ray pulsars

A new class of pulsars detected by NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is solving the mystery of previously unidentified gamma-ray sources and helping scientists understand the mechanisms behind pulsar emissions.

Ben-Gurion U. researchers reveal connection between cancer and human evolution

Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) have discovered that gene mutations that once helped humans survive may increase the possibility for diseases, including cancer.

JNCI news brief: Hepatitis B virus mutations may predict risk of liver cancer

Certain mutations in the DNA of the hepatitis B virus (HBV) are associated with the development of liver cancer and may help predict which patients with HBV infections are at...

Perfect pitch study offers window into influences of nature and nurture

Practice, practice, practice might get you to Carnegie Hall, but for aspiring musicians, there's new evidence that genes may influence one's ability to get there, as well.

Brain malformations significantly associated with preterm birth, Wake Forest research shows

New research out of Wake Forest University School of Medicine provides for the first time a solid scientific answer for the long-standing question of whether there is an association between...

Printable batteries

In the past, it was necessary to race to the bank for every money transfer and every bank statement. Today, bank transactions can be easily carried out at home. Now...

Research reveals what drives lung cancer's spread

A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC) reveals the genetic underpinnings of what causes lung cancer to quickly metastasize, or spread, to the brain and the...

Overweight kids experience more loneliness, anxiety, MU study finds

As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current trends. Now, a new...