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Most popular science news & articles of the past 30 days

Anthropology: Ancient skull from Galilee cave offers clues to the first modern Europeans

This image shows inside the Manot Cave in Israel's Galilee, where a 55,000-year-old skull sheds new light on modern human migration patterns.

Predatory sea snails produce weaponized insulin

Images of the cone snail <i>Conus geographus</i> attempting to capture fish prey. As the snails approach potential prey, they release a specialized insulin into the water, along with neurotoxins that inhibit sensory circuits, resulting in hypoglycemic, sensory-deprived fish that are easier to engulf with their large, distensible false mouths. Once engulfed, powerful paralytic toxins are injected by the snail into each fish.As predators go, cone snails are slow-moving and lack the typical fighting parts. They've made up for it by producing a vast array of fast-acting toxins that target the nervous...

Researchers identify brain circuit that regulates thirst

Howard Hughes Medical Institute researchers have identified the brain circuit that regulates thirst.Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientists have identified a circuit in the brains of mice that regulates thirst. When a subset of cells in the circuit is switched on, mice immediately...

Two lakes beneath the ice in Greenland, gone within weeks

In April 2014, researchers flew over a site in southwest Greenland to find that a sub-glacial lake had drained away. This photo shows the crater left behind, as well as a deep crack in the ice.Researchers who are building the highest-resolution map of the Greenland Ice Sheet to date have made a surprising discovery: two lakes of meltwater that pooled beneath the ice and rapidly...

Laser-generated surface structures create extremely water-repellent metals

University of Rochester's Institute of Optics Professor Chunlei Guo has developed a technique that uses lasers to render materials hydrophobic, illustrated in this image of a water droplet bouncing off a treated sample.Scientists at the University of Rochester have used lasers to transform metals into extremely water repellent, or super-hydrophobic, materials without the need for temporary coatings.

Los Alamos develops new technique for growing high-efficiency perovskite solar cells

Scientists Aditya Mohite, left, and Wanyi Nie are perfecting a crystal production technique to improve perovskite crystal production for solar cells at Los Alamos National Laboratory.This week in the journal Science, Los Alamos National Laboratory researchers reveal a new solution-based hot-casting technique that allows growth of highly efficient and reproducible solar cells from large-area perovskite...

A twist on planetary origins

Meteors that have crashed to Earth have long been regarded as relics of the early solar system. These craggy chunks of metal and rock are studded with chondrules -- tiny,...

Dartmouth researchers determine key element in circadian clock speed

In a discovery that may lead to new treatments for sleep disorders, jet lag and other health problems tied to circadian rhythms, researchers at Dartmouth's Geisel School of Medicine have...

Largest-ever autism genome study finds most siblings have different autism-risk genes

The largest-ever autism genome study, funded by Autism Speaks, reveals that the disorder's genetic underpinnings are even more complex than previously thought: Most siblings who have autism spectrum disorder (ASD)...

High cholesterol in 30s, 40s, increases later risk of heart disease

<p>This image shows statin pills. Most young adults might assume they have years before needing to worry about their cholesterol.Most young adults might assume they have years before needing to worry about their cholesterol.

Out of the pouch: Ancient DNA from extinct giant roos

Scientists have finally managed to extract DNA from Australia's extinct giant kangaroos - the mysterious marsupial megafauna that roamed Australia over 40,000 years ago.

Does black-and-white advertising help consumers make better decisions?

According to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research, black-and-white advertising gets consumers to focus on basic product features while color advertising can influence consumers to pay more for products with unnecessary extras.

Privacy challenges

In this week's issue of the journal Science, MIT researchers report that just four fairly vague pieces of information -- the dates and locations of four purchases -- are enough...

Global warming doubles risk of extreme La Niña event, research shows

The risk of extreme La Niña events in the Pacific Ocean could double due to global warming, new research has shown.

Biological safety lock for genetically modified organisms

The creation of genetically modified and entirely synthetic organisms continues to generate excitement as well as worry.

MIT team enlarges brain samples, making them easier to image

Beginning with the invention of the first microscope in the late 1500s, scientists have been trying to peer into preserved cells and tissues with ever-greater magnification. The latest generation of...

Public and scientists express strikingly different views about science-related issues

A new Pew Research Center report, released in collaboration with AAAS, finds the public and scientists hold widely different views about science-related issues.Despite similar views about the overall place of science in America, the general public and scientists often see science-related issues through a different lens, according to a new pair of...

Public attitude toward tiger farming and tiger conservation

The wild tiger Panthera tigris is considered critically endangered, and it faces unprecedented threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, depletion of prey, and continued illegal poaching for trade of tiger...

Small drop in sea level had big impact on southern Great Barrier Reef

University of Sydney researchers have analysed samples from One Tree Reef in the southern Great Barrier Reef and discovered a dramatic slow down following a small fall in sea level.The idea that coral reefs have formed over millennia in a continuous process has been challenged by a study of the southern Great Barrier Reef. The research, led by the...

Climate affects the development of human speech

This map shows the distribution of languages with complex tone (red dots) and without complex tone (blue dots) in the Phonotactics Database of the Australian National University. Darker shading on map corresponds to lower mean specific humidity.An interesting question, one that linguists have long debated, is whether climate and geography affect language. The challenge has been to untangle the factors that cause sounds to change.

Snapshot of cosmic burst of radio waves

This is a schematic illustration of CSIRO's Parkes radio telescope receiving the polarised signal from the new 'fast radio burst'.A strange phenomenon has been observed by astronomers right as it was happening -- a 'fast radio burst'. The eruption is described as an extremely short, sharp flash of radio...

Early human ancestors used their hands like modern humans

New research suggests pre-Homo human ancestral species, such as Australopithecus africanus, used human-like hand postures much earlier than was previously thought.

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