science

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Shrimp on Treadmill Study Not So Wacky: Irritated Researcher

Lawmakers mocking research are playing politics, scientists say

(Newser) - "Shrimp on a treadmill" has become a byphrase for wasteful government spending. But the scientist behind the study says lawmakers are distorting the facts. The treadmill test—singled out by Sen. Tom Coburn in an attack on National Science Foundation funding —was designed to study shrimp's reaction...

Girls Sweep Google Science Awards

17-year-old Shree Bose makes cancer breakthrough

(Newser) - Score one for girl power: Three young American women took the top prizes at Google's first-ever science fair, beating 7,500 other contestants from 91 countries. The grand prize went to 17-year-old Shree Bose, who discovered a way to improve ovarian cancer treatment for patients who have built up...

'Super Sand' Makes Water Safe to Drink

Rice University filtration idea might ease shortage of drinking water

(Newser) - Access to clean drinking water is not a new problem in the world, and neither is the solution offered by Rice University researchers: sand. Except theirs is an improved version. The regular stuff has long been used to filter water, but it doesn't do a very effective job. Cue...

16-Year-Old Makes Promising Find on Cystic Fibrosis

Teen's research could lead to better drug therapy

(Newser) - Encouraging new research on the treatment of cystic fibrosis comes courtesy of an 11th-grader. Toronto 16-year-old Marshall Zhang figured out via computer simulations that two drugs have the potential to make a powerful combination in treating the disease, reports LiveScience . He then tried out his theory on living cells: "...

China Poised to Surpass US in Science

Explosion in research transforming scientific world

(Newser) - Scientific research in China has been booming along with the economy, and the nation could overtake the US as the world's leading producer of research as early as 2013, according to a report from Britain's Royal Society for Science. The report credits massive investment in China in education and in...

Our Brains Are Shrinking!
Our Brains
Are Shrinking

Our Brains Are Shrinking

But do smaller brains mean we are getting dumber, or less aggressive?

(Newser) - Today's human brain is 10% smaller than that of our Cro-Magnon ancestors, but scientists are divided on whether that means we are getting smarter or dumber. Some say it does represent a dumbing down, but that our increasingly complex society means individuals don't need as much intelligence to survive and...

Scientists Reverse Aging in Mice



 Scientists Reverse 
 Aging in Mice 
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Scientists Reverse Aging in Mice

Could the process work for humans?

(Newser) - Harvard scientists have reversed the aging process in mice, injecting them with an enzyme that healed tissue and reportedly spurred the growth of new neurons in their brains. Now they’re wondering if they can apply some of these benefits to humans. But differences between human and mice bodies make...

Humans Can't Walk Straight: Scientists

And no one knows why

(Newser) - Here’s a fun game: Take your friends to a parking lot, blindfold them, and tell them to try to walk in a straight line. It’s basically guaranteed that you’ll get to watch them fail miserably and bump into parked cars, says German scientist Jan Souman. He tried...

30-Second Alzheimer's Test in the Works

Could predict risk decades before symptoms show

(Newser) - A new test could predict a person’s risk of Alzheimer’s decades before symptoms appear—and it only takes half a minute, the Daily Telegraph reports. A London scientist identified a group of otherwise healthy people in their 40s whose brain scans revealed tiny lesions in the memory hub,...

Whales Face 'Serious' Sunburn Threat
 Whales Face 'Serious' 
 Sunburn Threat 
study says

Whales Face 'Serious' Sunburn Threat

Depleted ozone may be risk for already-endangered animals

(Newser) - Whales off the coast of Mexico seem to be getting bad sunburns, and scientists say ozone damage may be why. To survive, whales have to spend long periods on the ocean’s surface, and without clothes, fur, or feathers, they’re basically “sunbathing naked,” the AP notes. The...

Scientists May Soon Be Able to 'Record' Dreams

Brain activity research could be applied to sleeping subjects

(Newser) - Sounds like something out of a movie, but it's real: Someday, scientists may be able to "record" your dreams. Research published in the journal Nature explains that it is already possible to record higher-level brain activity, and the same methods could be applied to dreams—though there is still...

Why Women Live Longer Than 'Disposable' Men

Females built to last for reproductive success: scientist

(Newser) - Women have their hardworking cells to thank for the fact that they tend to live longer than men, argues a scientist. Experts believe aging is caused by tiny problems in the body, and we die when our bodies stop repairing these issues, the Daily Mail reports. Women, suggests the UK...

Astronomers Spot Most Distant Galaxy

The stars are 13.1B light years

(Newser) - Astronomers in Chile have spotted the most distant galaxy in the universe—some 13.1 billion light years away. Its light has taken almost the whole life of the universe to get to us: The light photons detected by the astronomers started their journey when the universe was just 4%...

Tea Party Steeped in Global Warming Doubt

More than half of activists don't foresee a warming problem—ever

(Newser) - The Tea Party movement is highly skeptical of the threat posed by—and, in some cases, the existence of—global warming, finds a New York Times /CBS poll. Just 14% of Tea Partiers believe warming is currently taking effect, as opposed to 49% of the rest of Americans. More than...

Obama Tapes Mythbusters Segment

He's rocking his inner geek, experimenting with Archimedes claim

(Newser) - President Obama says he'll be exercising his inner geek in an appearance on Discovery Channel show Mythbusters—but the myth he's busting has nothing to do with his birth certificate or whether he's secretly a Muslim. And unlike what usually happens on Mythbusters, he won't be blowing anything up. "...

Key Depression Gene Identified

May pave way for new drugs, scientists say

(Newser) - American scientists have identified a gene that appears to play a key role in the onset of depression , a finding which may help researchers develop new treatments. A team from Yale University found that a gene called MPK-1 is twice as active in those who suffer from depression. The gene...

Fossil of 5-Foot-Tall Penguin Found in Peru

Creature, dubbed 'Water King,' lacked tuxedo coloring

(Newser) - It sounds both adorable and fearsome: A red penguin that stands nearly five feet tall. Researchers in Peru have unearthed the fossil of just such a creature, a giant penguin that waddled its way around the world some 36 million years ago. The creature may have lacked the modern bird...

Scientists Slash Number of World's Plants by 600,000

Turns out that many plants have multiple names—some have hundreds

(Newser) - A comprehensive scientific study will trim some 600,000 duplicates from the world’s list of flowering plants, the Guardian reports. After centuries of scientists naming “new” plants that had already been discovered, we currently count the number of plant species at about 1 million—but a more realistic...

Heavy Drinkers Outlive Abstainers

But moderate drinkers tend to live longest

(Newser) - Bad news for teetotalers: Drinking may be good for you, sort of. A new study suggests that drinkers, even heavy drinkers, tend to outlive those who abstain. "Moderate" drinkers, defined here as those who drink one to three glasses a day, were found to live longest, notes Time . The...

'Terror Bird' Used Beak Like an Axe
 'Terror Bird' Used Beak as Axe 

'Terror Bird' Used Beak as Axe

Bird bobbed and weaved like a boxer to corner prey

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered exactly how the giant, prehistoric "terror birds" that once roamed South America slaughtered its prey. Using CT scans and biomedical reconstructions, Argentine and American researchers found that the 5-foot-tall, 90-pound Andalgalornis steulleti wielded its enormous head like an axe, smashing its curved beak into animals and...

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