Andrei Mihai ZME Science

Eating green leafy vegetables keeps your brain strong

Something as simple as eating more leafy veggies could significantly slow down cognitive decline and keep your brain healthier for a longer period of time. A new study found that nutrients and vitamins found in plants such as spinach, kale, collards and mustard greens help keep your mental abilities sharp.

Blue eyes linked to higher levels of alcohol dependence

According to an unusual study conducted by University of Vermont researchers, people with blue eyes may be more likely to become alcoholics – and researchers are trying to figure out why. Human eye color is a pretty strange thing – it’s an inherited trait influenced by more than one gene. These genes cause small changes […]

Ocean-going spiders use their legs to windsurf on the water

Spiders are more adaptable than we give them credit for, and they can make pretty good sailors – a new study has found that some spiders can use strands of silk to windsurf on the ocean surface. It’s been reported for centuries, even Charles Darwin noticed it: “ballooning” spiders flutter from the air into the sails […]

Koch-Backed Group Calls for no More National Parks

Remember the Koch brothers? They're industrialists and businesspeople who own the second largest privately owned company in the United States (with 2013 revenues of $115 billion); their main business is in manufacturing, refining, and distribution of petroleum.

Want to power up your home with renewables without making an investment? Here's how

We come to you today with something a bit different than what we usually do – a new, creative way of supporting renewable energy. We were simply fascinated by this approach and we just had to share it with you. It’s a way of powering up your home or business with green energy without actually installing […]

American Museum of Natural History Releases Vintage Drawings of Seashells

The American Museum of Natural History has released a set of postcards you can buy when you visit them – The Seashell Collector. I thought the set looks quite brilliant, and it’s definitely worth sharing, along with some basic information Seashells The word seashell is often used to mean only the shell of a marine mollusk […]

So, you think you can crack actual medical mysteries? Here's where you can try it

A startup will allow voluntary internet detectives to study unusual medical cases and attempt to solve them. Millions of people suffer from rare or complex medical conditions for which they have received no diagnosis, but where a handful of doctors have failed, the collective force of the internet can do it – we can do it. […]

A Danish Festival Will Recycle Participants' Urine to Make New Beer

Call it Beercycling – gallons of beer-urine will be used to fertilize barley, which will ultimately become beer, and then urine again. It’s the perfect cycle. Denmark’s Roskilde festival is the largest music festival in Scandinavia and one of the largest in the world. Roskilde Festival 2013 had more than 180 performing bands and gathered around 130,000 festivalgoers, […]

U.S. Wildlife Service: We Won't Protect Wild Horses

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has rejected a proposal to list North American wild horses as threatened or endangered, arguing that a horse is a horse, wild or tame, and proponents have failed to show how the behaviour of wild horses differs from that of domestic ones. The number of North American wild stallions has […]

Seahorses may inspire new generation of armored robots

Seemingly small and delicate, seahorses are actually much more resilient than they look. Engineers have demonstrated that the seahorses’ prism-like tails are mechanically superior to the cylindrical ones; the discovery could lead to the development of more resilient robots. There are 54 species of seahorses, and while they may be significantly different one from the other, […]

Japanese company repurposes golf course into huge solar power plant

Environmentalists and engineers have often argued against golf courses (especially abandoned golf courses), considering them a waste of space and resources, and for good reason. Golf courses cover huge areas of ground which could be used for something more productive. Now, Japanese company Kyocera is building a huge solar power plant on such an abandoned course.

This mirror lets you see how you look with different clothes on

A new hi-tech mirror allows clients to see how they would look like in different outfits, without having to actually try them on. From what I could find, there are two companies working on different versions of this product (one in Japan, one in America), but the bad news is that so far, it only […]

Cuban scientists express environmental concerns with US influence

As the US starts to thaw its relationship with Cuba, important economy, touristic and cultural prospects start to emerge; but as these prospects emerge, so to do environmental concerns. Cuban scientists are worried that as American tourists and money start flowing into their country, the environment will be the one to suffer. “We don’t have […]

Saber-tooth cats grew their fangs faster than human fingernails

Saber-tooth cats, the bane of early humans (and pretty much every creature that co-existed with them), roamed the Earth for 42 million years before going extinct at the end of the ice age. Now, a new study has found that their trademark teeth may have evolved later in their evolutionary stage, but when they grew, they grew […]

Google photo software labels black people ‘gorillas’

It's the kind of error you never want to pop up in your code: Google’s automatic image recognition software has apparently classified two black friends as 'gorillas'.

Today's Recipe - Making Tortillas... in Space!

Samantha Cristoforetti, an astronaut currently on board the International Space Station was allowed to take some extra food with her (astronauts are allowed to take “comfort food” with them for psychological reasons – a little something that reminds them of home). Today, she’ll be telling us how to make some space tortillas. Cooking in microgravity […]

German City Issues a Parking Ticket to a Modern Sculpture That It Commissioned

The Germany city of Karlsruhe celebrates its 300th anniversary in 2015, and they wanted to do something special to commemorate it. So officials booked Austrian sculptor and performance artist Erwin Wurm to do a modern sculpture, which he did. Here’s what the city said: “For the city’s anniversary, Wurm has a bright red truck reverse up a […]

Language is not restricted to humans: Scientists find bird species with its own language

Joining sounds together to create a meaningful language was thought to be a human characteristic, but a new study published in PLoS Biology found that blabber birds also developed their own phonetic language, just like we did! Researchers also believe that studying these birds could give us hints of why and how our language evolved to what […]

Earth-loving Hades: meet the centipede from Hell

Deep below ground level, 3,500 feet (1000 meters) down a Croatian cave, scientists have discovered a new species of centipede. They named this incredibly resilient creature Geophilus hadesi – earth loving Hades – in honor of Hades, the Greek God of the underworld and ruler of Hell. Centipedes are elongated arthropods with one pair of legs per body […]

The Great Wall of China is Slowly Wasting Away

The Great Wall of China, one of the most marvelous constructions on Earth is slowly fading away due to the reckless behavior of humans. The effects of travel and recycling of the stones for other constructions is taking a monumental toll on the Great Wall, and almost 30 percent of the structure is now gone.

I can't believe this hasn't existed before - one simple app fed 600,000 people

It's so simple and incredibly useful I can't believe no one developed it before - a way to give leftover food from parties and meetings to homeless people who really need it.

400 Million Fewer Animals Were Killed for Food in 2014 Because People Eat Less Meat

Whether it’s Meatless Monday, Weekday Vegetarianism or simply cutting down meat consumption – people from developed countries are eating less meat, and it’s already making a difference. Even though some argue that cutting-back-consumption campaigns don’t push enough of a paradigm-shift, we’re already seeing the changes: 400 million animals were spared in the US alone in 2014 because […]

Radiologists miss out on 7% of cancers - this computer algorithm doesn't

Among the many tools it has in its arsenal, cancer is also very good at hiding - so good that according to a study, we miss 7% of cancers even when we have an X-Ray. But a company is looking to change all that an employ the help of accurate computer algorithms.

Like mustard and wasabi? You should thank this catterpillar

In a paper published this month in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of scientists explain the process through which plants like mustard came to be - as it turns out, an evolutionary arms race with a caterpillar played a key role.

The science of soap bubbles [with great pics]

A soap bubble is a very thin sheet of water sandwiched between two layers of soap molecules. They are an evanescent childish wonder, but also hold some valuable mathematical and physical insights: let’s have a look at the science of soap bubbles. We see them as fun and childish, blowing them around in the summer, but […]

500 million year old worm had impressive spiky armor

Paleontologists working in China have discovered fossils of an impressively armored worm that lived during the Cambrian, 500 million years ago. Called Hairy Collins’ Monster, this is one of the first creatures to develop a spiky armor. Today, the 180 species of velvet worms are pretty similar – they have tiny eyes, antennae, multiple pairs of […]

Scientists predict the existence of a liquid analogue of graphene

By now, we've all hopefully at least heard of graphene, the new wonder material that promises to revolutionize a swarm of applications. But now, a team of researchers from Finland have predicted the existence of atomically thin, free-standing 2D liquid phase - a liquid analogue of graphene.

Meet Puka and Rocket Larry: The Unlikely Dog-Tortoise Friendly Duo

You wouldn’t expect a dog and a turtle to be best friends, but as we’ve learned on the Internet, the animal kingdom can create some surprising friendship relationships. It all started when Christine Hilberg, a 29-year-old photography retoucher and animal Instagrammer rescued Puka, a 4-year-old mixed breed with a cleft lip from a homeless man in Los […]

Tomorrow, the world is getting one extra second - what are you gonna do with yours?

Tomorrow, something extraordinary will happen, even though you might not notice it: right before 8 p.m. Eastern time, we will be adding an extra second – a leap second. Aside for being an interesting quirk, this is another reminder that our time isn’t exactly synced with solar time, and every once in a while, we need […]

Why ants don't have traffic jams - hint: it's because they don't show off

Studying ants could help us reduce or even eliminate traffic jams, but only if we let go of our ego. Physicist Apoorva Nagar at the Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology found that ants don't have traffic jams, and we have much to learn from them when it comes to using a road.

National Geographic Traveler Contest Is Almost Wrapped Up - Here Are Some Amazing Entries

National Geographic invites photographers from around the world to enter the 2015 National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest – but hurry up, the final submission date is 30 June! Eligible contestants can visit natgeo.com/travelerphotocontest to submit photographs in any or all of four categories: Travel Portraits; Outdoor Scenes; Sense of Place; and Spontaneous Moments. The entry fee […]

The world's first 3D printer supercar looks stunning, has amazing specs and is eco-friendly

It can reach 100 km/h (60 mph) in 2 seconds, it has a 700 horsepower engine, it weighs 90% less than traditional cars, it has less emissions and it’s 3D printed – it may very well be the car of the future. Despite technological developments, the automobile industry has remained relatively stagnant in the past […]

Dutch city of Utrecht will start experimenting with universal, unconditional basic income

The city of Utrecht will start experimenting with a new concept that could revolutionize society as we know it: basic income. Unconditional basic income is a form of social security system in which all residents receive an unconditional sum of money, regardless of whether or not they have another source of income.

Coral breeding may help reefs survive global warming

Coral reefs are as important to oceanic ecosystems as they are vulnerable to global warming and ocean acidification. Coral reefs are being destroyed around the world, not only because of risint temperatures, but also due to coral mining, agricultural and urban runoff, pollution (organic and inorganic), overfishing, blast fishing, disease, and the digging of canals and access […]

What if Disney princesses were dinosaurs?

Now there’s a question you don’t ask yourself every day – or ever, for that matter – what if Disney princesses were dinosaurs? Laura Cooper of the webcomic XP asked herself that question, and took it upon her to reimagine them as velociraptors. The results – you can see below. I won’t tell you who the […]

New dietary guidelines will bring fats back

"Fat is bad" seems to be a general rule when concocting dietary guidelines, but fatty foods may be making a comeback for all the right reasons. The latest version of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which is due out later this year will eliminate the upper limit for total dietary fat intake.

Antarctica Yeti Crab Grows and Harvests its Own Food

Scientists have discovered and described the only known species of Yeti Crab that resides in Antarctica's Southern Ocean. The crab, which has a white fur all over its body, survives in an extremely inhospitable environment, close to the hydrothermal vents that spew hot water in the freezing ocean.

Small worlds, big pictures - former winners from Nikon's Photomicrography Competition

It’s been a while since these photos won the Nikon International Small World Photomicrography Competition in 2010, but their quality and intensity just makes me want to share them again. The competition began in 1974 as a means to recognize and applaud the efforts of those involved with photography through the light microscope. Here are the […]

Same-sex couple adoption doesn't have any negative effect on children

It's a touchy issue for some - the matter of adoption by homosexual couples. Some argue against this type of adoption, while others claim that there's absolutely nothing wrong with it. Now, a new study conducted by University of Colorado Denver research found that children of same-sex parents experience 'no difference' in terms of social and behavioral outcomes to children of heterosexual couples.

Eco-friendly designer grows trees that become chairs, tables and lampshades

Taking a radically opposite stance on how we design our furniture, designer and innovator Gavin Munro has come up with a unique way to create furniture. Instead of cutting wood and joining the pieces together, he simply grows trees into chairs or tables. The idea is simple, yet innovative: let nature do all the work, and […]

Strange "X-Ray Rainbow" could be used to calculate stellar distances

NASA released the breathtaking image you see below, announcing that it is basically X-ray light echoes reflecting off clouds of dust. But this image does more than thrill us amateur stargazers – it helps astronomers figure out how far away the double star system Circinus X-1 is from Earth. “It’s really hard to get accurate distance measurements […]

Teens create condom that changes color if you have an STD

A group of UK teenages have invented a condom that changes colors and glows if you/he have/has an STD. Aptly named the S.T. EYE, the condom has a built-in chemical detector that detects infections such as chlamydia and syphilis, and lets you (and your partner) know.

Rosetta to continue its mission and land on a comet

The European Space Agency has confirmed that the Rosetta mission will continue until at least September 2016, when it will most likely land on a comet called Comet 67P.

New "organ on a chip" design could eliminate the need for animal testing

A clear, apparently simple plastic chip could eliminate the need for animal testing. The design, which basically mimics the functions of human organs, won the Design of the Year award from the Design Museum in London.

Historical pistols: a WWII anatomy project

WWII was the largest conflict known to mankind, responsible for 50 to 80 million fatalities, involving most of the countries in the world. Historians are still fascinated by this tragic event to this day, and while we here at ZME Science are not big gun fans nor do we support technology that’s built to kill, we […]

Europe's oldest prehistoric town confirmed in Bulgaria

Archaeologists working in Bulgaria have confirmed that they uncovered the oldest prehistoric town in Europe. The town was likely home to some 400 people and dates back to between 4700 and 4200 BC - about 1,500 years before the emergence of the Greek civilization.

Stonehenge was actually the core of a huge spiritual centre

We tend to think of the Stonehenge as a lone giant, huge blocks of rock towering over the quiet British landscape. But as a new study has revealed, Stonehenge was likely a diverse and vibrant place, a complex of different religious and cultural settings. Painting Stonehenge in New Light Using geophysical techniques (mostly Ground […]

Even More Spectacular Fungi Photos by Steve Axford

In September 2014, we were telling you about Steve Axford’s spectacular mushroom photography. I was truly fascinated by the art and the insight he provides into this tiny and mysterious world. Most of his work is done on Australian fungus, and he says he likes to take pictures of things that are close to home. “My […]

They did the math - things you won't believe people on the internet calculated

Every once in a while, you stumble upon a statement or question so preposterous that you don’t even bother thinking about it – but somewhere, someone on the internet did the math. This is a list of that kind of things – crazy things that someone actually calculated. This is not real science though, so […]

Five-decade study links pesticides to breast cancer

A long term study conducted by US researchers has found a connection between levels of DDT pesticide and breast cancer - women with high levels of DDT in their body were four times more likely to develop breast cancer.

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