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In what seems to be the largest study of its kind, researchers in the US have found that women’s code has a higher average rate of approval than men’s code. However, when their gender is made public, the approval rate drops significantly for women, showing a high gender bias. To examine the prevalence of gender […]
Generally regarded as a pseudoscientific treatment, acupuncture has proven itself quite effective, at least at alleviating pain.
Organic animal products seem to be significantly healthier than their non-organic counterparts.
We’ve seen unfortunate insects trapped in amber time and time again, but this time it’s something else. This time, a new species of ancient flower was found preserved in amber. The fossil species are a representative of the asterids, one of the most diverse groups that also include sunflower, coffee, potatoes and mint. Amber is […]
We’ve explored the Earth, we’ve explored the seas, we’ve even started exploring outer space but there’s one place we really haven’t explored that much – and that’s underground. Exploring underground reveals quite some secrets it turns out, as there’s a rich microbe biosphere living deep in our planet. They live a few km beneath the […]
It seems medicine is prepared to enter a new age - an age in which not only can we fix bones, cartilage and muscles, but also create new ones.
Russian scientists have found a way to use the country’s surplus of intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) to protect themselves from another threat: falling meteorites and asteroids. I’m happy to see that more and more people are starting to look at ways to protect Earth in the case of an incoming asteroid. In January, NASA announced the […]
Bullying is still prevalent throughout the educational system, both in the real and in the cyber world.
The future is now – a new study found that virtual reality can help alleviate depressive symptoms. The therapy was previously tested on healthy people and showed positive results. Now, the British team tested their idea on 15 depression patients aged 23-61. Nine reported reduced depressive symptoms a month after the therapy, and 4 of them […]
The day has come and passed, but the impact could be felt for a long time; that thrilling date, the memories created and the carbon emissions will linger long after Valentine’s day has passed. According to a survey by the National Retail Federation, 36 percent of Americans (58% men; 16% women) will buy flowers for […]
Creating artificial blood vessels is a pivotal aspect of reconstructive medicine. However, time and time again this has proven very tricky to accomplish. Now, a researcher believes he has found the key: weaving blood vessels with cotton candy machines. Traditionally, researchers would allow cultured cells to spontaneously develop capillary systems of their own. This process can […]
It all started when archaeologists working in Germany made a surprising discovery, uncovering the bodies of children and of one adult man who was buried, strangely, standing upright. The cemetery was dated to 8,500 years, being one of the oldest – if not the oldest – ever found on the continent. The cemetery dates from the […]
If you’re from countries like the UK or Australia, you probably can’t understand why other countries drive on the right. If you’re from the rest of the world, you might think the Brits are crazy for driving on the left. But where does this striking difference come from? The history of driving on the left […]
She’s been called everything from a pirate to the Robin Hood of science. Alexandra Elbakyan put up a portal that now gives access over 48 million journal articles – the greater part of everything that’s ever been published. Despite a court injunction and a lawsuit from Elsevier, one of the world’s biggest publishers she’s refusing to take it […]
Wisdom, the 65-year old albatross from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands is breaking record after record.
After a century of speculation and tantalizing results, scientists have, for the first time, confirmed the existence of gravitational waves.
When Fukushima’s nuclear accident unfolded, people fled the area without looking back. But one man realized that humans aren’t the only victims of the tragedy. Naoto Matsumura went back to Fukushima’s 12.5-mile exclusion zone to care for the abandoned animals. In 2011, one of the biggest earthquakes in recorded history struck Japan. The 9.1 temblor took even […]
The 160-megawatt concentrated-solar already has 100,000 mirrors in place, focusing sunlight to create steam and generate clean energy.
Nature, the Lancet and many other medical publishers and researchers have announced that all Zika-related scientific articles will be published freely in the wake of the recent outbreak. “We announce that Nature journals will make all papers relating to Zika virus free to access until further notice,” a statement reads. “Nature journals will also now encourage […]
Carbon dioxide acts like a greenhouse gas and can heat a planet's atmosphere - nothing new so far. But it can be so potent...
People with very low levels of physical activity may have smaller brains later in life, a new study found.
Limericks are a very specific type of poetry that emerged in England in the early years of the 18th century. It was popularized by Edward Lear in the 19th century although curiously, he didn’t coin the term “limerick”, and we don’t know where it came from. Your units are wrong! cried the teacher. Your church weighs […]
Grass could enable researchers to create the new generation of condoms and make our lives a little bit better. A team from the University of Queensland found a feasible way to extract nanocellulose from the grass and use it as an additive in latex. If you think about it, condoms haven’t changed that much in past […]
Researchers have made a stronger case for the negative effects of paracetamol on pregnant women. It was already documented that prenatal paracetamol consumption is associated with asthma; now, a team has shown that this is not because the underlying condition for which the drug was taken. Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen and often sold under the […]
American biologists finally understand how these cute fish, measuring little more than an inch can survive in extreme environments. Don’t let their looks deceive you: the Atlantic mollies in southern Mexico are as hardcore as it gets. They can live not only in tropical freshwater, but also in brackish water, and acidic, volcanically influenced springs. Most fish […]
A previous study found that Vikings suffered from massive worm infestations, and this may be the key to an inherited predisposition to emphysema and other lung conditions.
They may have had huge mouths, but they fed on plankton - an international team of researchers has found evidence of two new plankton-eating fossil fish species.
Cockroaches are nasty and annoying, but you've gotta hand it to them - if there's something they're really good at, it's surviving.
New models show that 2 million years ago, early humans couldn’t have survived on a diet based on nuts and other hard foods. In 2012, a study garnered international attention when it claimed that early human ancestors survived on a diet of hard foods mixed in with tree bark, fruit, leaves and other plant products. But […]
A new study analyzes how much Arctic ice can melt before its grounded portion also starts sliding into the ocean.
A period of significant cooling from 536 to 660 AD brought forth massive societal changes in Europe and Asia, a new study found. The cooling, caused by volcanic activity, coincided with a massive plague, the decline of the Byzantine Empire and the spread of Slavic and Arabic people. It is well known that volcanic activity can […]
The discovery of green fluorescent proteins heralded a revolution in cell biology, enabling researchers to monitor cellular processes by applying themselves to a variety of protein and enzyme targets. Over the years, they’ve enabled thousands of successful experiments, triggering events that ultimately saved many lives. In 1961, Osamu Shimomura and Frank Johnson, working at the Friday Harbor […]
How fast can your camera shoot? 60 frames per second, maybe 100? If you’ve got a good one, maybe 1000, or maybe you’re super pro and you shoot 10.000 fps. Puh-lease! The new MIT camera shoots at 1 trillion fps – that’s 1.000.000.000.000 frames every second ! Think of it this way: 1 trillion seconds […]
Scientists have found that by adding slight variations in the practice routine, you can keep your brain more active and facilitate the learning process.
A new study has found a way to increase the lifespan of mice by up to 35%, by simply removing the defunct cells that stop dividing and accumulate in old age.
A surprising finding could change the history of orthodoxy.
It's a horrific disease, but one that may be going to the history books soon.
A few months after it was proposed, the law was approved in December and it's now official.
Some 50 million years ago, the world was in dire straits. Atmospheric CO2 levels were at over 1000 ppm, with some putting the level at 3500 ppm. Turtles and palm trees were thriving at the poles and sea levels were much higher than they were now as there was virtually no snow to be seen. […]
The picture was taken by an astronaut aboard the International Space Station (ISS), focusing on two snow-covered volcanoes in Russia’s Far East. The volcano in the center of the image is called Bolshaya Ipelka and it measures 40 kilometers (25 miles) at its base. The volcano has been inactive for a long time, but the valleys cut by glaciers along its […]
Robots really are starting to take over jobs - a company in Japan has just announced they will open the world's first "robot farm".
Archaeologists from the Charles University in Prague have made a stunning discovery in Egypt: they found a stunningly well preserved long boat, buried for four and a half millennia. The discovery was made at Abusir, “the House or Temple of Osiris” and an extensive necropolis with many well documented findings. But Egypt still has a story to […]
Scottish researchers have found a way to make cancer cells get "addicted" to self-destruction.
German scientists have turned on a device called a stellerator, the largest of its kind. The machine could pave the way for nuclear fusion, a clean and safe type of nuclear power.
It's a song of ice and fire - scientists have just witnessed the eruption of the Big Ben volcano in the sub-Antarctic area.
The Zika virus that created an international state of emergency just got more scarier: apparently, it can be sexually transmitted. Such a case was reported in the US.
Tornadoes are associated with the strongest and most violent storms, reaching winds of up to 300 miles per hour (480 km/h).
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently declared a state of emergency following the Zika outbreak in South America. The virus was thought to be almost benign and doesn’t cause big problems. Hospitalization is almost never necessary, but Zika provided a nasty surprise. It became obvious that the disease causes birth defects such as microcephaly… but […]
The Zika outbreak in South America is spreading more and more, reaching pandemic levels.
South African scientists have recreated the quagga – an exotic animal related to the zebras that went extinct in the 19th century. Or better put, they created an animal that’s genetically similar to the quagga. The quagga is still a mysterious animal. There has been much debate over the status of the quagga in relation to […]
