One of the most devastating oil spills 25 years later
By the time the oil stopped flowing, nearly 11 million gallons had leaked out, contaminating 1,300 miles of shoreline and...
Roman emperor and pharaoh: new ancient carving tells the story
PHOTO BY MARLEEN DE MEYER, LINE DRAWING BY TROY SAGRILLO Right on the western exterior wall of the Temple of Isis...
Recognizing faces may result from a specific brain mechanism
During a lifetime, a person sees hundreds of thousands of faces. Of course, you wont remember all of them, in...
Oil and gas fields near rural Utah up to 100 times more polluted than busiest cities
Researchers at the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration have published findings that demonstrate what was speculated for a long time - oil...
Climate change will cause lower crop yields than expected and threaten global food security
Crops, like any plants, adapt to their surroundings and, depending on conditions, can offer more or less yield. In the...
New evidence suggests the moon never was abundant in water
(c) NASA An eminent team of US researchers found that it is highly unlikely that the moon ever once harbored...
World’s first airborne wind farm feeds energy to remote Alaska
(C) Altaeros Floating wind farms may seem like something out of a science fiction novel, but a MIT start-up called Altaeros...
Trees in Chernobyl aren’t dying and this is a problem
Fallen trees in Chernobyl's Red Forest. Photo: T.A.Mousseau & A.P. Møller Some thirty years after Chernobyl's nuclear plant meltdown that...
This material can be turned into a solar cell by day and light source by night
NTU's new Perovskite solar cell can also emit light when electrical current is passed through the material. Photo: Nanyang Technological...
New drug literally blows up the most aggresive brain cancer cells
A new drug causes brain cancer cells in mice to explode. (c) Cell A potentially game changing drug developed by...
Fiber optic tubes inserted through your veins could accelerate diagnosis
Illustration: James Archer/anatomyblue The backbone of today's modern telecommunication industry is held by fiber optic cables. These information highways have...
The new spring: charts showing different take to global warming
A while ago, Andrei published a post in which he uploaded and spoke about seven key charts that show plain...
The human nose can distinguish over a trillion scents
A volunteer smelling a vial. Photo: Credit: Zach Veilleux / The Rockefeller University There's a common number thrown around for...
Power lines may be absolutely terryfing animals and disrupt herding
High voltage power lines aren't quite the safest places to be around, especially if you're a large animal or bird...
Robot fish is remarkably similar to the real thing
PHOTO: MIT Isaac Asimov, the father of the three laws of robotics, made some startling predictions many years ago about...
Crania Americana: the most influential book on scientific racism
For men of simple means and upbringing, it's easy to credit racism: the other fellow is different from me -...
Carbon nanotubes may help increase the efficiency of tomorrow’s solar cells
Every time a new manufacturing or development technology concerning solar cells was introduced, the futurists and tech pundits were quick...
Warmest winter on record for California worsens drought streak
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in a statement that California just came off its warmest winter on...
First direct evidence supporting the “Cosmic Inflation” theory helps explains how the Universe came to be
The BICEP2 experiment at the South Pole reported the first ever piece of evidence that support the cosmic inflation theory...
Improving the Quality of Life for People with Dementia
Photo: guardianlv.com Caring for a loved one who suffers from dementia is demanding. It often seems like a losing battle...
Solar powered toilet locks greenhouse gases and increases crop yields
One of the 16 teams involved in a collaborative project funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation that aims...
Better muscle mass, not optimal BMI, prolongs longevity for the old
In an obesity challenged society, physicians first recommend the elderly to maintain an optimal body mass index (a weight to...
US spice imports are filthier than you might think
When you buy your spices, you might be getting more seasoning than you might expect. Why not get some free...
How sound frequencies affect taste – will music replace sugar in your coffee?
Listening to a high pitched tune will enhance the sweetness of food, while a low hum will make your taste...
‘Herding’ cells with direct electric current may aid in tissue engineering
The human body is littered with free ions and salts, which goes to explain why so much of our physiology...
Bending light in a chip could turn your phone into a projector
Imagine going to a meeting, flipping your phone on the table and then instantly project your slide presentation or traveling...
Camouflage or bright colours: what’s better for survival?
The wild is often home to a game of hide or seek, and animals need to be well adapted to...
P&G is driving massive deforestation and an orangutan graveyard in Indonesia
A year long investigation by Greenpeace reveals grim palm oil harvesting practices in Indonesia, where suppliers are currently engaging in...
Robot prosthetic helps drummer play like a three-armed cyborg
Photo: Georgia Tech A freak accident left Jason Barnes without his left arm below the elbow - a disheartening matter by...
Blood test for Alzheimer’s detects the disease with 90% accuracy
Considering population growth and increased life expectancy, experts estimate that by 2050 some 115 million people will be afflicted by Alzheimer's...
Four newly discovered man-made gases destroy the ozone layer
It was only around the mid 1980s that the world finally recognized the dangers posed by the build-up of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)...
Why your brain doesn’t catch a cold
Illustration: Michael Helfenbein In most of the world, winter long ground to a halt to make way for more harmonious...
Sirtuin supplement diet prolongs life in mice
A wonder pill that prolongs life and cuts the risks of developing deadly diseases. Scientists have been looking for such...
US space flight and ISS missions are dependent on Russia. What happens if the country pulls a squeeze?
Following Russia's invasion of Crimea, the world political scene has been suddenly turned upside down. Many were surprised by this...
Turning methane leaks from fracking into gasoline; an interesting option, but not enviro friendly
Hydraulic fracking has grown to unimaginable hights in the past few years, growing by some 20% a year, and reaching...
A 30,000 year-old virus is active again after it thawed from Siberian permafrost
It sounds like the synopsis for an apocalyptic movie: scientists uncover a dormant 30,000 years old virus trapped frozen deep...
‘Heart-glove’ fitted with stretchy electronics may replace pacemakers
Custom-fitted membrane expands and contracts with the heart, and could one day deliver electric shocks in response to a heart...
Space research more than pays for itself, but lack of inspiration raises questions
In light of recent NASA budget cuts, a lot of politicians, citizens and, frankly mostly non-science folks, reflect that money...
Tax on emission is twice as burdening on the poor than on the rich
Photo: freedomoutpost.com In attempt to mitigate the adverse effects of global warming, one of the key measures considered by policy...
Weird state of matter found in chicken’s eye
You may not find many interesting things to see when glaring into a chicken's eye, but after closely studying its...
New chemical restores light perception to blind mice
A long time ago I wrote a piece on the developments made by a group at University of California, Berkeley that...
‘Eating for two’ attitude affects weight gain during pregnancy
Researchers at Penn State College of Medicine studied the eating habits of overweight women during pregnancy, and found that those...
Tree branches prove to be excellent filters, help provide drinking water in poor areas
Sometimes it's best to make use of what's already available and "designed". There's no need to reinvent the wheel when...
How we think before we speak
Photo: glowscotland.org.uk The common saying "think before you speak" is often used after a person spoke something inappropriate. It implies...
Graphene proves to be fantastic radio waves absorber
Ultra strong, a fantastic electrical conductor, and even suitable for better beer storage, graphene is dazzling the w0rld with its...
Mass of the electron re-weighed for a precision of parts per trillion
Typically in physics, your calculations and such are as precise as your use of constants. Meaning, if you have a...
Microbial tomb discovered in 1,000 year-old human teeth
An international team of scientists believe they have across the "microbial Pompeii" after they found preserved bacteria and microscopic particles of food...
This is the oldest known piece of our planet – a 4.4 billion-year-old gem
Using two different dating technique, geologists have come across what they believe to be the oldest piece of Earth discovered...
Carbon nanotube fiber can carry four times more charge than copper
Reliable, well supplied and with years and years of manufacturing experience behind it, copper is the most widespread material used...
Synthetic muscle made from nylon is 100 times stronger than human muscle
Sometimes, I come across stories or various research that make me wonder "why the heck hasn't anyone else thought of...