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The fascination with T. Rex goes back a really long time, and whether you're a world class paleontologist, or some average Joe who loved Jurassic Park, T. Rex was definitely on your mind at some point. The biggest and most fierce hunter there was - or was he ? Scientists have been debating his diet for half a century, with one side claiming it fed by scavanging, while the other one was defending the dinosaur as a fearsome hunter.
Researchers get paid to do the weirdest things nowadays; recently, a team including Lukas Schärer and his wife Dita Vizoso, both of the University of Basel in Switzerland spent hours and hours watching and analyzing worms having sex (which, basically could be classified as worm porn) in order to find out why some flatworms have […]
Art and science almost always seem to be standing at opposite seats of the table, so it’s really hard to explain one through the means of the other. But if we were to look at some of the best compositions in the world, music that transcended time and delighted generations and generations, what would we […]
By all standards, at some point, Neanderthals were better prepared for life than any other human species; however, in spite of all this, they were extinct, while ‘we’ fluorished; the reason why this happened is still pretty much a mystery, but as always, some theories have been made. One of the most accepted ones was […]
Svante Paabo, the researcher whose work provided the basis for the Jurassic Park movies seems to have struck gold once again; this time it’s about a finger bone older than 30.000 years, found in the Altai mountains, that as far as DNA analysis has shown, belongs to no known species of humans. They also found […]
What’s maybe China’s most prominent symbol, the Giant Panda has been for decades now on the endangered species list, with an estimate wildlife population of circa. 2000-3000 individuals. Conservation efforts and breeding projects have been in the works for a very long time, efforts which even proved to render diplomatic benefits (In the late 70’s […]
A new study that just makes you say ‘Wow!’ was published in the online journal PLoS ONE by researchers from the University of British Columbia; they concluded that our planet has absolutely no more place to expand fisheries after charting the systematic development of the industry. The study is the first one of this kind, […]
Obesity is a condition that affects a significant portion of people throughout the world; as a result, a whole industry of “get rid of obesity” emerged, each offering its own “unfailable” method that just has to work. However, until now, nobody conducted a extremely thorough study to pinpoint exactly what you have to do to […]
The tuatara is not an iguana, it’s not a lizard, and it is very, very different than any other reptile alive today on Earth. In fact, recent studies suggest that it’s pretty different from any other vertebrate. It’s home is in New Zealand, which is known for eccentric life forms of all kinds: the kiwi, […]
This is one of these statistics that just remind you that the 2000’s are nearing their end; according to data published by Opera, young adults who use their browser use the mobile more than the traditional desktop to browse. “We have often said that the next generation will grow up knowing the Web mostly through […]
It’s a well known fact that snakes can “fly”, gliding even more than 100 meters sometimes from branch to branch, but exactly how they are able to achieve such a remarkable feat has dazzled researchers for quite a while. A new study using an unprecedented filming, 3D modeling, real and fake snakes showed how snakes […]
Alzheimer is one of the nastiest diseases you can get; it is a degenerative disease that affects your brain cells, and as far as we know, the best way to prevent it is by being mentally active throughout your life. The most recent study conducted about it takes a look at ways of detecting the […]
One of the “highlights” of being a student or a young employee is having to stay up at night and study and/or do a lot of work. When coffee alone just won’t cut it, many turn to energy drinks. However one of the most common practices regarding energy drinks is mixing them with alcoholic beverages. […]
I recently finished reading The Generous Man by Tor Nørretranders in which the author tries to explain the awkward act of giving away, charity, by invoking social mechanics – sex to be more accurate. People are generous, and by giving they prove they posses enough resources and skill to make it in the world with […]
In a remarkable discovery, reported Friday in the journal Science by a team of paleontologists headed by Robert Reisz of the University of Toronto, archeologists unveiled detailed photos and insights of the world’s oldest dinosaur embryo found to date. In the past years, archelogists have managed to find true dinosaur relics, unveiling dinosaur eggs containing […]
The bubonic plague, known to history as The Black Death or simply The Plague, was responsible for marking one of Europe’s most darkest hours, twice decimating the continent’s population, killing off two thirds. The disease is caused by a Gram-negative bacterium called Yersinia pestis, of zoonotic nature, especially carried by rodents – more exactly rats. […]
The problem of a water shortage has been on the table for quite a while now, and as time passes, it is becoming more and more of a probability. Especially the United States and other heavily populated and industrailized countries are threatened by this issue. A detailed analysis conducted by National Center for Atmospheric Research […]
This amazing snailfish is just one of the animals new to science that have been uncovered by Oceanlab scientists; the expedition was studying one of the world’s deepest trenches, an environment thought to be void of fish of any kind, but researchers were surprised to find out that even the bottom of the trench was […]
I’m really not sure what to think about genetically modified food; in theory, it seems like one of the best ideas ever, but if we don’t fully understand the ramifications of the modifications, it can have really harmful effects. But still, the study I’m going to tell you about is not that. It’s about the […]
The Cape ground squirrel takes sex very seriously. For the males, the scrotum is about 20% of their body length, and the penis is twice as long; if you don’t believe me, this particular image will probably change your mind – but be warned ! It will be burned onto your brain for quite a […]
A recently discovered planet is just about the right size and is in the right place to host life; as a matter of fact, astronomers seem quite sure it hosts life, and we’re talking more than microbes. Still, current technology doesn’t allow scientists to search for chemical markers of life. About 20 light years away, […]
I recently came across a very interesting piece in the NY Post which cites a study that shows that while it was well known that a difference in size between male and female brains exists, there is now evidence that there are significant differences in the size of certain structural parts of the brain, according […]
According to a newly published study, it seems that rubbing your hands together in a hand dryer actually leaves them coated with more bacteria than immediately after washing. “When you rub your hands, you bring a lot of bacteria to the surface from the pores of your skin,” says Anna Snelling of the University of […]
Researchers at Emory University School of Medicine have conducted a study showing that the deletion of a particular gene makes mice smarter by unlocking a mysterious part of the brain, thought to be totally unflexible until now. When the gene, RGS14, is disabled, mice learn how to figure out mazes faster and more effective than […]
Robotics is developing faster and faster, partially thanks to the technological growth of Japan, which has quite some awesome plans for the not so distant future. This time however, it’s a team of researchers from University of California, Berkeley, led by Ali Javey that is in the spotlight. You see, it’s not the strength that […]
Recently, numerous developments in Alzheimer research have been made, including a ‘brain pacemaker‘ and the discovery of an extremely promising chemical, p7c3, that might help treat patients. This time, researchers went for a different approach; what happens in Alzheimer is that the brain basically grows some lumps of protein, developing formations known as amyloid plaques […]
Alzheimer’s is one of the most common, yet devastating, form of dementia which currently accounts for more than 5 million patients in the US alone, most of which are elderly. By now, I’m sure most of you know how this terrible disease manifests itself, enough to make a sexagenarian forget his children and nephews. What’s […]
Although the oldest sexual toy may have dated from the stone age, a newly published discovery of two fossils bearing the mark of tool used to scrub off the meat dating back 3.39 million years could be enough to make anthropologists revise their current text books. What makes this study potentially monumental is the fact […]
It was more than 300 million years ago that reptiles made tracks on earth. The exact moment when this happened is unknown, however; oh, and by exact moment, I’m talking about pinning it down to a couple million years (you gotta love geologists for their sense of time). So, a discovery of fossilized footprints was […]
Boy, you just can’t have enough octopus, that’s for sure – they’re really amazing creatures, that often surprise us. Now, a venomous octopus living in the frozen waters of Antarctica is definitely awesome, but how is this useful? Well, according to Bryan Fry, of the University of Melbourne, it is. He and his team have […]
It’s often remarkable the ways in which seemingly disparate characteristics of personality mingle. Whether this interaction is remarkable due to the vast complexity and multifaceted nature of the human persona or instead because our understanding of such matters is so paltry, our library of the “psychical” patterns that give rise first to cognition and then […]
The major fault in Sierra Nevada is believed to have been “quiet” for more than 3 million years has shown signs of becoming active and it is believed that it can trigger quakes that can reach magnitudes of up to 7. This comes as a rather unpleasant surprise to geologists, as well as the people […]
As if the domesticated dog’s position as, “man’s (or woman’s) best friend” was not entrenched in the human zeitgeist enough, research from Brian Hare out Harvard’s Anthropology department indicates that not only are dogs far more adept than Chimpanzees- our closest genetic, extant relative- at interpreting human social cues, but that domesticated dogs are superior […]
Mycobacterium vaccae is a type of bacteria that naturally leaves in soil and has been in the attention of researchers for a while now, due to the fact that it decreases anxiety. Recent studies sugest that in fact, it also stimulates neuron growth and thus intelligence and the ability to learn. Dorothy Matthews and Susan […]
c If you want your kids to be healthier, thinier and smarter, then you probably should keep them away from TVs while they’re toddlers. A recent (and quite shocking) joint study conducted by Université de Montréal, the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center and the University of Michigan revealed that television exposure at ages of 2 […]
Yes ladies and gents, researchers have produced the whole genome sequence of the 3 billion “letters” (nucleotides) in the Neanderthalian genome, and the results are interesting to say the least. For starters, up to 2 percent of present day human DNA outside of Africa originated in Neanderthals; this result suggests that the Neanderthals, Homo neanderthalensis […]
Using DNA preserved for 25.000 – 43.000 years in bones from Siberian mammoths, a team of international scientists recreated mammoth hemoglobin and studied it, revealing interesting facts about the fascinating animals. “It has been remarkable to bring a complex protein from an extinct species, such as the mammoth, back to life,” says Professor Alan Cooper, […]
Two studies put Einstein’s theory, the General Theory of Relativity to a test unlike any other before. The two teams used extensive observations from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory to analyze galaxy clusters, the biggest objects in the Universe that are bound together by gravity (at least, that we know of). The first team produced results […]
According to a research conducted by researchers from the Cornell University the portions and the plates depicted in more than 50 paintings of the Last Supper have gotten bigger as time passed – way bigger. This finding seems to obviously suggest that as time passes, we eat more and more, which should raise some concerns; […]
At nearly 200 meters below the ice, there is no light, the temperature is way below 0 degrees, and scientists were expecting to find nothing more than a handful of microbes – and for good reason. So it’s easy to understand why they were so surprised to find not a single (evolved) life form, but […]
Just like any muscle in your body, if not used, the brain starts to degrade as time passes; this has been known for quite a while, but recently, a team from UC Irvine provided the first visual evidence of how learning protects the brain, thus proving that mental stimulation fights against the degrading effects that […]
A recent study published by Berkeley UC concluded that an hour nap boosts the brain’s learning capacity and restores power, just like an email box. When it’s full, it needs a cleaning session – which is just what the nap does. So of course, what every student had to learn the hard way, when you […]
Well we all know the effect a curvaceous woman can have on men, but according to a new research published by researchers from Georgia Gwinnett College, the effect they have is similar to that of alcohol and drugs, at least in some ways. Evolutionary speaking, for women, curvy figures are associated with fertility and an […]
For years and years (good) doctors have warned about the dangers of taking antibiotics too lightly, which generally causes ‘bugs’ to be more resistant. More recently, a study conducted by researchers from Boston University showed that microbes are a lot like us: what doesn’t kill them makes them stronger, and this could have extreme consequences. […]
The sun begins to ooze off outside of Birmingham, England. It’s tea time. A woman stands alone in her house, making herself a nice warm cup. After the tea is done, she stirs a half spoon cannabis in her tea, in an attempt to seek relief from pain and spasms caused by her multiple sclerosis. […]
The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) published some quite awesome pictures showing that Antarctica isn’t the lifeless frozen wasteland most people believe it to be; ice fish, octopus, sea pigs, giant sea spiders, rare rays and gorgeous basket stars all thrive in the extreme temperatures in Antarctica’s waters. Well, thrive is perhaps a too strong word, […]
The US-Japan Sukazu observatory reported the finding of some never-before seen embers from the high temperature fireballs that immediately follower the supernovae explosions. Even after thousands of years in which they haven’t been exposed to any heat source, gas within these stellar wrecks is 10.000 hotter than the Sun’s surface. “This is the first evidence […]
Obesity is a problem that’s taking bigger and bigger proportions (especially in the US), due mostly to fast food and lack of physical activity, and it seems that most people still fail to understand the major bad impact it has on one’s health. However, thanks to a recent study published in the February 2010 issue […]
Scientists have for the first time determined the actual permeability of the asthenosphere in Earth’s upper mantle, which is basically responsible for how fast the melt rises towards the surface of the earth, and the results were surprising to say the least. Researchers found that it actually moves 25 times faster than previously assumed, which […]
It’s been a busy year indeed, especially with the LHC doing it’s thing again, Hubble was repaired and there was a lot of medical research being done, even with more money being invested in advertising than research. However, last year was also remarkable for the… not so remarkable studies, to say the least. In that […]
