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The shutdown of a key protein allows grizzly bears to go through tremendous weight gains without loosing insulin sensitivity. Thus they're never at risk of getting diabetes. What if we could shut this protein down for humans too?
Disguised under a ‘health halo’, manufacturers selling energy and sports drinks advertise their products as being a healthy alternative to soda. A report filed by researchers at the Atkins Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley found that not only did most popular drinks contain just as much sugar as sodas, but the added […]
A new study investigated the circumstances under which a 15-year-old kitesurfing male died after a tiger shark attacked him in the South Pacific. Their analysis suggests that attack took place mostly likely because the kitesurfer's motion was confused by the shark with a bird overtaking the water. In light of other similar shark attack cases, the researchers advise any kitesurfing in waters known to harbor sharks should be made with extreme care.
Scientists have found a way to transform cigarette buds into a material which stores energy cheap and efficiently. The material outperforms both commercial and prototypical materials made from graphene and carbon nanotubes and may be eventually added into computers, smart phones or wind turbines.
The "mysterious" craters in Siberia have actually been caused by methane seeping from the melting permafrost. No rockets, no meteorites, no aliens - sorry, just global warming at it again.
Scientists have managed to make the coloring of a butterfly species evolve from brown to purple in just six generations. This study shows that even complex coloring mechanisms can undergo fast rearrangements, potentially adapting quickly to outside stimuli.
This wasn't an easy tasks since the researchers identified hundreds of potential candidate compounds.
Heisenberg's uncertainty principle makes quantum physics nasty. There's no reason why we can't get all along, though. A novel technique explores how it may be possible to know both position and momentum for a particle. No laws of physics were broken. I promise!
An exceptional Biologists duo who have studying an ecosystem from the Galapagos Islands for the past 40 years have made one of the most important discoveries in evolutionary biology - the birth of a new species!
Researchers at University of Sheffield demonstrate a perovskite spray-on solar cell for the first time. Also, this is the first time rated efficiency for a spray-on solar cell tops two figures in efficiency, marking an important milestone and breakthrough in the field.
Designs for a device called a “microwave thruster” were proposed in 2006. While the device was physically sound and followed the principles of relativity, it has been dismissed by researchers who claimed that such a functioning device would defy the law of conservation of momentum. A team from NASA set out to trial the device and see […]
I remember when once upon a time, wi-fi could barely reach from one room to the other. It wasn’t even regarded as a serious technology by some back then – but oh my, how times have changed! Now, wi-fi is almost ubiquitous in the developed world, but the problem still remains the same – the […]
If fully developed, driverless cars are faster, cheaper, safer and more eco-friendly than human drivers. The only problem is, if you want them to work fine, you have to test them in real conditions – and few cities are willing to volunteer for that. But with California approving self-driving cars in 2015, and China also investing […]
Computer games could be the key to treating elderly people who have been diagnosed with depression, but who aren’t responding to conventional treatment. A new study has shown that playing a certain type of computer games was more effective at reducing symptoms of depression than the “gold standard” – the antidepressant drug escitalopram. Recently, we’ve been bombarded about […]
The new study concludes that an aspirin a day for middle-aged people could save 130,000 lives over 20 years in Britain alone, by reducing cancer risk. Aspirin was most effective in cutting cancer risk in people from 50 to 64, and in order for the effects to be felt to the fullest, people should take 1 […]
Gaia is an unmanned space observatory of the European Space Agency (ESA) which aims to catalog approximately 1 billion astronomical objects (mostly stars), about 1% of the Milky Way population. Gaia will provide a trove of valuable and spectacular data, including a precise three-dimensional map of astronomical objects throughout the Milky Way and map their […]
Some people become in love with physics because they’re secretly in love with the truth. Physics never lies, if you care to think in absolute terms, so there must be a great deal of comfort. The reason modern civilization works they it does today is because of our faith in physics and other sciences. If […]
Austrlian researchers have successfully developed transparent, ultra-thin, foldable solar cells.
The Aboriginal Martu people have been hunting kangaroos and sand monitor lizards for over 2,000 years. During this time, the natives have not only lived sustainably, but also became unwilling conservationists helping kangaroo populations grow by sparking wild fires that help them catch lizards, a study by researchers at University of Utah found. In other remote areas […]
Scientists successfully predicted human happiness using a mathematical equation - you too can use the smartphone app they developed and be a part of the experiment.
The old adage goes ‘practice makes perfect’, and while we all know there is truth in it, at some point practice ceases to become the driving factor towards excellence, at least if we’re to judge from the recent findings of a group of psychologists who studied how people acquire skills and become experts at what […]
The Cariboo Regional District has released troubling video of what can already be called a full-scale environmental disaster following the release of five million cubic meters of effluent from a tailing pond at the Mount Polley gold and copper mine near Likely, B.C., on Monday. Mount Polley is an open pit copper/gold mine with a […]
Most University professors still rely on passive lectures to get their subject across. A meta-study which analyzed 225 studies found that active teaching – lectures that actively engage students and make the learning experience two-way – improves grades and significantly reduces fail rates. The findings add to an already body of literature that suggests the […]
Beijing and the surrounding area will ban coal by the end of 2020, the official Xinhua news agency said on Monday. It’s not much, but it’s a start – about 1% of the Chinese population lives in that area, and over one quarter of the energy they use comes from coal, so banning it is […]
In 2004, anthropologists and archaeologists working in Indonesia uncovered what was named “the biggest anthropological finding for 100 years” – fragmentary skeletal remains from the island of Flores were uncovered, appearing to be a new species: Homo floresiensis. But now, new research challenges that find, claiming that the uncovered skeletons were in fact just an […]
Mind blowing timelapse video of a Rose of Jericho blooming back to life after being exposed to moisture for just a few hours - also with scientific explanation.
Researchers have found a cheap and quick way of producing peptides in a laboratory. Producing one of the body's natural defenses against cancer and then implanting it into patients can prove pivotal in the fight against cancer.
Scientists previously misclassified a golden bat which lives in Bolivia. This new study reemphasizes the importance of museum specimens, which can be used to draw new information about species thought to be understood.
Scientists have "reprogrammed" skin cells to act as neurons and then successfully implanted them into the brain of mice. After 6 months, the new nerve tissue was fully functional and there was no sign of rejection or other side effects.
Allan Savory's holistic management solution seems too good to be true. Hint: it's not.
A group from the Multicellular Systems Biology lab at the Center for Genomic Regulation confirmed one of Turing's findings from a biology paper published in 1952, which discusses how fingers are formed.
Using nothing but birth and death records, sociologists at Northeastern University developed a working framework that details the migration patterns of some of humanity's most notable intellectuals in North America and Europe in the past 2,000 years. The data allowed the researchers to identify the major cultural centers on the two continents over two millennia. Rome, Paris, London and New York are some of the world's prolific cultural centers in history.
While looking for some Nautiloid representations, I came across a graphical rendering contest from earlier this year, organized by the CG Society. The task was simple – starting from a base model, colorize them and make them your own. The results are stunning (these are the winning illustrations, created by Dirk Wachsmuth): “I would like […]
Scientists have found a much more efficient way of converting CO2 into methanol, using a catalyst with oxide nanoparticles. The resulting system makes the conversion almost 90 times faster than currently existing systems.
A study suggests that humanity's transition to civilization coincided with a drop in testosterone. Less of the hormone is associated with less aggressive behavior and showing tolerance - both essential qualities to a thriving community.
Geologists working in New Zealand have shown, through isotopic analysis, that rainwater can infiltrate down to 6-8 km, in the lower ductile crust.
Scientists have figured out why a small percentage of people require less than six hours of sleep, whereas the vast majority of humans need at least 8 hours a night to thrive.
Since 2007, shale gas has boomed by 700% in the US and is projected to rise for the next 30 years. While there are states where well fields span across hundreds of hectares, you'd think that the effects of exploitation of this caliber are well researched and documented. In reality, the bio impact of fracking remains largely unknown.
Ionic liquids (IL) are basically liquid salts with very low melting points, that are extensively used in industry. It's only recently that an ionic liquid has been found to occur in nature, after a team of researchers at University of South Alabama found that the substances forms when two ant species mix their venom.
Recent findings suggest that our general cognitive abilities are heavily influenced by key regions of the brain involved in social functions, further strengthening the hypothesis that social abilities are primary to general intelligence and not the other way around.
Here at ZME Science we often report on cutting edge developments and various medical breakthroughs that offer novel treatments and such. Most of these drugs or techniques are first studied on animal models, and while they hold great promise, it’s most often than not that the desired response isn’t replicated in humans. This translates in […]
Our memories are plastic and as such are constantly updated and refreshed every time we recall a past event. In this process, misinformation can slip to the point that false memories can form. A new study found that sleep deprivation significantly increases the chance of a person to develop false memories.
A new study that shifted through 81 e-cig related studies found that these are less harmful than conventional cigarettes. Policymakers, however, are inclined to introduce strict regulations for e-cigs, citing unsubstantial evidence that e-cigs do not pose health risks.
Wind is already the cheapest form of energy in Denmark, and prices will plummet in the near future, the country’s government declared – 2 years from now, in 2016, wind energy will be 2 times cheaper than fossil fuels energy. Wind and solar energy are already nearing parity with energy from fossil fuels in many […]
Some 40 activists are killed every year in Brazil alone. The government is weak and corrupt, rarely capable of providing protection and enforcing its environmental laws. The big companies and local militias are powerful and ruthless.
Colorado is averaging 2 oil spills per day, but oil companies aren't obliged to inform residents - even if the surface or ground water is polluted.
Air conditioning may make your home cooler, but it's making your city hotter - cities can be even 3 degrees hotter than the surrounding environment, and ACs play a big role in that, a new study shows.
Big oil companies invest big chunks of their profits (which are bigger than many countries’) into climate change denial. As I wrote a while ago, 9 out of 10 top climate change deniers are linked with Exxon Mobil, the biggest private oil company. Still, there are some brilliant scientists working for oil companies, and they […]
The UN released the Human Development Index for 2014, and it's bad news for the United States - which come in at the 28th place, with huge social and wealth inequality.
Curled lip, keen checkbone, take your pick! These all count and together shape a first impression of how we're perceived by strangers. A new research sheds light and tells which facial features are most important.
