The Neanderthals, who appeared about 200,000 years ago, are quite distinct from modern humans in the manner in which their faces grow, finds a new study.The results add to an old but important debate concerning the separation of these two…
Tag: Science
NASA shares more close up photos of Pluto
The US space agency has released a series of sharp Pluto snapshots, billing them as the best close-ups of the dwarf planet we may see for decades.On July 14, NASA’s New Horizons became the first spacecraft to pass by Pluto,…
Scientists found the key to painless life
Scientists at University College London (UCL) have found the recipe for painlessness in a study that used genetically modified mice to show a channel responsible for allowing pain signals to pass along nerve cell membranes is vital to feel agony.In…
NASA launches US cargo ship on Sunday
High winds in Florida have pushed to Sunday Orbital ATK’s launch of its unmanned Cygnus cargo ship to the International Space Station, the latest in a series of delays due to weather.The next launch bid will begin at 4:44 pm…
Japanese scientist stripped of doctorate
A Japanese university has revoked a doctoral degree awarded to a young researcher embroiled in a scandal that has rocked the scientific establishment.Haruko Obokata, 32, drew intense media scrutiny after failing to reproduce the results of what was once billed…
Astronomers see planet still growing
Astronomers have taken the first images of a planet still in formation, a discovery expected to shed light on how giant planets manage to beef up early in their lives, research published on Wednesday showed.Astronomers used a telescope in Arizona…
Flowers to bloom in space!
After having a sumptuous feast of “Outredgeous” red romaine lettuce grown in space, astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS) are set to witness flowers blooming on the orbiting laboratory after the New Year. NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren has activated…
Most distant object in solar system found
Astronomers have discovered a mysterious dwarf planet that is three times farther away than Pluto and believed to be the most distant object in our solar system.The discovery of the dwarf planet known as V774104 was announced Tuesday at a…
Solar winds stripped life on Mars: NASA
In a first, NASA’s Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) mission has revealed the process that may have played a key role in turning the Martian climate from an early, warm and wet environment supporting life to a cold, arid…
NASA seeks future astronauts
In preparation for a manned mission to Mars and returning the human spaceflight launches to the US soil, the space agency will soon begin accepting applications for the next class of future astronauts.NASA will accept applications from December 14 through…
Fossil sheds light on ape evolution
The well-preserved partial skull and skeleton of a gibbon-like creature that lived 11.6 million years ago in Spain is shedding new light on the evolutionary history of modern apesScientists on Thursday announced the discovery in Catalonia of fossil remains of…
Electric eels innovative in subduing hapless prey
When it comes to unleashing their trademark zaps, electric eels employ an impressive and sophisticated set of tactics.A study unveiled on Wednesday detailed how these dangerous denizens of the muddy waterways of South America’s Amazon and Orinoco basins can double…
Absence of big mammals foils ecosystem fertilisation
You can call it the fertilisation cessation, and scientists say it has had a disruptive effect on ecosystems around the world.A study unveiled on Monday showed that the extinction or precipitous population declines of large land and sea mammals starting…
Gene that triggers sepsis identified
Opening the door for the development of new treatment of the lethal disease sepsis, scientists have identified a gene that triggers the inflammatory condition.Sepsis is a severe whole-body infection that occurs as a complication to an existing infection, and if…
‘Black Death’ germ has troubled humankind longer than suspected
The plague germ that caused the “Black Death” in the 14th century and other ferocious pandemics has stalked humankind far longer than previously known.A study unveiled on Thursday of DNA from Bronze Age people in Europe and Asia showed the…
Universe is spooky
The universe really is weird, which is bad news both for Albert Einstein and for would-be hackers hoping to break into quantum encryption systems.Eighty years after the physicist dismissed as “spooky” the idea that simply observing one particle could instantly…
Vulture’s genes help it thrive on rotting flesh
A diet of putrid rotting flesh may not be your cup of tea, but to the cinereous vulture, found across southern Europe and Asia, it is positively delightful. This tough bird, it turns out, is genetically wired to thrive on…
Life on Earth appeared four billion years ago
An ancient zircon crystal unearthed in Western Australia may hold evidence that life appeared on the planet 4.1 billion years ago, or about 300 million years earlier than previously thought, according to a team of US researchers.Scientists from Stanford University…
Sleep no more plentiful in primitive cultures
Maybe we cannot blame late-night TV, endless Internet surfing, midnight snacks, good books, bothersome work deadlines and other distractions of modern life for encroaching on our sleep.Research unveiled on Thursday showed that people in isolated and technologically primitive African and…
Teeth from Chinese cave rewrites human migration
A trove of 47 fossil human teeth from a cave in southern China is rewriting the history of the early migration of our species out of Africa, indicating Homo sapiens trekked into Asia far earlier than previously known and much…
Indian animators cash in on special effects boom
They call themselves Hollywood’s best-kept secret: India’s animators, long-time partners for the likes of Walt Disney Co, are reaping the rewards of surging demand for visual effects and gaining the confidence to venture out on their own.India’s animation industry generated…
African genome solves migration mystery
Researchers extracted DNA from a 4,500-year-old skull that was discovered in the highlands of Ethiopia.A comparison with genetic material from today’s Africans reveals how our ancient ancestors mixed and moved around the continents.The findings, published in the journal Science, suggests…
DNA repair wins Nobel Prize in chemistry
The 2015 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded for discoveries in DNA repair. Tomas Lindahl and Paul Modrich and Aziz Sancar were named as the winners on Wednesday morning at a news conference in Stockholm, Sweden. Their work uncovered…
Feeding strategy of blue whales
The blue whale is the largest creature on Earth and perhaps the biggest that ever lived, so it is no surprise it has a huge appetite. But the strategies this behemoth uses to get enough food has not been well…
‘Supermoon’ coincides with lunar eclipse
People around the world are watching the skies to observe a rare celestial event, as a lunar eclipse coincides with a so-called “supermoon”. A supermoon occurs when the Moon is in the closest part of its orbit to Earth, meaning…
How brain encodes memory of time, place
Neuroscientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) have identified a brain circuit that processes the “when” and “where” components of memory. This circuit, which connects the hippocampus and a region of the brain known as entorhinal cortex, separates location…
Is there a ‘woman’ living on Mars?
NASA has not confirmed what actually is the ‘woman-like’ figure in a Mars picture that has kept UFO and alien life enthusiasts hooked for the past few weeks, CNET reported.Over the past several weeks, UFO and alien life enthusiasts have…
Saving rhinos in a lab
San Francisco, California – Matthew Markus, of biotech company Pembient, is holding up a rhinoceros horn worth thousands of dollars on the black market because a poacher had to risk his life to kill an endangered species to obtain it.At…
Yuri Milner launches search for aliens, Stephen Hawking at side
By Arthur White A Russian billionaire is bankrolling a $100 million effort to scan the cosmos for evidence of alien life, with a bonus $1 million contest to decide what to say to them. Alongside renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, technology…
Distant Pluto finally gets its day in the sun
NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft is poised to become the first probe to visit distant Pluto, capping a reconnaissance of the solar system that began more than 50 years ago.