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"Long before it's in the papers"
February 07, 2012
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EXCLUSIVES =
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Move elephants into Australia, scientist proposes
Does the Land Down Under need an infusion of large mammals to solve its ecological and wildfire problems?
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Was blackmail essential for marriage to evolve?
A study takes a cold new look at a custom as ancient and firmly established as it is sacred to millions.
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A human bias against creativity is hindering science, research claims
Most of us love creativity—until it actually comes knocking, some psychologists say.
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Pluto has even colder “twin” of similar size, studies find
A “dwarf planet” orbiting our sun three times further away than Pluto is about the size of that better-known, frigid world, astronomers say.
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Could simple anger have taught people to cooperate?
A new study challenges one of the leading theories as a solution for an evolutionary puzzle.
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Different cultures’ music matches their speech styles, study finds
Researchers have debated for years what the biological basis of music might be.
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Your parrot isn’t just parroting, study suggests
While many owners will attest that pet parrots have a purpose in their talking, the subject was little studied before recently.
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Music making may help keep mind in tune in old age
Longtime playing of a musical instrument may help keep your mind sharp as others’ start going flat, research suggests.
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Tiny bugs have own personalities despite being clones, scientists say
Tiny green insects known as pea aphids have individual behavior patterns, or “personalities,” a study reports.
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Does a smile mean something to a dog?
Dogs can learn to tell apart smiles from blank expressions in photos of people, a study has found.
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Why do men use silly pickup lines?
A new study assesses the psychology and success rates of various gambits by which men try to get women’s attention.
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"Forests" detectable even in distant solar systems, scientists suggest
Once humans start imaging Earth-like planets in other solar systems, tree-like life forms might also be detectable, a study proposes.
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Bars may kill spiral galaxies
Some lovely cosmic structures may eventually come undone, say researchers aided by citizen volunteers.
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Report of ancient meat-fest by human ancestors disputed
Some researchers are skeptical of a study finding that ancestral humans butchered animals over three million years ago.
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Societies evolve a bit like creatures, study concludes
Increases in political complexity are usually gradual, as is the case with the complexity of living things, researchers propose.
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Get them some sleep, scientists say of young delinquents
Many high-school age delinquents get too little snooze time, research suggests.
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World money meltdown can start in surprising places, physicists say
Researchers used concepts from "statistical physics" to draw up a list of countries that could trigger a global economic crisis.
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From brain science, new questions about free will
Subconscious thoughts are a starting point for much of our decisionmaking, some researchers argue.
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"Power-hungry" image may hurt female, but not male politicians
Voters tend to punish female candidates for seeming brazenly ambitious, but let the same quality slide in males, a study suggests.
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Study seeks to show how acupuncture really works
A traditional Chinese healing technique may work by activating pain-suppressing molecules in the body, researchers say.
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Diversity within species may be as important as among them
Many past studies have focused on diversity of species as a key factor in the health and resilience of a natural environment.
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Scientists explore whether some apes shake heads for "no"
Preventing an action by someone else may be one purpose for which bonobos shake their heads, a study suggests.
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Mostly-male book images may reduce girls' science scores
In a small study, a gender gap in school science scores flipped when students used a text showing only female scientists.
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New anti-cancer strategy: make tumors age
Researchers have identified a chemical chain of events that leads cancer cells to stop reproducing because they get old.
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It seems we're all more human than average
A widespread tendency for people to consider themselves "better" than the norm is well known. Now scientists say another odd human conceit may be coming to light.
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MORE NEWS =
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Earlier treatment might be key in Alzheimer’s: researchers
The devastating memory illness spreads through links between brain regions, a bit like cancer, research suggests.
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From tiny to titanic in 24 million generations
It takes eons for a mouse-sized animal to evolve to an elephant’s size, but reductions in size go much faster, scientists say.
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Mice sing too, scientists find
Male house mice produce melodious songs to attract mates, not unlike many birds, according to new research.
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Arabia identified as key stop in early human migrations
Arabia was the first staging post for humans when they first migrated out of their ancestral home of Africa, scientists say.
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Leftists and rightists found to look at things differently—literally
It’s increasingly apparent that political differences stem partly from biological ones, researchers claim.
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Study: Lifelong criminality may stem from genes
The link between genes and crime is a divisive issue in the criminology field.
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“Oldest known” dino nesting site found
A practice of using the same nesting sites repeatedly and in groups may have originated earlier than previously known, scientists say.
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Comet dies on film, leaving trail of mystery
A comet has been caught doing something never seen before: die a scorching death in the heat of the sun.
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Empathy? It seems we can’t even spare it for ourselves
An “empathy gap” between us and our future selves leads us to overestimate how much courage we’ll muster, scientists propose.
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Scientists plan to take picture of black hole
A endeavor that a few years ago would have been regarded as outrageous is now very realistic, astronomers claim.
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Ancient South Americans ate popcorn, study finds
People along the coast of modern-day Peru may have been crunching on popcorn more than 3,000 years ago.
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European birds seen falling behind in race to adapt to warmer world
Birds seem to be shifting their home ranges much less than some of the insects they feed on, scientists report.
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Newfound frog dubbed tiniest known backboned animal
A newly discovered frog grows to no more than 9 mm, or about 1/3 of an inch, long, biologists say.
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Ill-designed economic bailouts threaten nature, advocates warn
Hard put to re-ignite business activity, beleaguered politicians are reported to be tossing aside environmental safeguards.
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New materials may vacuum up CO2, culprit in global warming
Climate scientists say scrubbing dangerous excess carbon dioxide from the air is a fundamental challenge of our century.
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Violin shocker? Blind test said to show “old master” fiddles not so special
Generations of musicians have revered violins made by a handful of 18th-century craftsmen, most famously Antonio Stradivari.
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Bad-boy looks are measurable and may really predict bad deeds, study concludes
New research may upset decades of settled scientific thinking.
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Antarctic seafloor geyser found hosting strange community
A new report highlights how little is still known about the odd ecology of deep-sea vents.
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Cotton fabrics may clean themselves under sunlight
Clotheslines might make a big comeback if some researchers have their way.
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Decisionmaking by great apes found unexpectedly complex
In weighing options, chimps and related species take into account the possible rewards and the role of chance, research suggests.
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Boosting your schooling may enhance your IQ
Education as late as the mid-teen years may significantly improve intelligence test scores, research suggests.
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Pigeons found to measure up in numbers game
Birds are looking smarter and smarter as scientific knowledge grows, according to new reports.
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Fed “string theory,” computer reportedly explains our 3D space
New findings back up a popular but controversial theory of the universe, its proponents claim.
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Frog said to describe its home through song
In its mating calls, a type of frog in China conveys the physical properties of its burrow, scientists say.
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First Earth-sized planets beyond Solar System reported
While probably too hot to live on, they’re still a likely milestone in the search for alien life, scientists say.
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Psychologists: a little trauma may be a good thing
Your parents were right: hard experiences may indeed make you tough, researchers report.
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Just walking faster might help extend life
Men aged 70 and up may be able to live longer just by walking at at three miles (five km) an hour or faster, a study finds.
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Nasal spray may help beat shyness
For some people, first dates, job interviews or Christmas cocktail parties are the stuff of nightmares.
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| World
Science Archive
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Moon with a view
Can you find four moons in
this image of the outskirts of Saturn? Okay, trick question: you may
need to click on the
large
version to see the smallest moon.
The editors of NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day website provide the following
details on this image from the Cassini orbiter: the first moon—and farthest in the background—is Titan, the largest moon of Saturn and one of the larger moons in the Solar System. The dark feature across the top of this perpetuall cloudy world is the north polar hood. The next most obvious moon is bright Dione, visible in the foreground, complete with craters and long ice cliffs. Jutting in from the left are several of Saturn's expansive rings, including Saturn's A ring featuring the dark Encke Gap. On the far right, just outside the rings, is Pandora, a moon only 80-kilometers across that helps shepherd Saturn's F ring. The fourth moon? If you look closely in the Encke Gap you'll find a speck that is actually Pan
(possibly cut off in version above, so do click.) Although one of Saturn's smallest moons at 35-kilometers across, Pan is massive enough to help keep the Encke gap relatively free of ring particles.
(Credit: Cassini Imaging Team, ISS, JPL, ESA, NASA
)
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"Unanimously hailed as
exceptional"
-Neue Zürcher Zeitung
A guide
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