Science

Human languages are comprised of meaningful words, which themselves are built from different combinations of meaningless sounds, or building blocks. A new study shows that a pair of functionally distinct vocalizations (calls) of the chestnut-crowned babbler (Pomatostomus ruficeps), a highly cooperative bird of the Australian arid zone, is composed of …

Small methane-filled lakes on the surface of Titan were likely formed by explosive, pressurized nitrogen just under the hazy moon’s surface, according to a new analysis of radar data from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft. This artist’s concept of a lake at the north pole of Titan illustrates raised rims and rampartlike …

Cretaceous pterosaur remains discovered in the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta have been identified as a new genus and species, Cryodrakon boreas. Cryodrakon boreas. Image credit: David Maas. Cryodrakon boreas lived about 77 million years ago and had a wingspan of 33 feet (10 m). The flying reptile belongs to …

A team of researchers from the University of Oxford has identified four regions of the human genome associated with left-handedness in the general population and linked their effects with brain architecture. The language brain regions were more coordinated in left-handers between the two sides of the brain (in green and …

After decades of unsuccessful attempts, physicists have directly observed an exotic physical phenomenon called the non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm effect. The findings could lead to realizations of what are known as topological phases, and eventually to advances toward fault-tolerant quantum computers. To confirm the presence of non-Abelian gauge fields, Yang et al …

An international team of researchers has announced the results of investigations into the environmental DNA (eDNA) present in Loch Ness, a large freshwater lake best known for sightings of the long-necked ‘monster.’ Hoaxed photo of the Loch Ness ‘monster’ from April 21, 1934. “People love a mystery, we’ve used science …

Higher coffee intake may help reduce the risk of symptomatic gallstone disease, according to a University of Copenhagen-led study. Coffee consumption is associated with low risk of symptomatic gallstone disease. Image credit: Nordestgaard et al, doi: 10.1111/joim.12970. In the study, Professor Anne Tybjærg-Hansen and her colleagues in Denmark tested the …

A multinational team of scientists has sequenced the first genome of an individual from the Harappan Civilization. The genome, which belongs to a woman who lived 4,000-5,000 years ago, suggests that modern people in India are likely to be largely descended from people of this ancient civilization. It also offers …

A meteorite found in Australia — called the Wedderburn iron meteorite because of where it was found — contains edscottite, an iron-carbide mineral never seen in nature before. Scanning electron microscopy image (colorized) showing edscottite in the polished Wedderburn section from the UCLA Meteorite Collection. Image credit: Ma Rubin, doi: …

Tyrannosaurus rex, a species of carnivorous dinosaur that lived about 68 million years ago, had an internal thermostat in its head, according to a study published in the journal Anatomical Record. A graphic thermal image of a T. rex with its dorsotemporal fenestra glowing on the skull. Image credit: Brian …