Science

Human brain cells have been discovered to carry electrical signals in a fashion that could substantially increase the power of private neurons. Comparing the speed of signals taking a trip down the branches of human nerve cells with comparable cells drawn from rats, scientists have discovered a distinction in signal …

Bugs around the globe are in a crisis, according to a small however growing variety of long-term studies revealing remarkable declines in invertebrate populations. A brand-new report recommends that the problem is more extensive than researchers recognized. Big varieties of bugs have been lost in a pristine national forest in …

Caltech researcher Vlada Stamenković and co-authors calculated that if liquid water exists on the Red Planet, it could contain more oxygen than previously thought possible. Stamenković et al find that modern Mars can support liquid environments with dissolved oxygen values ranging from 2.5*10−6 mol /m3 to 2 mol/m3 across the planet, with particularly …

A striking new species of leaf warbler has been discovered in the forests of the Indonesian island of Rote by an international team of researchers. The discovery is outlined in the journal Scientific Reports. The Rote leaf warbler (Phylloscopus rotiensis) has a characteristic long bill. Image credit: Philippe Verbelen. Named …

Consuming caffeine from coffee but not from other foods is associated with a lower risk of rosacea, a common chronic inflammatory skin disease, according to a new study published in the journal JAMA Dermatology. Increased caffeine intake from coffee was inversely associated with the risk of incident rosacea. Image credit: …

BepiColombo, a joint endeavor between the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), blasted off from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, at 01:45 GMT on October 20, 2018. It will make a seven year cruise to Mercury, the smallest and least explored planet in the …

A team of researchers from Utah State University has conducted the first complete assessment of the Pando aspen clone — the largest living organism on Earth — and the results show continuing deterioration of this unique ‘forest of one tree.’ The Pando aspen clone from a distance (green foreground and …

A team of scientists at the Scripps Research Institute has synthesized a new nicotine-degrading enzyme and successfully tested it in nicotine-dependent rats. Named NicA2-J1, the engineered enzyme decreased blood nicotine levels and had remarkable efficacy in reducing addiction-like behaviors in the rodents. The results appear in the journal Science Advances. …

A remarkable new species of predatory fish that lived about 152 million years ago (Jurassic period) has been identified from a fossil found in Germany. Piranhamesodon pinnatomus, 2.8 inches (7.1 cm) long, from the Late Jurassic of Ettling, Solnhofen Archipelago, Germany. Image credit: M. Ebert. The ancient fish, named Piranhamesodon …

Wind-dispersed plants have evolved ingenious ways to lift their seeds. The common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale) uses a bundle of drag-enhancing bristles that helps to keep their seeds aloft. A new study, led by University of Edinburgh researchers Ignazio Maria Viola and Naomi Nakayama, shows that movement of air around and …