Science

There are still many unanswered questions about the existence of extraterrestrial life. Maybe the universe is teeming with intelligent beings, or there might just be some pond scum on some out-of-the-way moon. It’s even possible there is no other life. An international team of scientists has laid the groundwork for …

Four sketches and a written description of a white cockatoo survive in a mid 13th-century manuscript from Sicily, now held in the Vatican Library, according to a new study. This finding, reported in the journal Parergon, suggests that trade in the waters in and around Australia’s north was flourishing as …

A bizarre new species of wasp, named Dolichogenidea xenomorph, has been discovered in Australia. Dolichogenidea xenomorph. Image credit: Erinn Fagan-Jeffries. Dolichogenidea xenomorph measures less than 5 mm and is a parasitoid, meaning that its larvae feed on live host insects. The species has a very long ovipositor, a needle-like structure …

A new pilot study, published in the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology, raises the possibility that humanity’s increasing use of titanium dioxide — the most common white pigment in everyday products — accounts for part of the global increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes. Inhaled and ingested titanium …

A team of paleontologists from the University of California, Riverside and the South Australian Museum has discovered the fossils of two soft-bodied animals that lived in the shallow oceans about 550 million years ago (Ediacaran period). Obamus coronatus. Image credit: University of California, Riverside. Named Obamus coronatus and Attenborites janeae, …

New research reveals that a well-preserved 52-million-year-old bird fossil specimen from the early Eocene of Wyoming, the United States, is from a previously unknown relative of turacos, a group of birds that is presently endemic to sub-Saharan Africa. Modern turacos, like these Knysna turacos (Tauraco corythaix), are tree-dwelling and live …

Caffeine consumption has been associated with lower risks for multiple diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, but the mechanism underlying these protective effects has been unclear. A new study, published in the journal PLoS Biology, shows that a caffeine concentration equivalent to four cups of coffee promotes …

Brindabellaspis stensioi, a remarkable placoderm fish that swam about 400 million years ago (Early Devonian period), had a long snout, reminiscent of a platypus bill, according to new research published in the journal Royal Society Open Science. Life reconstruction of Brindabellaspis stensioi. Image credit: Jason Art, Shenzhen. Brindabellaspis stensioi was …

An international group of researchers has developed a biodegradable patch using special polymers which are able to stick to moist surfaces. The new patch, described in the journal Biomaterials, is a breakthrough therapy for the treatment of oral lichen planus and recurrent aphthous stomatitis, chronic inflammatory conditions often characterized by …

A new study, for the first time, has compared the relationship between sodium (a component of table salt) intake and mortality, based on various methods to assess usual sodium consumption; the average measured sodium showed a direct linear relationship with mortality. He et al suggest that an inaccurate way of …