Science

In a groundbreaking genetic kinship study, a research team led by the Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute is the first to reveal that just like human societies, beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) appear to value culture and their ancestral roots and family ties. The researchers have demonstrated that related …

Virgin Galactic is today much closer to its goal to take passengers on quick jaunts into space. Its prototype vehicle known as SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity successfully engaged its rocket engine for the first time in flight, reaching a maximum speed of Mach 1.87 (1,424 miles per hour) in just 30 …

A team of scientists from Australia and China has found that many of the viruses infecting us today have ancient evolutionary histories that date back to the first vertebrates and perhaps Earth’s first animals. Their work is published in the journal Nature. Shi et al revealed diverse virus-host associations across …

An international team of scientists led by the University of Illinois, Chicago, has discovered a new class of naturally produced, ribosome-targeting antibacterial agents, odilorhabdins, produced by a nematode-symbiotic bacterium. Thin section of a Xenorhabdus nematophila cell, showing outer membrane blebs on the surface of the cell and in the surrounding …

Modern physics is a little fuzzy on the very earliest moments of the universe, but our greatest thinkers hypothesize that the universe was equal parts matter and antimatter at the very beginning. We’re all matter, though, and no one is sure why antimatter is so rare now. As part of …

About a decade ago, the X Prize Foundation partnered with Google to kick off the Google Lunar X Prize. The challenge offered cash prizes totaling $30 million to teams of engineers and scientists aiming to land an unmanned rover on the moon. However, the prize expired last week without being …

Bonobos (Pan paniscus) are willing to share meat with members of neighboring communities. This unusual behavior, documented in a study in the journal Human Nature, was observed recently in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). African breadfruit (Treculia africana) sharing: a party is gathered around the owner (a male). …

Scientists have for the first time linked mutations located outside of coding genes to changes in tumor gene expression, aiding the development of future diagnostic and therapeutic strategies. Zhang et al utilized sequencing databases to identify hundreds of mutations in DNA sequences outside of coding genes, paving the way for …

Experiments performed on a complex arrangement of magnetic particles have actually identified a totally brand-new state of matter, and it can only be discussed if scientists turn to quantum physics. The untidy structures behind the research show weird homes that might allow us to study the chaos of exotic particles-if …

Remember a month back, we wrote a story that stated your hippocampus most likely wasn’t providing any new brain cells? Well, now here’s a research study that says yes, it remains in truth probably still growing brand-new nerve cells for you. Before you flip that table yelling ‘comprise your mind!’, …