Science

Women who regularly use cleaning sprays or other cleaning products appear to experience a greater decline in lung function over time than women who do not clean, according to a new study led by University of Bergen researchers. Women cleaning at home or working as occupational cleaners had accelerated decline …

When Elon Musk launched his Roadster on the inaugural flight of the Falcon Heavy, it was (mostly) a fun PR stunt wrapped around a genuinely impressive event. The mission wasn’t entirely unscientific — the “Starman” at the wheel of the roadster was dressed in SpaceX’s commercial space suit and monitors …

The overall population numbers of wild Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) are continuing to decline, due to the presence of a transmissible cancer, according to a study published in the Journal of Applied Ecology. A young Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii). Image credit: Keres H. / CC BY-SA 4.0. Tasmanian devils face …

Reproductive stem cells of male fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) use a genetic trick to stay perpetually young across generations, according to new research published in the journal eLife. A fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster). Image credit: Sanjay Acharya / CC BY-SA 4.0. Certain sections of the fruit fly genome get shorter …

Slowing down the speed at which you eat, along with cutting out after dinner snacks and not eating within two hours of going to sleep may all help prevent obesity and lower the associated health risks, according to a study conducted by researchers from Kyushu University in Fukuoka, Japan. Interventions …

Dr. Albert Erives, a biologist at the University of Iowa, has identified a virus family whose set of genes is similar to that of eukaryotes, an organism classification that includes all plants and animals. The finding is important because it helps clarify how eukaryotes evolved after branching from prokaryotes (single-celled …

Scientists are still puzzling over a mysterious object dubbed ‘Oumuamua detected by the Pan-STARRS (Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System) observatory last year. Researchers confirmed that ‘Oumuamua was the first interstellar visitor ever discovered, but it was moving too fast for anyone to get a close look at it. …

Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus columbi) may have moved like modern elephants with infants in matriarchal groups. That’s according to a team of U.S. paleontologists who analyzed numerous footprints of adult, juvenile and infant mammoths recently found at the Pleistocene locality of Fossil Lake in central Oregon. Footprints of Columbian mammoths (Mammuthus …

With its Long Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI), New Horizons has observed several objects in the Kuiper Belt, a distant region of icy debris that extends far beyond the orbit of Neptune. The false-color images of two of the observed objects — 2012 HZ84 and 2012 HE85 — are the farthest …

The first launch of SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy rocket last week was a smashing success, but not everything went perfectly. While SpaceX was able to recover two of the three first stage boosters, the center core failed to land on the drone ship. CEO Elon Musk has provided a bit more …