Science

A team of scientists from the Department of Bible Studies at the University of Haifa, Israel, has deciphered one of the last obscured parts of the Dead Sea Scrolls, a collection of almost 1,000 ancient manuscripts in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek discovered in caves near Qumran in the Judean Desert …

An international team of physicists has created the first small-scale replica of gamma ray bursts in a laboratory, opening up a whole new way to investigate the properties of these mysterious flashes of intense high-energy radiation that appear from random directions in space. The results are published in the journal …

Daily consumption of a certain form of curcumin, a bioactive compound found in the cooking spice turmeric, improved memory and mood in people with age-related memory loss, according to a new study. Turmeric contains curcumin, which has been shown to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Image credit: Joachim Schlosser / …

Google partnered with the XPRIZE Foundation years ago to encourage innovative companies to shoot for the moon — literally. The Google Lunar XPRIZE offered $30 million in prizes to get private remote vehicles on the moon, but there were more bumps in the road than anyone expected. It started to …

Mining on the ocean floor could do irreversible damage to marine ecosystems, according to a new study from the University of Exeter and Greenpeace Research Laboratories. A schematic showing the processes involved in deep-sea mining for the three main types of mineral deposit. Image credit: Design Studio, University of Exeter. …

Consumption of fermentable fiber can prevent obesity, metabolic syndrome and adverse changes in the intestine by promoting growth of ‘good’ bacteria in the colon, according to a study published in the journal Cell Host Microbe. Zou et al found the fermentable fiber inulin restored gut health and protected mice against …

Female domestic cats are much more likely to use their right paw than males, according to a new study published in the journal Animal Behaviour. In the study, male cats showed a left-side bias for natural behaviors, females a right-side bias. Image credit: Jan Mallander. Until now, most studies on …

SpaceX has been on the verge of test-firing its long-awaited Falcon Heavy rocket for weeks, but there’s a new kink in its plans. No, it’s not a mechanical issue with the rocket. It’s the intractable bureaucracy of the US government. After previously suggesting a government shutdown would not delay the …

 A University of St Andrews-led study shows that New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides) acquire hidden food several times faster when using hooked rather than basic (non-hooked) tools, regardless of tool material, prey type and extraction context. The New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) is the only non-human animal known to craft …

An intermediate-sized asteroid discovered sixteen years ago will fly safely past Earth on February 4, 2018 at 4:30 p.m. EST (1:30 p.m. PST, 21:30 UTC). This is an artist’s impression of an asteroid. Image credit: Mark A. Garlick, Space-art.co.uk / University of Warwick / University of Cambridge. The asteroid, known …