Science

People with Parkinson’s disease have lower levels of caffeine in their blood than people without the disease, even if they consumed the same amount of caffeine, according to new research. Testing the level of caffeine in the blood may provide a simple way to aid the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. …

Astronomers started checking out a novel star a few years ago called KIC 8462852. A series of fluctuations in the star’s brightness brought up a number of interesting possibilities. Perhaps the star had dust clouds or gaggles of comets that periodically blocked out the light. That’s interesting in an expected …

Though calcium taste doesn’t fit into the five established tastes the tongue’s receptors can identify, humans describe it as slightly bitter and sour. According to a new study published in the journal Neuron, calcium taste also exists in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster). Lee et al demonstrated that fruit flies are …

An artificial sugar called trehalose enhances the virulence of epidemic lineages of Clostridium difficile, a Gram-positive spore forming bacterium that causes life-threatening inflammation of the colon, according to a new study published in the journal Nature. This digitally-colorized scanning electron microscopic image depicts a large grouping of rod-shaped Clostridium difficile. …

Genetic analysis of DNA from a female infant found at the Upward Sun River archaeological site in Alaska has revealed a previously unknown Native American population, whom scientists have named ‘Ancient Beringians.’ The research appears in the journal Nature. A scientific illustration of the Upward Sun River camp in what …

Lurking in the heart of most large galaxies is a supermassive black hole holding it all together. According to new research from the University of California Santa Cruz, these supermassive black holes could also spell eventual doom for galaxies. They might not just be gobbling up nearby stars, but could …

SpaceX has ironed out all the wrinkles with its Falcon 9 launches, but it’s about to try something new and potentially crazy. In a few weeks, SpaceX is expected to launch its first Falcon Heavy rocket. This vehicle will be the most powerful rocket in the world by a factor …

A team of scientists at the College of Engineering (CoE) in Pune, India, is developing an efficient method for monitoring and recognizing bird species that will help in evaluating the avian biodiversity of a specific region. A keel-billed toucan (Ramphastos sulfuratus) in Costa Rica. Image credit: T. Tschleuder / CC …

A process using pluripotent stem cells from mice can generate skin tissue complete with hair follicles, according to a team of researchers from the Indiana University School of Medicine. The research is published in the journal Cell Reports. Dr. Koehler and co-authors describe a de?ned in vitro 3D culture system …

On October 2, 2017, just ten days after performing an Earth Gravity Assist maneuver, NASA’s OSIRIS-REx spacecraft pointed its camera suite back toward Earth and used the MapCam instrument to capture images of our planet and its only natural satellite. This color composite image of the Earth and Moon is …