Science

Herpetologists are claiming they have discovered a new species of purple frog living in the Western Ghats, India. The Bhupathy’s purple frog (Nasikabatrachus bhupathi). Image credit: S. Jegath Janani et al. In a paper published in the Alytes, the International Journal of Batrachology, the researchers describe the new frog species …

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) can understand the popular game in which ‘paper’ beats ‘rock,’ ‘rock’ beats ‘scissors,’ and ‘scissors’ beat ‘paper,’ according to a new study in the journal Primates. Chimpanzee Ai carrying out a task on the touch screen. Image credit: Kyoto University. In the study, a research team led Kyoto …

Plimpton 322, the most famous of Old Babylonian tablets (1900-1600 BC), is the world’s oldest trigonometric table, possibly used by Babylonian scholars to calculate how to construct stepped pyramids, palaces and temples, according to a duo of researchers from the School of Mathematics and Statistics at the University of New …

According to a new study published in the Journal of Food Science, caffeine tempers taste buds temporarily, making food and drink seem less sweet. The caffeine we habitually consume in coffee can inhibit the perception of sweet taste. Image credit: Felix Broennimann. “Caffeine is a powerful antagonist of adenosine receptors, …

Surface water ice found within a brilliantly bright crater on the dwarf planet Ceres is being exposed by avalanches reprocessing impact deposits in just the last few years. This new interpretation of survey data from NASA’s Dawn mission provides the youngest evidence of surface activity on the largest body in …

SpaceX has shown off its rockets at all stages of development as it moves toward manned flights, but what are people going to wear on board those vessels? Now we have a pretty good idea courtesy of SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk. Musk posted an image on Instagram of …

Copper Age people living in Sicily, Italy, were making wine nearly 4,500 years ago, according to a team of archaeologists led by Dr. Davide Tanasi of the University of South Florida. Chemical traces of wine were found on these storage jars from the Bellitti gallery, Monte Kronio, Sicily. Image credit: …

A new species of long-necked titanosaurian dinosaur has been unearthed in southwestern Tanzania. Life reconstruction of Shingopana songwensis. Image credit: Mark Witton, www.markwitton.com. The newly-discovered titanosaur is called Shingopana songwensis and lived between 100 and 70 million years ago (Cretaceous period). A partial skeleton of the prehistoric creature was first …

A new species of extinct dwarf dolphin that lived about 30 million years ago (Oligocene epoch) and possessed adaptations for suction feeding has been identified from a fossil found in the Wando River in Charleston, South Carolina. A rendering of Inermorostrum xenops. Image credit: Robert Boessenecker. Named Inermorostrum xenops, the …

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) understand and can play the popular game in which ‘paper’ beats ‘rock,’ ‘rock’ beats ‘scissors,’ and ‘scissors’ beat ‘paper,’ according to a new study in the journal Primates. Chimpanzee Ai carrying out a task on the touch screen. Image credit: Kyoto University. In the study, a research …