Latest and Breaking Science News and Top Stories - July 3
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SciBrief
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In the forests of Borneo there echoes the legend of the vampire squirrel, a beast so ferocious that it can tackle prey dozens of times its size. Waiting on low branches, it will leap onto the back of a passing muntjac deer, biting into i...
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CHD8, a gene that regulates the structure of DNA, is the closest thing so far to an “autism gene” -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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On July 2nd, 2014, the International Space Station flew above 260 miles above the storm, which is now a category 1 hurricane. At the time of the fly-over, it was about 100 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, Florida.
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Scientists have described the communications of chimpanzees and bonobos in new and unsurpassed detail, offering a lexicon for our closest living relatives and even a glimpse into the origins of human language. "We have the closest thing ...
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The Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 will be the first probe dedicated to mapping the distribution of CO2 in the atmosphere. The launch of a nearly identical probe resulted in a crash in 2009 -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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The European probe is en route to study comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. On June 27-28, 2014, its OSIRIS’ narrow angle camera (NAC) captured the nucleus of the comet rotating at a period of 12.4 hours.
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Reef-building in skeletal animals appeared much earlier in evolutionary history than previously thought, as far back as 548 million years ago -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Religious beliefs trumped science in the Supreme Court’s Hobby Lobby ruling. -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Iron is an essential element in all living creatures, and its availability in seawater can have a profound effect on phytoplankton growth and, consequently, the earth's carbon cycle. Scientists have assessed the various sources of dissol...
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A frog's jump is not as simple as it seems. Scientists have discovered that different species adopt different jumping styles depending on their environment.
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Scientists have carried out the first molecular characterization of the African elephant’s adipose tissue — body fat. This new information will form the basis of future studies aimed at securing the health and future survival of captive ...
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Deep inside the brains of people with dementia and Lou Gehrig’s disease, globs of abnormal protein gum up the inner workings of brain cells – dooming them to an early death. But boosting those cells’ natural ability to clean up those clo...
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The first all-female crew of scientific experimenters prepare experiments that were used during the Space Shuttle/Spacelab missions.
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A large percent of the country's national parks have recently experienced extreme heat, precipitation or drought, which could hurt plant and animal species -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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For the first time, Space Center Houston is offering a look inside its space shuttle Independence.
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With lifesaving applications possible in both inhibiting and accelerating the creation of new blood vessels, a more fundamental understanding of what regulates angiogenesis is needed. Now, researchers have uncovered the existence of a th...
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A new study is the first to identify specific coping behaviors through which stress exposure leads to the development of insomnia. Results show that coping with a stressful event through behavioral disengagement -- giving up on dealing w...
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A tool to help brain surgeons test and more precisely remove cancerous tissue was successfully used during surgery. The mass spectrometry tool sprays a microscopic stream of charged solvent onto the tissue surface to gather information a...
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A review of research on whales shows that they have more a powerful influence on the function of oceans, global carbon storage, and the health of commercial fisheries than has been commonly assumed. The continued recovery of great whales...
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Men born in November, December or January are more likely of being left-handed than during the rest of the year. While the genetic bases of handedness are still under debate, scientists obtained indirect evidence of a hormonal mechanism ...
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Researchers have identified a highly specialized ligament structure that is thought to prevent giraffes' legs from collapsing under the immense weight of these animals.
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The first of two NASA Electra radios that will fly aboard the European Space Agency's next mission to Mars has been delivered for installation onto the ESA ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter (TGO).
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Chimpanzees are copycats and, in the process, they form new traditions that are often particular to only one specific group of these primates. Such are the findings of an international group of scientists, who waded through over 700 hour...
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Thirty-seven Nobel laureates in physiology or medicine meet with 600 young researchers from around the world at Germany's Lindau Island on Lake Constance from June 29 to July 4 to discuss challenges... -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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An Independence Day demonstration from Science Buddies -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Illustrations by Jason Schneider Most cut flowers will last a week or two under normal conditions, but “vase life” varies widely. Genetics play a major role, of course, but so does how the plant was grown and harvested. The best you can ...
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Why do we make the choices that we do? Are we born this way or have we become this way? Behavioral economists are looking for answers by the use of economics and math exercises in the laboratory.
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Robots are being increasingly used in industrial processes because of their ability to carry out repetitive tasks in a precise, reliable way. Right now, digital controllers are used to drive the motors of the joints of these robots. And ...
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Researchers conducted an independent review of the effects of adding a single dose of primaquine (PQ) to malaria treatment to prevent the transmission of the disease.
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Paleontologists are currently studying a new specimen of Archaeopteryx, which reveals previously unknown features of the plumage. The initial findings shed light on the original function of feathers and their recruitment for flight.
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Researchers have identified a pathogenic mechanism that is common to several neurodegenerative diseases. The findings suggest that it may be possible to slow the progression of dementia even after the onset of symptoms.
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Europe's Rosetta spacecraft is edging ever closer to its quarry - the 4km-wide Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.
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Move over, invisibility cloaks. There's a structure that can keep objects from being felt or jostled -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Learn about new, tastier foods created via modern plant-breeding techniques -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Two significant religious events (although one has yet to officially be declared one) commenced over the past weekend–in addition to the second round of the World Cup starting, Ramadan, the... -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Our brain may not be able to conceptualize time without a proper understanding of space -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Despite the summer heat in the Northern Hemisphere, the Earth is actually at its farthest point from the sun today, July 3. Here's how Earth's orbit and its aphelion work.
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In the wee hours of Friday morning (July 4) Pluto will be opposite the sun in the sky. Called opposition, on Friday at 4 a.m. EDT (0800 GMT), Pluto will rise as the sun sets, and set as the sun rises.
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A subterranean species that seems to be cancer-proof is providing promising clues on how we might prevent the disease in humans -- Read more on ScientificAmerican.com
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Scientists on rival projects looking for evidence that the early Universe underwent a super-expansion are in discussion about working together and publishing a joint paper.
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A major study into the potential of fracking to contaminate drinking water with methane is published, highlighting where shale deposits and aquifers coincide.
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Plants have been grown inside a microscope to allow scientists to watch their roots developing in 3D.
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Members of the public are being asked to send in their sightings of the UK's bizarre and beautiful woodland moths for Moth Night 2014.
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Tropical Storm Arthur is expected to become a hurricane by Thursday as the National Hurricane Center issued a tropical storm warning Wednesday for the North Carolina coast while a tropical storm watch for the east coast of Florida was li...
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The decade-long comet-hunting Rosetta mission is nearing completion. The European Space Agency announced a series of burns on Wednesday which reduces the speed of the Rosetta satellite prior to its Aug. 6 rendezvous with its target, Come...
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Boston researchers have identified a way to enhance regrowth of human corneal tissue to restore vision, using a molecule known as ABCB5 that acts as a marker for hard-to-find limbal stem cells. This work, a collaboration between the Mass...
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An Israeli inventor has created a scanner that he says could change the way we shop and take care of ourselves—by reading the chemical makeup of foods, drugs and other items we use.
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Researchers at the University of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen University Hospital have identified a particular genetic mutation that may cause parkinsonism in young people. The mutation interferes with the brain's transport of the impor...
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A new study gives hospitals overall good marks for conducting nutrition screenings within 24 hours of a patient's admission, but finds that many need to improve other practices to be more effective.
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Pediatric patients with intestinal failure often need gastrostomy tubes, or feeding tubes inserted into an opening created in the stomach, for long-term nutrition. The use of such tubes can lead to persistent gastrocutaneous fistulae, or...
