Perhaps the first stars in the newborn universe did not shine, but instead were invisible “dark stars” 400 to 200,000 times wider than the sun and powered by the annihilation of mysterious dark…

Young chimpanzees have an “extraordinary” ability to remember numerals that is superior to that of human adults, according to a report in the December 4th issue of Current Biology. “There are still…

Boosting an exercise-related gene in the brain works as a powerful anti-depressant in mice—a finding that could lead to a new anti-depressant drug target, according to a Yale School of Medicine…

A multidisciplinary team of UCLA scientists were able to differentiate metastatic cancer cells from normal cells in patient samples using leading-edge nanotechnology that measures the softness of the…

The compound sulforaphane, whose natural precursors are found at high levels in broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables, has been hailed for its chemopreventive powers against cancer. Now…

Finally, a win for human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Mice whose skulls were made whole again by bone tissue grown from hESCs shows that healing critical-size defects (defects that would not…

Researchers at Wageningen University, Netherlands, have shown that a drop in atmospheric nitrogen deposition will slow down forest growth. Lower tree growth implies less carbon sequestration and thus…

Scientists at The University of Manchester have developed a new x-ray technique that could be used to detect hidden explosives, drugs and human cancers more effectively. Professor Robert Cernik and…

A team led by the University of Colorado at Boulder and the University of Milan has discovered some unexpected forms of liquid crystals of ultrashort DNA molecules immersed in water, providing a new…

Direct-to-consumer advertising for commercial genetic testing is on the rise and may be problematic, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital physician. In the December issue of Obstetrics &…

Water chemistry and mineralogy are scientific fields that have been around long enough to develop extensive knowledge and technologies. The boundary of water and rock, however, is not a thin wet line…

Even after more than a year of maintaining a normalized body weight, young women who recovered from anorexia nervosa show vastly different patterns of brain activity compared to similar women without…

Messier 74, also called NGC 628, is a stunning example of a 'grand-design' spiral galaxy that is viewed by Earth observers nearly face-on. Its perfectly symmetrical spiral arms emanate from the…

How a 20-gram rodent conquered the world of science The following is the beginning of my new article in the December Harper's, which is generating a lot of response already. I was asked onto the…

Right in time for the festive season, ESA's XMM-Newton X-ray observatory has discovered a huge cloud of high-temperature gas resting in a spectacular nearby star-forming region, shaped somewhat like…

A study carried out in the Department of Evolutionary and Education Psychology of the University of Granada (UGR) has revealed that Latin American immigrant adolescents are more likely to become…

It can crush ice sideways and stay precisely on station to an accuracy of one meter. It can drill a hole 1,000 meters deep into the seabed while floating above 5,000 meters of ocean and can generate…

Scientists at Duke University have created the first map of imprinted genes throughout the human genome and they say artificial intelligence called machine learning was the key to their success. The…

With the urgent need to find energy sources that are renewable and don't emit greenhouse gases, geothermal energy is ideal. Accessible geothermal energy in the United States, excluding Alaska and…

Aging may be the result of genetic changes rather than wear and tear, say Stanford researchers who have reversed the effects of aging on the skin of mice, at least for a short period, by blocking the…