News Articles

Blinking eyes might be a sign of a wandering mind, according to a new study in Psychological Science. Researchers from the University of Waterloo found that when subjects' minds wandered, they blinked more, setting up a tiny physical barrier between themselves and the outside world.The study was inspired by brain research that shows, when the mind wanders, the parts of the brain that process external goings-on are less active.

A new study of island lizards suggests that geographical isolation may not be as important to evolution as previously thought. The new research, published in PLoS Genetics, shows that even those lizards that have been geographically isolated for many millions of years have not evolved into separate species as predicted by conventional evolutionary theory. The findings reject allopatric speciation in a case study from a system thought to exemplify it, the researchers say, and suggest the potential importance of speciation due to differences in ecological conditions (ecological speciation).  

By observing distant earthquakes, researchers at the University of Calgary have revealed new clues about the interior of our planet. They say they have discovered that the composition of Earth's outer core is much different than scientists previously believed.The results appear in Physics of the Earth and Planetary Interiors

If you thought storing your entire music library on an iPod was cool, you haven't seen anything yet.  Researchers at North Carolina State University have developed a computer chip that can store an entire library's worth of information on a single chip. The new chip stems from a breakthrough in the use of nanodots, or nanoscale magnets, and represents a significant advance in computer-memory technology, researchers say.Nanodots are made of single, defect-free crystals, creating magnetic sensors that are integrated directly into a silicon electronic chip. These nanodots, which can be made uniformly as small as six nanometers in diameter, are all precisely oriented in the same way – allowing programmers to reliably read and write data to the chips.

Hot peppers contain a substance called capsaicin that not only adds spice to our foods but may actually help us lose weight. A new study conducted by UCLA researchers found that a substance in hot peppers called capsaicin can actually increase our energy expenditure by increasing heat production.If you don't appreciate the "burn" of hot peppers, researchers say there are plants that make a non-burning version of capsaicin called dihydrocapsiate (DCT) that could have the benefits of peppers without the pungency.The study was presented earlier this week at the Experimental Biology 2010 meeting in Anaheim, CA

Astronomers have found evidence of water ice and organic material on the asteroid 24 Themis. The findings, detailed in Nature, support the idea that asteroids could be responsible for bringing water and organic material to Earth, researchers say.Using NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility on Hawaii's Mauna Kea, astronomers examined the surface of 24 Themis, a 200-kilometer wide asteroid that sits halfway between Mars and Jupiter. By measuring the spectrum of infrared sunlight reflected by the object, the researchers found the spectrum consistent with frozen water and determined that 24 Themis is coated with a thin film of ice. They also detected organic material.

University of Melbourne researchers writing in Nature say melting sea ice is a major cause of warming in the Arctic. The findings challenge previous theories which  propose that warmer air transported from lower latitudes toward the pole, or changes in cloud cover, are the primary causes of enhanced Arctic warming.Using the latest observational data from the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting, researchers were able to uncover a distinctive pattern of warming, highly consistent with the loss of sea ice.

A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine has confirmed that chocolate is a favorite snack for people when they are feeling down. Researchers found that both women and men eat more chocolate as depressive symptoms increase, suggesting an association between mood and chocolate. Future studies will be required to determine the basis of this association, as well as the role of chocolate in depression, as cause or cure, researchers say.Results of the study were published in the Archives of Internal Medicine this week.

Researchers at Tel Aviv University are developing a new "virtual" method to analyze movement patterns in children ― and more effectively treat those with debilitating motor disorders.The team is using a "virtual tabletop" called the ELEMENTS SYSTEM, developed by scientists at Australia's Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, to "move" kids with disabilities and provide home-based treatments using virtual reality tools. "I've been working with children with movement disorders for the last 20 years," says Dr. Dido Green of Tel Aviv University. "By the time I meet these children, they're sick of us. They've been 'over-therapied,' and it's difficult to get them to practice their exercises and prescribed treatment regimes."

For a tiny fraction of the cost of maintaining a nuclear arsenal, the 11 nuclear power states around the world could eliminate neglected infections within their borders—which account for up to 50% of the global disease burden—and beyond, according to an editorial in PLoS Neglected Tropical Diseases."Great efforts are needed to engage leaders of the nuclear weapons states in a frank dialogue about reallocation of resources toward public health and scientific pursuits for neglected tropical disease R&D and control," says Dr. Peter Hotez, Research Professor at The George Washington University and author of the editorial.

 Researchers from Cornell University say eating less may be as simple as leaving serving dishes on the stove and off the table. The team conducted a study involving 78 men and women and found that people eat a lot less, almost 30 percent less, if food is not readily accessible--like not sitting in front of them. The research was presented last week at the Experimental Biology conference in Anaheim, California. The finding provides more evidence for the idea that subtle cues like dining environment and plate and portion size can determine what, when and how much people eat.

Politicians may only tell us what we want to hear, but not just because they're vote hustlers looking to stay in office. Researchers writing in the British Medical Journal, say it's also because voters interpret everything elected officials say based on their own political views.The authors argue that "it is possible for two well-informed groups of people faced with the same evidence to reach completely different conclusions about what should be done."