News Articles

The new species of hominid  discovered 40 kilometers outside of Johannesburg, South Africa, the first missing link of 2010,  has been dubbed Australopithecus sediba by its discoverers. Researchers believe the new species might be the link between the southern African ape-man Australopithecus africanus and either Homo habilis or a direct ancestor of Homo erectus. The research is detailed in this week's issue of Science.

A comprehensive review of national opinion polls taken before and after Congressional voting and when President Obama signed into law a major healthcare reform bill last month has found that the law's signing did not change Americans' opinions of the legislation. The analysis of 33 independent opinion polls revealed that partisan disagreements over the reforms are stark. These political differences have implications for the implementation of the legislation and for the 2010 Congressional elections as many potential voters want the law to be scaled back while many others want the law changed to expand government's future role.The analysis appears in this week's New England Journal of Medicine.

There is no link between a lack of musical ability and dyslexia, and attempts to treat dyslexia with music therapy are unwarranted, according to a study in the International Journal of Arts and Technology.Research into dyslexia has pointed to a problem with how the brain processes sounds and how dyslexic readers manipulate the sounds from which words are composed, the phonemes, consciously and intentionally. For many researchers, it was a relatively short step between the notion that dyslexia is an issue of phonological processing and how this might also be associated with poor musical skills – amusia – that has led to approaches to treating the condition using therapy to improve a dyslexic reader's musical skills.

A 34 year-long study of 10,000 civil servants suggests that a happy marriage may help prevent fatal strokes in men.Researchers found a correlation between reported "happiness" in marriage and the likelihood that a man will die from stroke. The study was presented at the American Stroke Association's International Conference earlier this year. Men were surveyed about their happiness levels and marital status; 34 years later, a follow-up study determined how many of the men died from stroke. Single men were found to have a 64% higher risk of a fatal stroke than married men. The quality of the marriage appeared to matter as well ― men in an unhappy union had a 64% higher risk of a fatal stroke than those who reported being happy in their marriage.

Archaeologists have unearthed a cache of cuneiform tablets found to contain a largely intact Assyrian treaty from the early 7th century BCE.The 43 by 28 centimeter tablet — known as the Vassal Treaties of Esarhaddon — contains about 650 lines and is in a very fragile state. "It will take months of further work before the document will be fully legible," said Timothy Harrison, professor of near eastern archaeology in the Department of Near&Middle Eastern Civilizations at the University of Toronto. "These tablets are like a very complex puzzle, involving hundreds of pieces, some missing. It is not just a matter of pulling the tablet out, sitting down and reading. We expect to learn much more as we restore and analyze the document."

Researchers writing in Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy have found a chemical compound that, when used in conjunction with conventional antibiotics, effectively destroys biofilms produced by antibiotic-resistant strains of the Staphylococcus strain MRSA and Acinetobacter. The compound also re-sentsitizes those bacteria to antibiotics.Infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as MRSA are especially difficult to get rid of because the bacteria can attach to surfaces and then create biofilms, sticky layers of cells that act as a shield and prevent antibiotics from destroying the bacteria underneath.

Three new species of anaerobic multicellular organisms have been discovered deep under the Mediterranean Sea. The small animals, new members of the group Loricifera, live their entire lives without oxygen and surrounded by 'poisonous' sulphides. Researchers writing in BMC Biology report the existence of multicellular organisms, showing that they are alive, metabolically active, and apparently reproducing in spite of a complete absence of oxygen. Sediment samples from a deep hypersaline anoxic basin (DHABs) of the Mediterranean Sea revealed evidence for the new organisms' existence.

Between hooking up and traditional dating, more women than men prefer dating whereas more men rate hooking up above dating, according to a new survey of college students at a midsized southeastern university. Both genders, however, perceive similar benefits and risks to dating and hooking up. Women fear, both in dating and hooking up, that they will become emotionally attached to a partner who is not interested in them. Men more than women seem to value independence. They fear that even in hooking up relationships, which are supposed to be free of commitments, a woman might seek to establish a relationship.

Using the CRIRES instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope, a team of astronomers have confirmed that summer is in full swing in the southern hemisphere of Neptune's largest moon Triton. "We have found real evidence that the Sun still makes its presence felt on Triton, even from so far away. This icy moon actually has seasons just as we do on Earth, but they change far more slowly," says Emmanuel Lellouch, the lead author of the paper reporting these results in Astronomy&Astrophysics.

There is ongoing concern about the potential toxicity of nanoparticles of various materials, and a new study in Chemical Research in Toxicology reports that certain sunscreens that contain zinc oxide nanoparticles may be toxic if ingested.The research found that particle size affects the toxicity of zinc oxide. Particles smaller than 100 nanometers were slightly more toxic to colon cells than conventional zinc oxide and solid zinc oxide was more toxic than equivalent amounts of soluble zinc. Direct particle to cell contact was required to cause cell death, according to the study.

Astronomers have directly observed the mysterious dark companion in the Epsilon Aurigae star system that has puzzled skywatchers since the 19th century. Scientists captured close-up pictures of Epsilon Aurigae during its eclipse, which happens every 27 years. "Close up" in this case is a relative term, but the images zoom in enough to show the shape of the dark object's shadow. A new paper in Nature describes the images in detail.

Although beneficial for health in general, a diet high in fruits and vegetables probably won't reduce your risk of cancer, according to a study led by researchers at Mt Sinai Hospital.The analysis, published in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, looked at over eight years of dietary data from more than 400,000 people and found that the relationship between high consumption of fruits and vegetables and a reduced risk of cancer is not nearly as strong as previously reported. Many studies have tested the idea and the results have been mixed; but none of the research so far has been able to confirm a link between fruit and vegetable intake and cancer resistance.