Sophisticated artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms have predicted that the world will be 1.5 °C hotter than it was before the Industrial Revolution by the early 2030s – another climate change alarm bell to add to the cacophony that’s already being sounded. And that’s baked in, the AI says: it doesn’t matter whether greenhouse gases rise
Month: January 2023
Scientists have known for years that unhealthy diets – particularly those that are high in fat and sugar – may cause detrimental changes to the brain and lead to cognitive impairment. Many factors that contribute to cognitive decline are out of a person’s control, such as genetics and socioeconomic factors. But ongoing research increasingly indicates
A new video shared on YouTube is one of the most amazing things we’ve ever seen in planetary science. The video shows four dots of light moving in partial concentric circles around a black disk at their center. What you’re actually looking at is a planetary system. The four dots are exoplanets, with the black
A burly figure emerges from the shadows of a forest, only to lumber off into the cover of trees once again. It’s a scene that’s been caught from the corner of a thousand human eyes, yet no one is any closer to looking a Bigfoot or a Sasquatch square in the face. If someone were
Some 540 million years ago, diverse life forms suddenly began to emerge from the muddy ocean floors of planet Earth. This period is known as the Cambrian Explosion, and these aquatic critters are our ancient ancestors. All complex life on Earth evolved from these underwater creatures. Scientists believe all it took was an ever-so-slight increase
Great Zimbabwe was the first major city in southern Africa, home to an estimated 18,000 people at its peak. Yet no one really knows why it now lies in ruins. The demise of the once-thriving Medieval metropolis is sometimes boiled down to drought and a drying climate, but archaeologists have now found evidence of careful
The violent fingers of electricity that struck a sand dune in Nebraska have left behind a configuration of crystal rarely found in nature. Inside a piece of fulgurite – or ‘fossilized lightning‘ – created by a powerful bolt of electricity traveling into and fusing sand, scientists have found a quasicrystal, an arrangement of matter once
In a recent study published in Sciences Advances, an international team of scientists led by the Technical University of Munich examined the Martian meteorite Tissint, which fell near the village of Tissint, Morocco, on 18 July 2011, with pieces of the meteorite found as far as approximately 50 kilometers (30 miles) from the village. What
The average temperature of the human body has been steadily declining since the middle of the 19th century, and scientists aren’t sure why. A new study suggests one key factor that might play a role in this: gut microbes. Examining data from patients hospitalized with sepsis – where the body reacts in a dangerously extreme
A study of around 500,000 medical records has suggested that severe viral infections like encephalitis and pneumonia increase the risk of neurodegenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Researchers found 22 connections between viral infections and neurodegenerative conditions in the study of around 450,000 people. People treated for a type of inflammation of the brain called
A bizarre spatula-billed pterosaur with ridiculous amounts of teeth has been discovered in a German quarry. Its unique facial anatomy suggests it shares feeding traits seen in today’s ducks and whales. While Pterodaustro from Argentina may have even more teeth, this newly discovered species’s mouth protrusions are strangely long and thin in comparison. The researchers
JWST’s unparalleled ability to peer into the shrouded hearts of distant clouds has revealed the elements of biochemistry in the coldest and darkest place we’ve seen them yet. In a molecular cloud called Chamaeleon I, located over 500 light-years from Earth, data from the telescope has revealed the presence of frozen carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen,
For more than a century, the womb has been largely considered a sterile environment. Yet even today, with advanced medical technology at hand, researchers cannot come to a consensus over whether the placenta and the amniotic fluid that bathes a fetus are truly germ-free or not. Some scientists claim to have detected signs of microbial
‘Spin’ is a fundamental quality of fundamental particles like the electron, invoking images of a tiny sphere revolving rapidly on its axis like a planet in a shrunken solar system. Only it isn’t. It can’t. For one thing, electrons aren’t spheres of matter but points described by the mathematics of probability. But California Institute of
A galaxy whose light has traveled nearly 13.5 billion years to reach us has just been confirmed as the earliest galaxy found to date. By studying the oxygen content of the galaxy with the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA), astronomers have precisely dated it to just 367 million years after the Big Bang, a time
Close to the summit of an underwater mountain west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a jagged landscape of towers rises from the gloom. Their creamy carbonate walls and columns appear ghostly blue in the light of a remotely operated vehicle sent to explore. They range in height from tiny stacks the size of toadstools to a
The hypertension drug rilmenidine has been shown to slow down aging in worms, an effect that in humans could hypothetically help us live longer and keep us healthier in our latter years. Rilmenidine was picked for this latest study because past research has shown it mimics the effects of caloric restriction on a cellular level.
While some dog breeds have unfortunate reputations for being more aggressive than others, veterinarians and other animal experts have long been skeptical about this. A new study of 665 domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) in Brazil also points towards factors other than breed having stronger influences over this ‘problematic’ behavior. “The results highlight something we’ve been
Our brains do a fantastic job of acting as master control centers for our sacks of flesh if you stop and think about it – which again will call on your brain. Now researchers have discovered more about how the brain fixes long-term memories in its storage slots. The new study looks at the ‘zone
Even if you think you are good at analyzing faces, research shows many people cannot reliably distinguish between photos of real faces and images that have been computer-generated. This is particularly problematic now that computer systems can create realistic-looking photos of people who don’t exist. Recently, a fake LinkedIn profile with a computer-generated profile picture
Losing weight is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, yet it is one which most of us struggle to achieve. By the time the second or third week of January rolls around, many of us are finding it harder to stick with the lifestyle changes needed to lose, or at least maintain, our
Scientists have made a breakthrough in robotics: a shapeshifting robot that can switch between liquid and metal states to navigate tricky environments without compromising on strength. Because they can be both soft and hard, the small, sea cucumber-inspired robots can overcome the limitations of robots that are only one or the other, and thus have
Caecilians aren’t exactly your run-of-the-mill amphibian. Limbless, toothed, and worm-like, they spend their life burrowing through the soil, sensing the world with tentacles that protrude from between their eyes. Little is known about these evasive creatures, or how they evolved. Fossils of only 11 species of ancestral caecilians have ever been found, so our understanding
Some species of carnivorous pitcher plant, Nepenthes, have switched from capturing and digesting insects to absorbing animal poop for their daily dose of nutrients – and it’s a switch that’s proving very beneficial. These botanical poop eaters are managing to take in more nitrogen through their diet adaptation than other Nepenthes that snack on prey,
Over ten years ago, a tsunami triggered a disaster at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant on Japan’s east coast. After the accident, large amounts of radioactivity contaminated the ocean leading to the imposition of a marine exclusion zone and huge reputational damage to the regional fishing industry. Huge volumes of contaminated water have accumulated
Plastic pollution is out of control. Each year, more than 8 million tonnes of synthetic polymers enter the ocean, and while some sinks to the floor, returns to the shore, or collects in the middle of nowhere, a significant portion isn’t so easily accounted for. All that missing plastic is a mystery, but some researchers
A teen boy whose mummy had been stored in a museum since 1916 was covered in precious amulets, a study published Tuesday found. A team of scientists has digitally unwrapped the 2,300-year-old mummy using a CT scanner to uncover its secrets. The team found that the so-called “golden boy” was lavishly mummified with gold and
The decades-long quest to develop a HIV vaccine has been dealt another major blow, with the ‘last true candidate in development’ failing to prevent infections any better than a placebo in late-stage clinical trials. The multinational Mosaico study, which began in 2019 and involved more than 3,900 volunteers, was investigating a four-shot HIV vaccine for
In the 1930s, a tarnished bronze sword was pulled from the banks of the Danube River that runs through Budapest. It was styled like a Hungarian weapon from the Bronze Age, and yet at the time, it was assumed to be a replica, possibly made in the Medieval Era or later. For nearly a century,
Fiber-optic cables stretch across oceans and wind their way underground to handle our communications systems, and scientists think that this vast network of infrastructure could be put to another use: observing Earth’s surface from below. Specifically, the 1.2 million kilometers (more than 745,000 miles) of existing fiber-optic cable could be combined with satellites and other
A huge iceberg nearly the size of Greater London has broken off the Antarctic ice shelf near a research station, the second such split in two years, researchers announced Monday. The British Antarctic Survey (BAS) said the formation of the new iceberg – in a natural process called “calving” – was not due to climate
Archaeologists have discovered a 7,000-year-old mass grave in Slovakia containing 38 skeletons, with all but one decapitated. The remains were found at the Vráble-Vèlke Lehemby site in Slovakia, one of the largest settlements of the European Neolithic period. Early studies suggest the heads were removed purposefully after death, an author of the study told Insider.
Few of us give much thought to Earth’s swirling, spinning contents until some sudden movement, an earthquake or a volcanic eruption, jolts us to our senses. Geoscientists, though, are a little more clued into the dynamics of Earth’s guts, and have just discovered that Earth’s solid inner iron core – which usually spins within a
Men taking Viagra for erectile dysfunction could be saving themselves from an early death, according to the results of a recently published observational study. Funded by the pharmaceutical company Sanofi, the investigation looked back at 14 years’ worth of medical records on more than 23,000 American men who had been prescribed a phosphodiesterase type 5
Physicists have just set a new record confining a self-focused laser pulse to a cage of air, down the length of a 45 meter-long (148 foot-long) university corridor. With previous results falling well short of a meter, this newest experiment led by physicist Howard Milchberg of the University of Maryland (UMD) breaks new ground for
Many of us are returning to work or school after spending time with relatives over the summer period. Sometimes we can be left wondering how on earth we are related to some of these people with whom we seemingly have nothing in common (especially with a particularly annoying relative). However, in evolutionary terms, we all
At 3.63 meters (12 feet) tall and 4.37 meters across, the painting known commonly as The Night Watch is Rembrandt’s largest painting. Centuries after its creation, we’re still uncovering the smallest of details in its pigments, thanks to advances in modern technology. A team of researchers from across Europe have found an unexpected molecule while
Losing focus for a brief moment might actually help boost learning by giving our brains a quick reprieve from the task at hand. According to a new study, this could allow us to absorb information that might not be directly related to the task at hand, but could still be handy to know. “Whereas focusing
If you check in regularly to ScienceAlert, you’ll be familiar with quite a few stunning space images, but a newly published picture has to be one of the best yet: 2 years in the making, 10 terabytes worth of data, 21,400 individual exposures combined, and a final image showing a huge 3.32 billion celestial objects.
Increasingly tempestuous winds have been sweeping dust from Earth’s deserts into our air at an increasing rate since the mid-1800s. New data suggests that this uptick has masked up to 8 percent of current global warming. Using satellite data and ground measurements, researchers detected a steady increase in these microscopic airborne particles since 1850. Soil
Six minutes of high-intensity exercise is enough to produce a key protein in the brain, one that’s important in brain formation, function, and memory, and which has been implicated in the progress of neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease. The specialized protein in question is called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and it promotes both the
Tractor beams make intuitive sense. Matter and energy interact with each other in countless ways throughout the Universe. Magnetism and gravity are both natural forces that can draw objects together, so there’s sort of a precedent. But engineering an actual tractor beam is something different. A tractor beam is a device that can move an
The folds of the human brain are instantly recognizable. Snaking ridges and deep furrows give the squishy tissue inside our heads structure and the appearance of a wrinkly walnut. Into peaks called gyri and fissures called sulci, the outermost layer of brain tissue is folded so that reams of it can be squeezed into the
Australian rangers have killed an invasive “monster” cane toad discovered in the wilds of a coastal park – a warty brown specimen as long as a human arm and weighing 2.7 kilograms (6 pounds). The toad was spotted after a snake slithering across a track forced wildlife workers to stop as they were driving in
There is no sea creature whose name inspires terror – rightly or wrongly – as much as the great white shark. With its sleek body optimized for hunting, its sharp teeth, and its (somewhat undeserved) reputation for enjoying human flesh, the great white (Carcharodon carcharias) is widely regarded as one of the ocean’s top predators.
Night is naturally suited for paranormal activity, with less light and sound to limit the imagination. While the relationship is still murky, new research shows an interesting link between paranormal beliefs and one of the most important night-time activities for we earthly beings: sleep. In a new study, researchers found subjective measures of poorer sleep
The different parts of our bodies are intricately tied together, and good health in one area can often mean benefits in other areas too. Take, for example, a potential link between a better education and a reduced risk of having gut disorders. The research builds on a previous study by some members of the same
As city folk sleep blanketed by the warm glow of artificial light that surrounds urban centers, stargazers feel the chill of the night sky and see all its constellations being smudged into a fuzzy blur by those same urban lights. It’s a worrying trend that stretches back decades. In 1973, astronomer Kurt Riegel warned that