scientific research

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Ice Reveals Climate History
 Ice Reveals Climate History
OPINION
Aug 3, 2008 12:19 PM CDT

Ice Reveals Climate History

Research offers window into changes

(Newser) - Over the next three summers in Greenland, a group of international scientists will unearth samples of the country’s ice core down to its very bedrock, in the hopes of painting a complete picture of Earth's changing climate. Each layer provides a dated mixture of water and air bubbles that...

Tiny Shrew Drinks More Than You
Tiny Shrew Drinks More Than You
Jul 30, 2008 4:07 PM CDT

Tiny Shrew Drinks More Than You

Mouse-like mammal downs equivalent of 9 glasses of wine nightly

(Newser) - The Malaysian pentailed shrew drinks enough booze, weight for weight, to kill a human with a similar habit—prompting scientists to study the creature for clues to our own alcoholic thirst. Pentails, which share a common ancestor with primates, knock back the equivalent of nine glasses of wine every night...

Don't Talk Down to Alzheimer's Patients: Docs

Trouble communicating leads to frustration, uncooperative behavior

(Newser) - Even after they lose the ability to communicate easily, Alzheimer’s disease patients remain aware of the world around them and know when they're being talked down to, a study shows. Video evidence suggests patients are twice as likely to accept help from caregivers, and to not shut down or...

Study Rewrites Birds' Family Tree

DNA research reveals new information about bird relations

(Newser) - A five-year study of bird DNA is turning the world of ornithology on its head. The study revealed such drastic new information about the evolution of birds that dozens will need new scientific names, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. Notable finds: Falcons are not related to hawks or eagles; hummingbirds—colorful...

Google's Data Avalanche Trumps Scientific Method

No need for theories to connect the data—data all anyone really needs

(Newser) - The data avalanche Google made possible has buried the scientific method, Chris Anderson argues in Wired, begging the question, “What can science learn from Google?” We’re in the “Petabyte Age,” he argues, when massive amounts of data obviate need for models and theories—the imperfect, if...

Coffee's Smell Alone Can Perk You Up

Beverage's mere aroma increases wakefulness, study shows

(Newser) - The aroma of coffee is enough to wake you up, a new study shows. Smelling coffee stimulated the expression of genes known to reverse the damaging effect of stress and sleep deprivation in test animals’ brains, international researchers tell LiveScience. Coffee’s stimulating effects have been known for ages, but...

Scientific Journals Battle Doctored Images

Publications see fraud in submissions; screening on the rise

(Newser) - Scientific journals' status as bastions of objectivity and truth has come under fire in the past 10 years because of "image fraud," the Chronicle of Higher Education reports. Researchers alter representations of scientific data for inclusion in journal articles for various reasons, and not all have evil intentions....

'Magnet Molecule' May Guide Bird Migration

Inner compass guides journeys, researchers believe

(Newser) - Migrating birds may rely on a special molecule discovered in their eyes that allows them to  perceive the Earth’s magnetic field lines as a kind of road map, new research shows. The molecule may help birds navigate much the same way humans follow lines to stay on a highway...

Scientists Slim Down, Speed Up Mice by Stripping Enzyme

Removing an enzyme triggered a speedier mouse metabolism

(Newser) - Australian scientists have made a breakthrough that could lead to treatments for obesity and diabetes, the BBC reports. Researchers removed an enzyme in fat cells of mice and found it sped up their metabolisms.  The mice with altered cells were an average of 20% lighter than normal mice and...

New Notes in Earth's Hum
 New Notes in Earth's Hum 
Apr 17, 2008 7:45 PM CDT

New Notes in Earth's Hum

Scientists discover more complex oscillations in planetary symphony

(Newser) - Scientists have discovered a new dimension to the sub-aural sound emanating from our planet’s crust, dubbed “Earth’s hum.” Researchers have known about the hum, detectable only by seismometers, for a decade, though its ultimate cause is unclear. They expected to find hidden oscillations, but the amplitude...

Lousy Figure? Blame Mom and Dad

Another reason to get mad at your parents: body shape is inherited

(Newser) - Still struggling to get that 36-24-36 figure? Science can’t help you, but it can explain why some girls are leaner than others, reports the Telegraph. Researchers have found a link between parental DNA and female muscle mass, which could explain “why many people will never obtain the perfect...

Study Links Sex and Gambling
 Study Links Sex and Gambling 
Apr 5, 2008 7:46 AM CDT

Study Links Sex and Gambling

Financial risk-taking lights up brain's pleasure center

(Newser) - Taking risks with money lights up the same parts of the brain as sexual arousal, a "neuroeconomics" study has found. Men shown sexy pictures gambled more daringly than those shown scary pictures—spiders and snakes—or neutral pictures, reports the AP. The study of 15 heterosexual Stanford students focused...

Botox May Move from Face to Brain
Botox May
Move from
Face to Brain
Apr 3, 2008 10:23 AM CDT

Botox May Move from Face to Brain

Anti-wrinkle toxin traveled to rats' central nervous system

(Newser) - Botox can spread from the face to the brain, scientists who injected rats with the anti-wrinkle treatment say. Traces of the toxin turned up in the rats' brain stems three days after it was injected into their whisker muscles, Bloomberg reports. A dermatologist says the findings call for further investigation,...

Nations Mull Secret Whaling Compromise

Plan would let Japan hunt legally, but decrease slaughter

(Newser) - Representatives from more than 70 governments gathered last week at a secret meeting in London to hash out a compromise that would allow Japan to resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 20 years. Pro- and anti-whaling nations discussed plans to lift the worldwide ban on whaling,...

Kangaroo Farts Could Help Curb Warming

Secret to methane-free gas could be transferred to cattle and sheep

(Newser) - Australian scientists worried about global warming have turned to one of Mother Nature's cleanest "natural gas" producers, the kangaroo, for help. It seems that when kangaroos fart, the stuff contains none of the methane produced by cattle and sheep breaking wind. Scientists want to transfer the bacteria from kangaroos'...

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