Mathematicians formulate equations, bend light and figure out how to hide things
The idea of cloaking and rendering something invisible hit the small screen in 1966 when a Romulan Bird of Prey made an unseen, surprise attack on the Starship Enterprise on Star Trek. Not only did it...
View ArticleBest of Last Week – Renewable energy from evaporating water, left-handed...
(Phys.org)—It was a good week for new technology as a team of researchers at Columbia University announced a way to get renewable energy from evaporating water—they have come up with two devices, one a...
View ArticleGenetic analysis of 40,000-year-old jawbone reveals early modern humans...
In 2002, archaeologists discovered the jawbone of a human who lived in Europe about 40,000 years ago. Geneticists have now analyzed ancient DNA from that jawbone and learned that it belonged to a...
View ArticleScarlet macaw skeletons point to early emergence of Pueblo hierarchy (Update)
Somehow, colorful tropical scarlet macaws from tropical Mesoamerica—the term anthropologists use to refer to Mexico and parts of northern Central America—ended up hundreds of miles north in the desert...
View ArticleIn social networks, group boundaries promote the spread of ideas, study finds
Social networks affect every aspect of our lives, from the jobs we get and the technologies we adopt to the partners we choose and the healthiness of our lifestyles. But where do they come from?
View ArticleNew report finds Conservatives demonstrate more self control than Liberals
Findings from three separate studies link a person's political ideology and their self-control performance, with conservatives demonstrating greater self-control than liberals. The research led by...
View ArticleResearcher uncovers inherent biases of big data collected from social media...
With every click, Facebook, Twitter and other social media users leave behind digital traces of themselves, information that can be used by businesses, government agencies and other groups that rely on...
View ArticleFour hundred million year old fish fossil has earliest example of teeth
(Phys.org)—A pair of researchers, one with the Naturalis Biodiversity Center in the Netherlands, the other with the University of Bristol in the U.K. has found what appears to be the earliest known...
View ArticleNewly found ring of teeth uncovers what common ancestor of molting animals...
A new study of an otherworldly creature from half a billion years ago - a worm-like animal with legs, spikes and a head difficult to distinguish from its tail - has definitively identified its head for...
View ArticleTop scientists call for improved incentives to ensure research integrity
Scientific controversies, from problems replicating results - such as with the now debunked association between autism and MMR vaccines - to researcher misconduct and sensationalism, have led to...
View ArticleGroup calls for more transparency in science research, announces guidelines
An international group of academic leaders, journal editors and funding-agency representatives and disciplinary leaders, including Rick Wilson, the Herbert S. Autrey Chair of Political Science and...
View ArticleResearchers ask a fundamental safety question—what are kids thinking when...
A 10-year-old boy pedals his bicycle slowly to a busy intersection. In front of him, cars and SUVs whiz by, without pausing. He waits for a gap in traffic. When he sees one, he pushes off, gaining...
View ArticleBest of Last Week–Magnetic devils staircase, a skinlike display and conscious...
(Phys.org)—It was an interesting week in physics as an international team of researchers found that quantum coherence and quantum entanglement are two sides of the same coin—they found a way to show...
View ArticleSleeping on the job? Actually, that's a good thing
Employees seeking to boost their productivity at work should take a nap—yes, sleeping on the job can be a good thing.
View ArticleWhen times are tough, parents favor daughters over sons
In tough economic times, parents financially favor daughters over sons, according to researchers at the Carlson School of Management and Rutgers Business School. Their study, forthcoming in the Journal...
View ArticleStudy reveals a common beat in global music
A new study carried out by the University of Exeter and Tokyo University of the Arts has found that songs from around the world tend to share features, including a strong rhythm, that enable...
View ArticleSpiky monsters: New species of 'super-armored' worm discovered
A new species of 'super-armoured' worm, a bizarre, spike-covered creature which ate by filtering nutrients out of seawater with its feather-like front legs, has been identified by palaeontologists. The...
View ArticleStuck on you: Research shows fingerprint accuracy stays the same over time
Fingerprints have been used by law enforcement and forensics experts to successfully identify people for more than 100 years. Though fingerprints are assumed to be infallible personal identifiers,...
View ArticleNew study shows South Africans using milk-based paint 49,000 years ago
An international research team led by the University of Colorado Boulder and the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa has discovered a milk-and ochre-based paint dating to 49,000...
View ArticleStudy gives more accurate picture of value of college education
A new study that is the first to use Social Security Administration's personal income tax data tracking the same individuals over 20 years to measure individual lifetime earnings has confirmed...
View ArticleDagger-like canines of saber-toothed cats took years to grow
New research shows that the fearsome teeth of the saber-toothed cat Smilodon fatalis fully emerged at a later age than those of modern big cats, but grew at a rate about double that of their living...
View ArticleNewly discovered 48-million-year-old lizard walked on water in Wyoming
A newly-discovered, 48-million-year-old fossil, known as a "Jesus lizard" for its ability to walk on water, may provide insight into how climate change may affect tropical species, according to a study...
View Article'Smaller is smarter' in superspreading of influence in social network
A study by City College of New York physicists Flaviano Morone and Hernán A. Makse suggests that "smaller is smarter" when it comes to influential superspreaders of information in social networks. This...
View ArticleTraders' hormones' may destabilize financial markets
The hormones testosterone and cortisol may destabilise financial markets by making traders take more risks, according to a study.
View ArticleFirst comprehensive analysis of the woolly mammoth genome completed
The first comprehensive analysis of the woolly mammoth genome reveals extensive genetic changes that allowed mammoths to adapt to life in the arctic. Mammoth genes that differed from their counterparts...
View ArticleResearchers find mass killings, school shootings are contagious
Mass killings and school shootings in the U.S. appear to be contagious, according to a team of scientists from Arizona State University and Northeastern Illinois University.
View ArticleOld World monkey had tiny, complex brain
The brain hidden inside the oldest known Old World monkey skull has been visualized for the first time. The creature's tiny but remarkably wrinkled brain supports the idea that brain complexity can...
View ArticleMapping the world's linguistic diversity—scientists discover links between...
Academics at the University of York have discovered a correlation between genetic and linguistic diversity and concluded that at least in Europe people who speak different languages are also more...
View ArticleBest of Last Week – A less crowded universe, antibiotics altering child...
(Phys.org)—It was a pretty big week for space science as researchers at Vanderbilt University unveiled a new model of cosmic stickiness that favors a "Big Rip" demise of the universe—they have found a...
View ArticleWhy don't men live as long as women?
Across the entire world, women can expect to live longer than men. But why does this occur, and was this always the case?
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