News Article

By Deborah Netburn   Researchers in British Columbia have unearthed a 52 million year old fossil of the smallest hedgehog known to science. The animal was fully grown when it died, and just two inches long — about the length of your thumb. The research team named it Silvacola acares, which means “tiny forest dweller.” This little …

By Douglas Main Dogs, like people, can get cancer–and research has shown that canine and human cancers can be very much alike. Austrian scientists recently found that the receptor proteins that coat the surface of various canine tumors are 91 percent similar to human cancers. Taking the next step, they took antibodies from mice and tweaked them …

By Sarah Knapton   A blood test has been developed to predict if someone will develop Alzheimer’s within a year, raising hopes that the disease could become preventable. After a decade of research, scientists at Oxford University and King’s College London are confident they have found 10 proteins which show the disease is imminent. Clinical …

By Becky Oskin   Global cooling caused by some historic volcanic eruptions wasn’t as extreme as climate scientists recently thought, according to newly revised ice core records from Antarctica. Volcanic eruptions blast sulfur-dioxide gas into the stratosphere, where it turns into tiny particles called sulfate aerosols that reflect the sun’s energy and cool the Earth. Snow falling in Antarctica …

By Science Alert Staff   This amazing graphic reveals the incredibly delicate balance that maintains the Earth as the only known habitable planet in the universe. Created by Félix Pharand-Deschênes, CEO of the non-profit science communication organisation, Globaïa, this graphic shows the 1.4087 billion cubic kilometres of water in the world – including oceans, ice lakes, rivers, clouds, …

By Bioscience Technology By switching off a single gene, scientists at Columbia University’s Naomi Berrie Diabetes Center have converted human gastrointestinal cells into insulin-producing cells, demonstrating in principle that a drug could retrain cells inside a person’s GI tract to produce insulin. The new research was reported today in the online issue of the journal Nature …

By Charity R. Carney   It was the most difficult job I’ve ever had. I’ve been a history professor for years, toiled as a graduate assistant before that, and even did a stint as an IT technician. But the three months I worked at Hobby Lobby stocking googly eyes and framing baseball cards takes the …

By NASA   A mysterious X-ray signal has been found in a detailed study of galaxy clusters using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton. One intriguing possibility is that the X-rays are produced by the decay of sterile neutrinos, a type of particle that has been proposed as a candidate for dark matter. While …

By Dave Niose   The Supreme Court made a very important statement that seems to have gone largely unnoticed in its landmark Hobby Lobby ruling on Monday. When it comes to religious freedom, the justices declared, the Constitution doesn’t matter. You may think I’m exaggerating, but I’m not. The court unambiguously said that, in considering whether someone’s religious freedom is …

By Sarah Knapton   BBC journalists are being sent on courses to stop them inviting so many cranks onto programmes to air ‘marginal views’ The BBC Trust on Thursday published a progress report into the corporation’s science coverage which was criticised in 2012 for giving too much air-time to critics who oppose non-contentious issues. The report …

By Nicky Phillips   New superfoods seem to be discovered with increasing frequency but rather like Superman they tend to be a fantasy construct. The label seems to attach itself to any foodstuff that is rich in a particular nutrient. Goji berries, an original superfood, have a lot of vitamin C, while the quinoa seed …

By Gwen Kinkead The hunt for a perfect contraceptive has gone on for millennia. A new candidate is now on the horizon: a wireless implant that can be turned on and off with a remote control and that is designed to last up to 16 years. If it passes safety and efficacy tests, the device would …