Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain When UCLA shifted to remote instruction during the early days of COVID-19, the campus was much less populated—but it wasn’t totally empty. Several species of animals continued to go about their daily lives, just with far fewer disturbances from humans. Among them were around 300 dark-eyed juncos, a bird species that …
A few years ago while on a fishing trip in the Florida Keys, biologist Lori Schweikert came face to face with an unusual quick-change act. She reeled in a pointy-snouted reef fish called a hogfish and threw it onboard. But later when she went to put it in a cooler she noticed something odd: its …
When you think of colonies on other planets, you probably think of large groups of people congregating in colony bases like you’ve seen in science fiction movies and shows. However, a new study claims you’d only need 22 people to start a Mars colony successfully. The study also found that some personalities might not be …
A novel peptide of GFFY capable of efficiently crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB) by specific insulin receptor-mediated transcytosis. Credit: Science China Press In a paper published in Science China Materials, a research team reports on a novel tetrapeptide, GFFY, which is capable of efficiently crossing the blood-brain barrier (BBB). The tetrapeptide is highly versatile in …
The diversity of family systems in prehistoric societies has always fascinated scientists. A groundbreaking study by Mainz anthropologists and an international team of archaeologists now provides new insights into the origins and genetic structure of prehistoric family communities. Researchers Jens Blöcher and Joachim Burger from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have analysed the genomes of …
Misinformation about health and medicine is rampant in the United States, with far too many Americans being presented false claims and left wondering what to believe, a new survey reports. At least 4 in 10 people say they’ve heard 10 specific false claims about COVID-19, reproductive health and gun violence, the KFF survey says. KFF …
When soaring temperatures, extreme weather and catastrophic wildfires hit the headlines, people start asking for quick fixes to climate change. The U.S. government just announced the first awards from a US$3.5 billion fund for projects that promise to pull carbon dioxide out of the air. Policymakers are also exploring more invasive types of geoengineering − …
The risk of experiencing such health issues as diabetes, fatigue or blood clots can persist for at least two years after a coronavirus infection, a new study suggests. That finding is based on the health records of about 140,000 U.S. veterans infected with SARS-CoV-2 early in the pandemic, compared with nearly 6 million more who …
Onboarding images from the social media platform created for this study. Credit: Nature Human Behaviour (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41562-023-01655-0 While social media is often blamed for exacerbating incivility and partisan polarization, research led by Duke University scholars found that anonymous online conversations using a mobile chat platform they developed can reduce political polarization. The research also …
Roughly a century before the Inca empire came to power in A.D. 1400, blasts of human-produced thunder may have rumbled off a ridge high in the Andes Mountains. New evidence indicates that people who lived there around 700 years ago stomped rhythmically on a special dance floor that amplified their pounding into a thunderous boom …