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Extended space travel can cause eye and brain abnormalities in astronauts, researchers have found. For the study, published online in the journal Radiology, investigators used MRI scans to examine the eyes and brains of 27 astronauts who spent an average of 108 days in space aboard the space shuttle and/or the International Space Station. Eight…
What if it is too late to save the climate by cutting greenhouse gas emissions? What if the amount of carbon dioxide already added to the atmosphere by human activity is so great that it is going to produce big temperature changes no matter what, with big shifts in rainfall and in ocean chemistry? Options…
When men get stressed, their bodies get more revved up than women’s. Now, two Australian researchers have a theory as to why — and it all boils down to a single gene. The classic “fight-or-fight” response to stress is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system — the part of our nervous system that deals with…
Use your brain to control the world. That’s the promise of the brain-machine interface, a system that directly translates your thoughts into actions. At the South by Southwest Interactive conference, Julian Bleecker and Nicolas Nova, technologists from the Near Future Laboratory, have showed how popular culture has explored the possibilities of the devices—for both good…
Continued inefficient use of water could threaten Europe’s economy, productivity and ecosystems, a report has warned. The European Environment Agency (EEA) said that the continent’s water resources were under pressure and things were getting worse. It said limited supplies were being wasted, and nations had to implement existing legislation more effectively.
Two new horned dinosaurs have been named based on fossils collected from Alberta, Canada. Unescopceratops koppelhusae and Gryphoceratops morrisoni are new species from the Leptoceratopsidae horned dinosaur family. The herbivores lived during the Late Cretaceous, between 75 to 83 million years ago. The specimens are described in Cretaceous Research. “These dinosaurs fill important gaps in…
The science of creativity is relatively new. Until the Enlightenment, acts of imagination were always equated with higher powers. Being creative meant channeling the muses, giving voice to the gods. (“Inspiration” literally means “breathed upon.”) Even in modern times, scientists have paid little attention to the sources of creativity. But over the past decade, that…
A zigzag path can be quicker than a straight line when travelling underwater, due to constantly changing currents that can both help and hinder progress. Now, researchers have figured out an algorithm that lets automated underwater vehicles (AUVs) navigate turbulent waters in the most efficient way possible. While the algorithm was developed with underwater vehicles…
Once again, science, religion and politics have become entwined in a thorny public policy debate. This time, however, the discussion is not about abortion, birth control or health insurance mandates. It’s about wolves. Specifically, a bill in the Wisconsin Legislature to authorize a hunting season on wolves. Hunters approve of the season, and Republicans are…
A series of bitter disagreements between scientists and policy-makers has prompted a group of researchers to create a list of 40 “key unanswered questions” in an attempt to ease tensions by setting an agenda for future work. Led by scientists at the University of Cambridge, U.K., the group — comprising more than 50 scientists, policy…