Climate change has shrunk Andean glaciers between 30 and 50% since the 1970s and could melt many of them away altogether in coming years, according to a study published in the journal Cryosphere. Andean glaciers, a vital source of fresh water for tens of millions of South Americans, are retreating at their fastest rates in…
All but about 50 of hundreds of research chimpanzees belonging to the National Institutes of Health should be retired to the national sanctuary in northwest Louisiana, and all of them should have plenty of room to play and climb, an NIH committee has recommended. The NIH Council of Councils Working Group approved the proposal, which…
It’s been called the “holy grail” of brain research and now, it may have been found. Scientists in the U.S. say they have developed a way to detect the concussion-related brain disease called CTE, or chronic traumatic encephalopathy, in living athletes. Until now, the disease, which brings on dementia, depression and personality changes, could only…
Men are more likely than women to commit scientific fraud, a new analysis of misconduct convictions reveals. And the urge to cheat spans the entire range of academic careers, from students to seasoned professors. For the new study, published in the journal mBio, scientists examined 228 cases of misconduct in the records of the United…
In a SPIEGEL interview, synthetic biology expert George Church of Harvard University explains how DNA will become the building material of the future — one that can help create virus-resistant human beings and possibly bring back lost species like the Neanderthal.
From our friends at NASA comes an amazing 13-second animation that depicts how temperatures around the globe have warmed since 1950. You’ll note an acceleration of the temperature trend in the late 1970s as greenhouse gas emissions from energy production increased worldwide and clean air laws reduced emissions of pollutants that had a cooling effect…
The re-election of President Obama was like a Rorschach test, subject to many interpretations. In this election, each side debated issues that deeply worry me: the long malaise into which the economy seems to be settling, and the growing divide between the 1 percent and the rest — an inequality not only of outcomes but…
The Universe’s highest-energy light could finally yield clues to the nature of the “dark matter” that makes up some 85% of the Universe’s mass. The Fermi space telescope, designed to catch gamma rays, has seen hints of evidence for dark matter in high-energy gamma rays seen at the galaxy’s centre. The Fermi team is now…
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency seeks help solving new technical challenges in an existing program aimed at refurbishing satellites that are already in orbit. DARPA’s Phoenix program is exploring the feasibility of harvesting components from retired satellites, sometimes called space junk, and reusing them. The agency will hold a conference on Feb. 8 in…
A second commercial venture to mine the near infinite resources of outer space has been started, and Deep Space Industries (DSI) is promising its spacecraft and 3D printers will allow successful mining operations within a decade. The venture says that it will have its first class of 55lb “FireFly” probes ready for action by 2015,…