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Earth’s Warm Streak Could Peak in a Decade, If Policymakers Don’t Change

Medicine & Technology Speed up the models and cut down on your carbon footprints, because a bit of change today could spell better weather and a better Earth only a decade away. While climatologists and researchers across all of science have in recent years discussed the long-term goals of climate change and the effects of carbon emissions, a new study published today, Dec. 2, in the journal Environmental Research Letters reveals that reductions in carbon emissions today will help shape the planet’s atmosphere in as little as 10 years, versus the 30 to 50 year models used by researchers and policymakers until now.

What Drives Monkeys to Drink—The Fruit-Filled Tale Of Why We Imbibe

As a child, alcoholism was something that surrounded evolutionary physiologist Robert Dudley from the University of California Berkeley. Watching first-hand as his father descended into the addictive disease, Dudley’s first fascinations as a scientist were with what predispositions led to humans’ strong attraction to the intoxicating libations.

Polish “Vampires” Discovered in Crypts, and They May Have Had Cholera

For those who are avid viewers of works of independent horror films, many know that Poland is often the back-drop for some of the most terrifying tales of local folklore and blood-sucking creatures of the night. And there’s a reason behind the madness. Dating back to the 17th and 18th centuries, stories of vampires have abounded in the region, leading to a uniquely deviant form of burials that are intended to keep proposed vampires in their crypts.

You Can Teach an Old Dog New Tricks, But You Can’t Clean Up Their Drinking Habits

Any pet lover knows that it comes as no surprise to discover that dogs aren’t quite as graceful as their feline friends, the cat. While a kitten will take a hundred little sips to lap up a saucer of milk, a puppy will likely splatter the milk all over the floor before drooling out half of the contents – and we love them for that. But while you may chalk up the messy behavior to a carefree disposition or a hasty nature, behavioral ethologists who study the exquisite techniques of getting a drink have recently discovered that cats and dogs have distinct strategies of their own. And each one benefits the species in its own unique way.

CDC Asks What’s Worse—Occasional Binging or Full-Blown Alcoholism?

Here in the U.S., with peaking numbers of DUI’s and staggering alcohol-related deaths, the government and the general public realizes that we’re facing a problem with alcohol and its effects on society. But many are left wondering, what’s worse: an occasional binge when out for a night on the town, or full-blown alcoholism? You may be surprised to find out that a new study conducted by the U.S. government’s Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that while excessive drinking is responsible for over 88,000 deaths a year, nine out of ten Americans who drink excessively do not meet the criteria to be classified as “alcoholics”. So it’s binge drinking that’s the main culprit for these deaths.

How a Crop Found in Beer Helped Early Man Survive in Frigid Tibetan Plateau

In spite of the harsh climate, freezing many regions of Tibet’s upper plateaus in the mountains of Asia, researchers have uncovered a rich anthropological history of the past amidst frozen objects of the past. And what they reveal is that even in the far off past, the surmounting odds against survival in the region known as the “Roof of the World” created many interesting challenges for ancient man.

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider Adds Two New Subatomic Particles to the List

There’s an art in the science of CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. It’s not simply a method for smashing atoms together, but rather it’s a uniquely painstaking process that can reveal some of the smallest hidden secrets our world has to offer. And while the particles that CERN researchers are studying may be smaller than the smallest atom, by bringing to light quantifiably distinct particles only often thought of in physical theory courses, the discovery of every new particle is a large step forward for the advancements of mankind’s science.

Massive Crater in Siberia Sparks Conversations of UFOs and Bermuda Triangle

For those who have ventured to Siberia in their lifetime, you know that there is a mysterious air about the desolate arctic tundra plains. But earlier this summer when a giant sinkhole was discovered in northern Siberia’s Yamal Peninsula, researchers realized just how strange it may be.

In Chimpanzee Sexual Selection, Nice Guys Finish Last

Behavioral studies of our close relatives the chimpanzee often reveal origins of what we believe to be distinctly “human” interactions. Grooming behavior, child rearing and even gang formation have all been identified in chimpanzee populations, but in a recent study conducted in Tanzania, researchers from Arizona State University say that they may have found the origins or far more disturbing behavior—bullying and male-on-female violence.

Climate Change May Spark A Wildfire Or Two in Our Future

In a year with news full of UN summits and celebrity spokespersons speaking out against climate change, further complicated by the emissions we as humans put out, new research says that the incremental changes over the next century may spark some more conversations as well as lightning strikes across the continental United States.

Wildfires May Fill our Future as Climate Change Sparks Lightning

Anthropogenic climate change, caused by the actions and emissions put forth by humans, has been a major conversation starter in recent months. But new research released today in the journal Science says that we may be looking at a future filled with a few more sparks rather than just warmer summers and rising seas.

CERN May Not Have Found Higgs Boson, But They Found A New Director-General

While earlier this week news surrounded a presumptuous theory that researchers at CERN’s Large Hadron Collider in fact had not discovered the elusive Higgs Boson particle as they claimed in 2012, news from the people behind the discovery announced that the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) anticipates an even brighter future with a new Director-General at its helm. Selected at the 173rd closed session held earlier this month, Italian physicist Dr. Fabiola Gianotti will begin her five-year mandate starting on January 1st, 2016.

Just Because Bats Are Blind Doesn’t Mean They Can’t Compete

As species that primarily navigate with their ears and not their eyes, bats are fairly amazing creatures. Their abilities to track predators, prey and hear sounds far beyond what humans can hear, makes these echolocators quite impressive specimens. But new research reveals that their sonar signals may have an additional function as well -- to jam up competitors, and steal their prey.

1Kite Study Reveals Origins of Insects and Perhaps Our Origins Too

While bacteria win the award for largest species abundance, and Archaea take the award for oldest organisms known to man, the most abundant animal on the face of the Earth is still the formidable and diverse phyla arthropoda—which include all species of insects. They come in an array of shapes and sizes, and compose nearly 80 percent of all animal species identified by man to date, and there are still undoubtedly thousands of species we’ve yet to find. But researchers believe that the diverse little creepy crawly bunch may hold more secrets than they let on, perhaps even secrets about our very own evolutionary origins.

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