Curiosity Mars Rover Seeks Answers in the Rocks of Pahrump Hills

Medicine & Technology Feb 28, 2015

Finding some interesting chemistry in the rocks of Mars, NASA’s Curiosity Mars rover decided to investigate on Telegraph Peak earlier this week, boring into the Martian surface in search of answers. Though the rock powder poses new questions to the chemical composition of the planet, the car-sized Curiosity rover is far from reaching its final destination.

DNA Evidence of Wheat Upsets Archeological History of the Crop in Early England

Feb 27, 2015

When British researchers went diving in Bouldnor Cliff, a submarine archaeological site near the Isle of Wight in the UK, it would fit to assume that they hadn’t quite banked on finding evidence of wheat beneath the waters. But when the researcher analyzed a core sample obtained from sealed sediments, microfossils with sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) of wheat species revealed that there might be far more to the story of the cash crop and trade in ancient Britain—perhaps even 2,000 years more than what the current history predicts.

Should NASA and The International Space Station Be Worried About the Vapors?

Feb 27, 2015

Should the vapors be cause for concern? Well it certainly has been a question that has crossed NASA and the astronauts’ aboard the International Space Station minds. Since the snafu on Wednesday, Feb. 25, when a routine spacewalk led to water leaking into space station flight engineer Terry Virts’ helmet, the team has been buzzing with news of whether or not they will be cleared to walk again this weekend.

As Dawn Spacecraft Approaches, A Second Bright Light Emerges from Ceres

Feb 27, 2015

To better answer Piazzi’s original questions, and some new ones that have arisen in the more than two centuries since it was first discovered, researchers with NASA developed the Dawn Spacecraft mission which was originally launched in 2007. After a successful 14-month-orbit around Vesta in the asteroid belt, Dawn is now moving onto the next dwarf planet and will arrive to Ceres within the next week. And the first question that the Dawn mission would like to answer is a glaring one, visible on the surface.

Apple Loses Patent Case Against Smartflash And Is Asked to Pay $532.9 Million in Fines

Feb 25, 2015

Though many believed that technology powerhouse Apple would prevail against what the company is calling a “patent troll”, this week Apple was ordered to pay $532.9 million in fines as a result of patent infringements. And while the petitioner, Smartflash won’t receive its full $852 million in damages, the ruling is setting a pretty hefty precedent for future lawsuits against the technological innovator.

VIDEO—The LEAP Trial and How Researchers Revealed No Threat in Allergens

Feb 25, 2015

Ever wonder what’s best: to feed your baby peanut butter or not, for fear of a deadly allergic reaction? Well while past guidelines suggested that parents steer clear of most allergens until an older age, a new study published this week in The New England Journal of Medicine suggests that avoidance may no longer be the best method. In fact, the study researchers suggest that early exposure may even prevent your children from developing the allergy altogether.

When It Comes to Allergens—Is It Best to Stay Away?

Feb 25, 2015

When it comes to severe food-based allergies, be it citrus fruit or even nuts, doctors have long advised to steer clear for fear that consumption may cause the onset of allergies in children early on. But with a continued spike in the prevalence, and severity, of these allergies in recent years, researchers are now looking to change previously recommended guidelines.

Self-Mummified Monk Found in 1000-Year-Old Buddha Statue

Feb 23, 2015

Though the studies of space and the seas reveal many unknowns, the most interesting field of science may perhaps be the study of us—humans. Anthropologists and archaeologists excavate remains and remnants deep within the soils of our past, only to reveal what makes humans unique unto themselves. And in this quest for knowledge, researchers have often come to find that while tales of kings and ancient pharaohs may satiate the public, it’s the stories of religion and artifacts that really create the big picture.

Humpback Whale Freed From Entanglement Along Hawaiian Coast

Feb 23, 2015

If you were in the area of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii last week and thought that you were fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of humpback whale, you were probably right. But the sighting wasn’t such as a rare sight, with the more than 25 ton mammal acting as a sitting duck along the Big Island’s Kona Coast.

Researchers Reveal That Killer ‘Bourbon Virus’ is Of the Rare Thogotovirus Genus

Feb 22, 2015

Forget Ebola, Americans may have an even more viral threat, mutating close to home. Months ago we reported on the death of a Kansas man who had been bitten by ticks and died from complications with what appeared to be a virus—what researchers called the “Bourbon Virus”. Now, health officials say that the virus is not anything like which they have ever seen, and as a member of an entirely novel genus of viruses, it may pose significant health risks throughout the United States.

Spending The Weekend Strolling Around Space—Spacewalking Aboard the ISS

Feb 22, 2015

How’d you spend your weekend? Bet you didn’t have as great of a time as NASA astronaut Terry Virts, who clocked a couple of hours this Saturday, Feb. 21, in the void of space. While Virts and his colleague Barry Wilmore have been aboard the International Space Station for a couple of months now, the duo spent their weekend commemorating their first spacewalk with a collage of space selfies, posted on their Twitters.

How Arachnids May Reveal Looming New Threats to American Public Health—Bourbon Virus

Feb 21, 2015

While these little arachnids are not much to look at, ticks are the carriers of a myriad of diseases, which makes them of great importance to researchers. History has shown that they can cause sepsis, this past summer researchers discovered that the Lone Star tick can create a severe allergy to red meats, and now health officials from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say that a new tick-borne virus can even cause multiple organ failure.

Could Dark Matter and Black Holes Cause the Swirl In Your Galaxy?

Feb 21, 2015

Ever seen a snapshot of the universe and wondered just how and what makes the beautiful swirling shapes that modern telescopes now let us see? Imagery of the Horsehead Nebula, the Pillars of Creation, and even the Rose Galaxies have captivated researchers and the public for decades, but finding exactly what causes space dust, planets and stars to conform in such elegant forms has often eluded astronomers studying the infinite wonders of space. But a new study conducted by researchers with the Harvard University Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) reveals that the connection between collections of stars and the elliptical shapes of galaxies may have something to do with dark matter and the presence of black holes at the center of every galactic mass.

Health Experts Reveal Importance of a Low-Fat Diet, and Urge Americans to Splurge on Veggies Instead

Feb 20, 2015

As Catholics around the world steer clear from the butcher aisles today, and every other Friday for the remainder of Lent, they’ll be pleased to know that a panel of experts are in support of their new dietary habits. In fact, they’re proposing that all Americans opt for more fruits and vegetables, rather than slowly killing themselves with poor food choices rich in cholesterol and fat.

Reef Oasis Found in Depths of Murky Iraqi Waters

Feb 20, 2015

While growing climate changes and ocean acidification pose particular threats to coral reef species around the world, it appears that researchers may have good news on the horizon. While many reefs have been well-documented and researched, a new study recently published in the journal Scientific Reports reveals that new reefs may be right under our noses, and they be far out of the tropics.