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This artist’s view shows how the light coming from the surface of a strongly magnetic neutron star (left) becomes linearly polarized as it travels through the vacuum of space close to the star on its way to the observer on Earth (right). The polarization of the observed light in the extremely strong magnetic field suggests that the empty space around the neutron star is subject to a quantum effect known as vacuum birefringence. The magnetic and electric field directions of the light rays are shown by the red and blue lines. Image credit: L. Calçada / ESO.

Astronomers Report First Observational Evidence for Vacuum Birefringence

Nov 30, 2016 by News Staff

By studying the light emitted from the very dense and strongly magnetic neutron star RX J1856.5-3754, a team of astronomers has found the strongest observational...

Super-resolution microscopy of GapmeR co-localization with SNX5 protein -- a member of the sorting nexin family of proteins -- in human T-cells. Image credit: Fazil, M. H. U. T. et al, doi: 10.1038/srep37721.

Researchers Develop New Method for Silencing Specific Genes in Human T-Cells

Nov 30, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of researchers led by Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, has developed a novel technique for gene silencing in human T-lymphocytes...

Illustration of the degradable system carrying treatment for hemophilia B. Image credit: University of Texas at Austin.

Scientists Develop Oral Delivery System to Treat Hemophilia

Nov 29, 2016 by News Staff

Treatment for hemophilia can now be administered via a biodegradable, pH-responsive hydrogel microcarrier system, a capsule, thanks to a breakthrough by...

Planets form around a young star in this artist’s concept. Image credit: David A. Hardy, www.astroart.org / NASA.

Solar System’s Birth was Triggered by Nearby Low-Mass Supernova, Researchers Say

Nov 29, 2016 by News Staff

A low-mass core-collapse supernova catalyzed the birth of our Solar System, according to a team of scientists led by University of Minnesota researcher. Planets...

A ripe areca nut. Image credit: Banni Pulikottil / CC BY 2.5.

Arecoline: Compound Found in Areca Nuts Has Anti-Cancer Potential

Nov 29, 2016 by News Staff

A new study published in the journal Molecular Cell reports that arecoline, an active compound found in areca nuts, has anti-cancer properties. A ripe...

The Banda Detachment fault beneath the Weber Deep basin. A - cross section through eastern Banda arc, cut parallel to grooves on fault surfaces and proposed direction of rollback; geometry of proto-Banda Sea slab is inferred from earthquake hypocenter locations catalogued by International Seismological Centre Online Bulletin; KSZ - Kawa shear zone. B - enlargement of Banda detachment showing schematically the configuration of over-riding continental allochthons (dark red); red triangles represent volcanoes. Image credit: Jonathan M. Pownall et al, doi: 10.1130/G38051.1.

Geologists Find Largest Exposed Fault on Earth

Nov 29, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of geologists from the Australian National University and Royal Holloway University of London has for the first time documented the...

Crystals of cesium platinide hydride 4Cs2Pt*CsH. Image credit: Ames Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy.

Researchers Synthesize First Intermetallic Double Salt with Platinum

Nov 28, 2016 by News Staff

A team of researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Ames Laboratory has synthesized and accurately characterized cesium platinide hydride (4Cs2Pt*CsH),...

This artist’s impression shows a super-Earth orbiting a red dwarf star. Image credit: NASA.

K2-3d: Ground-Based Telescope Observes Super-Earth Transiting Bright Star

Nov 28, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of astronomers in Japan has conducted the first ground-based transit observation of K2-3d, a super-Earth within the habitable zone around a bright...

Cannabis use in humans is associated with reduced dopamine in the striatum. PET studies have shown lower striatal dopamine synthesis and release capacity in cannabis users. Lower dopamine synthesis capacity in the dorsal striatum is directly associated with reduced motivation levels, whereas reduced dopamine release in the ventral striatum is directly associated with negative emotion levels and severity of addiction. Image credit: Michael A. P. Bloomfield et al, doi: 10.1038/nature20153.

Long-Term Marijuana Use Blunts Brain’s Reward System, Say Researchers

Nov 28, 2016 by News Staff

Regular use of cannabis over many years lowers levels of dopamine, a key chemical in the brain’s reward center, says an international team of researchers...

This image, taken with the Advanced Camera for Surveys on board the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, shows the dwarf irregular galaxy IC 3583. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble.

Hubble Space Telescope Views Dwarf Galaxy IC 3583

Nov 28, 2016 by News Staff

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows the galaxy IC 3583, which lies in the constellation of Virgo, approximately 27.8 million light-years away. This...

A flood-prone rice field being plowed by a farmer using water buffaloes. Image credit: International Rice Research Institute / CC BY 2.0.

Indus Civilization Farmers Cultivated Rice Over 4,000 Years Ago, Archaeological Evidence Suggests

Nov 27, 2016 by News Staff

New research on three archaeological sites of the famed Indus Valley civilization (3000-1500 BC) in north-west India has revealed that domesticated rice...

Artist’s concept of NASA’s Cassini spacecraft at Saturn. Image credit: NASA.

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Prepares for Ring-Grazing Phase

Nov 25, 2016 by News Staff

In the final year of its epic voyage, on Nov. 30, NASA’s Cassini orbiter will begin a daring set of ‘ring-grazing orbits,’ skimming past the outside...

Eoconfuciusornis zhengi. Image credit: Nobu Tamura / CC BY 3.0.

Ancient Melanosomes, Beta-Keratin Found in Fossilized Feathers of Early Cretaceous Bird

Nov 25, 2016 by News Staff

An international team of paleontologists has found evidence of beta-keratin and melanosome preservation in a 130-million-year-old specimen of the Early...

Neuroscientists Say Simple Mathematical Logic Underlies Complex Brain Computations

Nov 25, 2016 by News Staff

According to Dr. Joe Tsien, a neuroscientist at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University, the brain’s basic computational algorithm is organized...

A wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). Image credit: Vince Pahkala / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Turkeys Were Part of Native American Life Centuries before First Thanksgiving

Nov 24, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study by Florida State University researchers, Native Americans were keeping eastern wild turkeys (Meleagris gallopavo silvestris) as...

Artist's impression of the Schiaparelli lander after the parachute has been deployed. Image credit: ESA / ATG Medialab.

Schiaparelli Crash Caused by Sensor Malfunction, ESA Experts Say

Nov 24, 2016 by News Staff

The crash of the ExoMars Schiaparelli test lander, also known as Entry, descent, and landing Demonstrator Module (EDM), last month was caused by a sensor...

Hen Harrier is Actually Two Different Species

Nov 24, 2016 by News Staff

New research confirms that the hen harrier (Circus cyaneus), a medium-sized bird of prey found in parts of North America and Eurasia, is two different...

Only Half of Chromosome is DNA, New Study Reveals

Nov 24, 2016 by News Staff

DNA makes up only half of the material inside chromosomes, according to a new study published in the journal Molecular Cell. Up to 47% of their structure...

This image is an artist’s concept of a view looking down on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The spacecraft is pictured using its SHARAD instrument to ‘look’ under the surface of Mars. Image credit: NASA.

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Finds Subsurface Water Ice in Utopia Planitia

Nov 23, 2016 by News Staff

Frozen beneath Utopia Planitia, a large plain on Mars, lies about as much water as what’s in Lake Superior, according to an international team of planetary...