Page 552 | Sci.News: Breaking Science News

A time-lapse image of a previously deformed shape-memory network during recovery to its original shape upon contacting a finger in a room temperature environment. The image was obtained by periodic flash exposure over a time period of about 10 seconds. Image credit: J. Adam Fenster / University of Rochester.

Researchers Create Unique Shape-Memory Polymer

Feb 12, 2016 by News Staff

A group of scientists at the University of Rochester has created a polymer material that undergoes a shape change that can be triggered by body temperature. A...

Wasp Cerceris sp. Image credit: Charles James Sharp, www.sharpphotography.co.uk / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Scientists Recreate Wasp Eye View

Feb 12, 2016 by Natali Anderson

A team of biologists and robotic researchers from Australia and Germany has solved a mystery of how wasps make sure that they find their way home. The...

A model of a Neanderthal man. Image credit: H. Neumann / Neanderthal Museum.

Neanderthal-Derived DNA Has Significant Impact on Modern Human Traits

Feb 12, 2016 by News Staff

A large team of scientists led by Vanderbilt University geneticist John Capra has found surprising correlations between Neanderthal-derived DNA and disease...

The collision of two black holes is seen in this still from a computer simulation. Image credit: SXS.

Physicists Detect Gravitational Waves

Feb 11, 2016 by News Staff

For the first time, physicists have observed ‘ripples’ in the fabric of space-time called gravitational waves. The collision of two black holes is...

Domestic horses (Equus caballus). Image credit: Mikel Ortega / Richard Bartz / CC BY-SA 2.0.

Researchers: Horses Can Read Human Emotions

Feb 10, 2016 by News Staff

According to a group of researchers at the University of Sussex in Brighton, UK, domestic horses (Equus caballus) are able to distinguish between positive...

This image shows the Saturn’s icy moon Tethys. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

NASA’s Cassini Spacecraft Captures Breathtaking View of Saturn’s Moon Tethys

Feb 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

This image, captured by Cassini’s wide-angle camera, was photographed when the mission was 40,000 miles (65,000 km) from Tethys, and Saturn and its rings...

Canids Have 21 Distinct Howling Dialects, Say Scientists

Feb 10, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Various species and subspecies of canids (wolves, coyotes, etc.) have distinguishing repertoires of howling, according to a team of scientists who analyzed...

This image from ESO’s La Silla Observatory shows the reflection nebula IC 2631. Image credit: ESO.

Astronomers Snap Stunning Nebula Photo

Feb 10, 2016 by News Staff

An infant star lights up the nebula IC 2631 in this remarkable new image from the MPG/ESO 2.2-m telescope at ESO’s La Silla Observatory, Chile. This...

An artist’s impression of the galaxies found in the ‘Zone of Avoidance.’ Image credit: ICRAR.

Hidden Galaxies Shed New Light on ‘Great Attractor’ Gravitational Anomaly

Feb 9, 2016 by News Staff

Almost 900 hidden nearby galaxies have been studied by an international team of astronomers, shedding new light on the Great Attractor — a diffuse...

Cyanobacteria. Image credit: Josef Reischig / CC BY-SA 3.0.

Cyanobacteria ‘See’ Like Microscopic Eyeballs, New Study Finds

Feb 9, 2016 by Natali Anderson

According to a study published in the journal eLife, cyanobacteria cells act as spherical microlenses, allowing the cell to see a light source and move...

Archaeologists discovered the remains of a large-scale storage for fermented fish dating back to 7,200 BC: a view of the gutter after 50 percent of it had been removed; notice the stark contrast with the surrounding clay under the gutter as well as between the stakeholes and the surrounding clay. Image credit: SHMM / Adam Boethius / Lund University.

Archaeologists Unearth Earliest Evidence of Fish Fermentation

Feb 9, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

Archaeologists in Sweden say they have uncovered the remains of a 9,200-year-old storage for fermented fish. Archaeologists discovered the remains of a...

Artist’s reconstruction of Rhinconichthys sp. Image credit: Robert Nicholls.

Fossils Reveal Two New Species of Cretaceous Big-Mouthed Fish

Feb 9, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A group of paleontologists from the United States, the UK and China has discovered two new suspension-feeding species of the bony fish genus Rhinconichthys. Artist’s...

The fossilized skull of Australopithecus sediba specimen MH1 and a finite element model of its cranium depicting strains experienced during a simulated bite on its premolars: ‘warm’ colors indicate regions of high strain, ‘cool’ colors indicate regions of low strain. Image credit: Brett Eloff / Lee Berger / University of the Witwatersrand.

Study: Australopithecus sediba Didn’t Eat Hard Foods

Feb 8, 2016 by News Staff

According to a study published today in the journal Nature Communications, a recently discovered species of early human ancestor called Australopithecus...

This Hubble image shows the young planetary nebula Hen 2-437. Image credit: NASA / ESA / Hubble / Judy Schmidt, www.geckzilla.com.

Hubble Sees Young Bipolar Planetary Nebula

Feb 8, 2016 by News Staff

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has captured this vivid image of the startlingly symmetrical nebula Hen 2-437. This Hubble image shows the young planetary...

The study supports a single and rapid dispersal of all non-Africans populations around 50,000 years ago not only across Asia but also into Europe. Image credit: Annette Guenzel / Max Planck Institute for the Science of Human History.

Pre-Neolithic DNA Suggests Major Late Glacial Population Turnover in Europe

Feb 5, 2016 by News Staff

DNA evidence lifted from the bones and teeth of hunter-gatherers who lived in Europe from 35,000 years ago (Late Pleistocene) to 7,000 years ago (early...

An artist’s interpretation of Rusingoryx atopocranion on the Late Pleistocene plains of what is now Rusinga Island, Lake Victoria. Image credit: Todd S. Marshall, www.marshalls-art.com.

Pleistocene Mammal Rusingoryx atopocranion Had Dinosaur-Like ‘Nose’

Feb 5, 2016 by News Staff

Rusingoryx atopocranion — a little-known wildebeest-like bovid that lived in equatorial East Africa 100,000 – 50,000 years ago (late Pleistocene)...

Aphonopelma johnnycashi: female (left) and male. Image credit: Hamilton C.A. et al.

Aphonopelma johnnycashi: Newfound Tarantula Species Named after Johnny Cash

Feb 5, 2016 by Enrico de Lazaro

A team of researchers, directed by Dr. Chris Hamilton of the Auburn University Museum of Natural History, has discovered a previously unknown species of...

Saturn’s B ring is the brightest and most opaque of the gas giant’s main rings, appearing almost black in this Cassini image taken from the unlit side of the ringplane. Image credit: NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute.

Saturn’s B Ring Surprises Planetary Scientists

Feb 5, 2016 by News Staff

A team of planetary researchers from the United States has found surprisingly little correlation between how dense a Saturn’s ring might appear to be...

Ravens hid their food only well when dominant conspecifics were visible and audible at the same time. Image credit: Jana Müller / Universität Wien.

Study: Ravens Can Theorize about Minds of Others

Feb 4, 2016 by News Staff

According to a new study published in the journal Nature, ravens (Corvus corax) share human ability to think abstractly about other minds, adapting their...