Gulf's Mysterious Black Corals Are 2,000 Years Old

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  349 words  |  Trudie Dory

For the first time, scientists have been able to validate the age of the mysterious deep sea black corals found in the Gulf of Mexico. A new study puts them at a venerable 2,000 years old. Knowing the age of the corals should allow scientists to chart changes in the Gulf's waters through the years. "The fact that the animals live continuously for thousands of years amazes me," said study team member Nancy Prouty of the U. [Read More]

Gut Bacteria Build Weapons from Viruses

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  572 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Bacteria in the gut can unexpectedly manufacture viruses to kill off rivals during intestinal shootouts of sorts, researchers have found. These findings could help lead to new ways to kill off dangerous germs, scientists added. The average human gut is home to trillions of bacteria that outnumber human cells in the body by a factor of 10 to 1. Often these bacteria are helpful, aiding in digestion and synthesis of key vitamins. [Read More]

Here's Why the Supernaturally Creepy Dragonfish Has Invisible Teeth

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  350 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

You might expect something called a deep-sea dragonfish to be a fearsome leviathan of the deep, dark ocean — and it is, if you happen to be one of the thumb-size ocean critters the dragonfish calls prey. Dragonfish (genus Aristostomias) are wee (only about 6 inches, or 15 centimeters long), eel-like predators with massive, fang-lined jaws that can yawn open at 120-degreeangles. These gaping chompers allow dragonfish to devour prey more than half of their size, but their hunting success also depends on another near-supernatural adaptation: invisibility. [Read More]

NASA's Supersonic X-Plane Will Tear Through the Sound Barrier with 'a Gentle Thump'

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  536 words  |  Patria Henriques

Listen closely: A quiet, supersonic jet capable of blasting through the sound barrier without emitting a sonic boom could pass over your home as soon as 2022. A decade later, you might even be able to ride in one. NASA and Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co. are working together to build an experimental plane (or "X-plane") called the Low-Boom Flight Demonstration (LBFD), which will reduce the sonic boom synonymous with high-speed flight to " [Read More]

Pluto's Mysterious Moons, Nix & Hydra, Turn 5

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  650 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

In June 2005, two small moons were discovered orbiting Pluto, much farther out than its larger moon, Charon. For a year, the discovery team, led by planetary astronomer Alan Stern of the Southwest Research Institute in Boulder, Colo., debated what to call the moons. On June 21, 2006, they settled on Nix and Hydra, the names of a goddess and creature in Greek mythology. Here's what you need to know about Pluto's little moons, including what we've learned about them in the five years since they were named. [Read More]

Psychologists Have a Plan to Fix the Broken Science of Psychology

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  11 minutes  |  2138 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

There was something wrong with psychology. A cascade of warning signs arrived all at once in 2011. Famous psychological experiments failed, over and over, when researchers re-did them in their own labs. Even worse, the standard methods researchers used in their labs turned out under close scrutiny to be wishy-washy enough to prove just about anything. Nonsense, ridiculous claims turned up in major journals. It was a moment of crisis. The first sign that it was time for a reckoning, researchers told Live Science, was a single paper published by Cornell psychologist Daryl Bem in 2011 in the prestigious Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. [Read More]

The Future of WiFi Turns to Microwave

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  566 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Move over, WiFi. Roll over, cellular data. Both are going to be obsolete — the future belongs to a new microwave communications technology called WiMAX. At least, that's the future according to Robert Morrow, a retired Air Force Academy electrical engineering professor writing in the May 23 issue of the journal Science. He sees a day when laptops will be sold with WiMAX interfaces as routinely as they are today sold with WiFi interfaces. [Read More]

The Science of Saying Goodbye to Santa

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  562 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Dear Parent, Santa here. I know this season has been hard. Your eight-year-old looked at you baldfaced and said I wasn't real. How can this be? Is the innocence and magic already gone? It seems like just yesterday they were so easily convinced that crumbs on the plate were irrefutable evidence that I'd been there. And they have no respect for how hard I work to make my handwriting look just like yours! [Read More]

Watch SpaceX test a giant 'Starship' over Texas today [UPDATED]

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  432 words  |  Patria Henriques

Update Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 4:27 p.m. EST: The launch is now on "hold," and now anticipated to take place at 5:40 p.m. EST. Update Wednesday, Dec. 9 at 4:02 p.m. EST: SpaceX is getting ready to launch again any minute. A livestream is below. Update Tuesday, Dec. 8 at 5:41 p.m. EST: An automatic engine abort with 1 second to go before launch prevented a test flight from taking place Tuesday. [Read More]

Why High-Fiber Diets May Help Weight Loss

 Posted on February 8, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  526 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Nutritionists have long known that eating more fiber is a good idea. It helps digestion, and evidence suggests it curbs appetite. Now, new research on animals suggests that one reason fiber makes you less hungry is because after you eat it, your body produces a chemical called acetate — also found in vinegar — which changes brain cells that control hunger. In experiments, mice and rats that were fed a high-fiber diet had more acetate in their guts, and those given acetate directly into the colon ate less than animals not given the compound, according to the study. [Read More]