Genes Predict Body Shape and Fatness
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 485 words
| Trudie Dory
Scientists have long known that genes are the software of life, determining what a creature will look like and where the parts go.
"Genes tell the body where the head goes and where the tail goes, what goes on the front and what goes on the back," explains C. Ronald Kahn of the Harvard Medical School and president of the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston.
No news there. But without looking at you, Kahn can examine a sample of your genes and tell you if you're shaped like an hourglass or a pear and whether you have huge hips or a beer belly.
[Read More]Giant Bloodsuckers! Oldest Fleas Discovered
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 351 words
| Fernande Dalal
The oldest fleas were five to 10 times larger than today's bloodsuckers, new research finds. But at least they couldn't jump.
These ancient bloodsuckers are the oldest fleas ever found, and the oldest example of bloodsucking parasites in the fossil record, study researcher André Nel of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle in Paris told LiveScience.
These early fleas lacked the strong hindlegs of modern fleas, Nel said.
"Their biology and behavior was certainly different, more like that of a louse creeping among the fur and feathers of the hosts,"
[Read More]Human Brains Have Internal GPS
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 436 words
| Fernande Dalal
A type of brain cell known to help animals keep track of their location has been found for the first time in humans, according to a new study.
Researchers discovered the neurons, called grid cells, because they were activated in the brains of study participants exploring a virtual environment. The cells function like an internal GPS system, and may also play a role in memory, the researchers said.
"Grid cells tell a person where they are in their environment,"
[Read More]Image gallery: Egypt's Valley of the Kings
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 513 words
| Patria Henriques
Valley of the KingsA view of the Valley of the Kings, the burial place of rulers from Egypt's New Kingdom period (ca. 1550-1070 B.C.), including Merenptah.
Foundation DepositsFour foundation deposits in a box like shape have been discovered inthe Valley of the Kings in Egypt. They may indicate the presence of anearby undiscovered tomb. The contents are pictured here. Top leftshows one of the deposits at discovery, top center shows a cow’s headand top right shows a deposit that yielded a blue painted vase.
[Read More]Is a Major Earthquake Looming for Panama and its Canal?
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 450 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Panama's capital city and its iconic canal could be at risk for a major earthquake, according to new research.
Geologists have discovered that two fault lines, one of which cuts directly beneath the Panama Canal, are capable of powerful ruptures.
The canal is undergoing a major expansion project, scheduled for completion in 2014, in time for the waterway's 100th anniversary. According to some estimates, more than 73 percent of the cargo ships in use today are too large to squeeze through the narrow canal.
[Read More]It May Smell Nice, But Is Your Sunscreen Actually Protecting You?
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 637 words
| Fernande Dalal
The most popular sunscreens may not always be the most effective, a new study finds.
Nearly half of the sunscreens that researchers looked at in the study didn't meet all of the guidelines recommended by the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD).
A sunscreen needs to meet three criteria in order to fit into the AAD's guidelines: It must be broad spectrum, meaning it protects against both UVA and UVB rays; it must have a sun protection factor (SPF) of 30 or higher; and it must be water- and sweat-resistant.
[Read More]Shackleton's Lost Ship May Lie at the Bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 4 minutes
| 648 words
| Patria Henriques
Expedition scientists on board a vessel in Antarctica have embarked on the last stage of their voyage — the search for the wreck of the steam-yacht Endurance, which was abandoned by the British polar explorer Ernest Shackleton in 1915 when it was crushed by sea ice.
They are just a few days away from the spot where the shipwreck is thought to lie at the bottom of Antarctica's Weddell Sea.
[Read More]Times Square Gets Solar-Powered Billboard
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 242 words
| Patria Henriques
An electronic billboard entirely powered by the sun and wind is set to go up in Times Square in December, a company said today.
The "eco-friendly" billboard is the first of its kind in Times Square and the eastern United States, the second in the United States and the third in the world, said Ricoh Americas Corp. spokesman Russell Marchetta.
The billboard, for Ricoh Americas' parent company Ricoh Company Ltd. of Tokyo, will measure 47 feet (14 meters) high by 126 feet (38 meters) long.
[Read More]To Repel Water, Spray Coating Mimics Lotus Leaf
Posted on February 7, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 342 words
| Patria Henriques
This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
Imagine a coating that causes water to bead into almost perfect spheres, to enable any surface to mimic the incredible water repellant properties of the lotus leaf. California-based Seashell Technology, a National Science Foundation Small Business Innovation Research program grantee has developed a sprayable coating that does just that.
The extreme water repellency is due, in part, to roughness at the nanoscale and microscale levels — which is created as the coating cures — as with a lotus leaf, each water droplet sits on top of minuscule surface bumps.
[Read More]Body Movement Generates Electricity in Miniature Device
Posted on February 6, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 270 words
| Patria Henriques
A new class of devices aims to convert energy created from body movement, the stretching of muscles or the flow of water to power future nanoscale components.
These so-called "nanogenerators" would be less bulky than traditional energy sources such as batteries.
Zhong Lin Wang of the Georgia Institute of Technology and graduate student Jinhui Song have created a prototype nanogenerator that produces electrical current through the bending and relaxing of zinc oxide nanowires.
[Read More]