Omega-3s May Prevent Full-Blown Schizophrenia

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  678 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Omega-3 fatty acids may prevent the development of full-blown schizophrenia in people who are at high risk of the disease, new research suggests. What's more, omega-3s seemed to prevent the study participants from developing psychosis for several years after people stopped taking them, according to the study. The findings suggest a possible treatment for people at risk of developing this notoriously difficult-to-treat condition, the researchers said. Currently, people with schizophrenia are treated with antipsychotic medications, but the drugs don't work for everyone, have side effects, and typically have to be taken for life, meaning they aren't suitable for people who have some symptoms, but no diagnosis of schizophrenia. [Read More]

Photos: Ancient Ants & Termites Locked in Amber

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  684 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Ancient ants and soldier termites frozen in battle in tree resin called amber have been discovered in Myanmar. Here's a look at the warring insects from the Cretaceous period. [Read full story on the ant and termite warfare trapped in amber] Ant Battle Two 99-million-year-old ant species frozen in eternal battle. These ants are two different species (Gerontoformica tendir and Gerontoformica spiralis), and their fossilized stalemate provides new evidence that early ant lineages had complex social behavior, including ant warfare. [Read More]

Rare Lake of Bubbling Lava Discovered on Remote Antarctic Island

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  696 words  |  Patria Henriques

A huge lake of sizzling hot lava has been discovered in a volcano on a remote sub-Antarctic island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It's only the eighth lake of molten rock ever discovered on Earth. Scientists from University College London (UCL) and the British Antarctic Survey (BAS) discovered this rare lava lake on Saunders Island in the South Sandwich Islands, about 1,000 miles (1,610 kilometers) north of the eastern edge of Antarctica's Weddell Sea. [Read More]

Real-Life 'Vampire' Addicted to Blood, Doctors Claim

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  557 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

In a chilling case report, doctors in Turkey have described what they claim to be a real-life vampire with multiple personalities and an addiction to drinking blood. The 23-year-old married man apparently started out slicing his own arms, chest and belly with razor blades, letting the blood drip into a cup so he could drink it. But when he experienced compulsions to drink blood "as urgent as breathing," he started turning to other sources, the doctors said. [Read More]

Royal Baby: Second Siblings Who Changed the World

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  972 words  |  Trudie Dory

This story was updated on Monday May 4 at 10:15 a.m. E.T. Princess Kate Middleton and Prince William just welcomed their second child, a baby girl, into the world — and into the growing queue to the British throne. Based on custom, the baby girl will be fourth in line to the throne, after Prince Charles, Prince William and Prince George. That makes it somewhat unlikely that she will ever become queen. [Read More]

Scientists Uncover More Secrets of Why Hair Turns Gray

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  360 words  |  Fernande Dalal

The science of hair color, or lack thereof, isn't very well understood. Many questions remain as to why old age and extreme stress can cause hair to turn gray. Now, new research has advanced our scientific understanding of the graying process — and may be a step toward its prevention. As detailed in the latest issue of the journal Cell, researchers have identified the chemical pathway by which hair-generating cells " [Read More]

Thoroughbred Racehorses Get Speed from Just a Few Ancestors

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  884 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Thoroughbred horses owe their amazing sprinting capabilities to just a couple of ancestors, according to a new study that traces the genetics of these racehorses. The research finds that a genetic variant associated with speed likely originated with a single mare in the mid-17th century. The gene variant became widespread in modern thoroughbreds, thanks to a single stallion named Nearctic, the father of the most-bred stallion of modern times. "Changes in racing since the foundation of the Thoroughbred have shaped the distribution of 'speed gene' types over time and in different racing regions," [Read More]

Ultra-Fast 'Hyperloop' Train Gets Test Track in California

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  905 words  |  Patria Henriques

The "Hyperloop," a hypothetical high-speed transportation system that could shuttle people between Los Angeles and San Francisco in only 30 minutes, just sped a bit closer to reality. First proposed in 2013 by billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla Motors and SpaceX, the Hyperloop would transport passengers in floating pods inside low-pressure tubes at speeds of more than 750 mph (1,200 km/h). Now, the company Hyperloop Transportation Technologies Inc. (which is not affiliated with Musk or Tesla) has inked a deal with landowners in central California to build the world's first Hyperloop test track, according to market research firm Navigant Research. [Read More]

Unattractive Men Look Better to Women on the Pill

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  813 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Picking a partner while on the Pill might have lasting ramifications on marital satisfaction, new research finds. The new findings show that women who start or stop hormonal contraception during a relationship tend to experience a drop in sexual satisfaction, according to the new study, published today (Nov. 17) in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. But even odder, women in the study who got together with their future husbands while taking hormonal birth control and who later stop using the medication also become less satisfied with their marriages — but only if their husbands were less attractive than average. [Read More]

What's It Like to Live in Space?

 Posted on February 3, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  724 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Some tasks like cooking, cleaning and working are hard enough to do on Earth. Now, just imagine trying to do all these things with no gravity to hold you (or anything else) down. This is the challenge that astronauts living aboard the International Space Station face every day. How do you go about life without the normal tug of gravity ? Three NASA astronauts who have spent time aboard the International Space Station (ISS) described what it is like to live, work and perform the most routine functions in space at the 2010 World Science Festival held this month in New York City. [Read More]