In Rats, Males Are the Communicative Sex
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 363 words
| Fernande Dalal
Studies show that girls tend to speak earlier and use more complex language than boys do. The discrepancy may arise from different levels of a protein in the brain, a new study in rats suggests.
Scientists have long debated the extent and origin of gender differences in language. A protein called Foxp2 has been shown to play a critical role in speech and language development in humans, as well as oral communication in birds and other mammals.
[Read More]Meet 'Cold Dragon of the North Winds,' the Giant Pterosaur That Once Soared Across Canadian Skies
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 508 words
| Trudie Dory
Millions of years ago, a flying reptile as big as an airplane took flight in what is now Canada.
Now, this enormous species of giant pterosaur — part of a group known as azhdarchids — finally has a name: Cryodrakon boreas, drawing from the ancient Greek words that translate to "cold dragon of the north winds."
Fossils of Cryodrakon boreas were found decades ago, and were thought to belong to another North American azhdarchid: Quetzalcoatlus, one of the biggest flying animals of all time.
[Read More]Millions of Gargantuan Plasma ‘Spicules’ Might Be Spreading Heat Around the Sun’s Atmosphere
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 834 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Don't visit the sun for the weather. Sure, you'll never have to bundle up (the sun's visible surface, or photosphere, measures a brisk 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, or 5,537 degrees Celsius, on average) — but you might be hard-pressed to find a windbreaker sleek enough to deflect the constant electric gusts of solar wind, or wellies thick enough to withstand the gargantuan plasma tsunamis that rampage across the star's surface for weeks at a time.
[Read More]Misdiagnosed and Untreated Heartworm in Cats Can Be Fatal
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 432 words
| Fernande Dalal
This Research in Action article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
Heartworm disease is a growing epidemic for pets in the United States, and while dogs are often associated with the disease, it can also be devastating to cats.
The disease is caused by Dirofilaria immitis, a type of nematode. An intermediate host is required for the maturation of the filarial nematodes, which are picked up and enter the bloodstream of a host as microfilariae, which are immature heartworms (before the first larval stage).
[Read More]Older People Hold Stronger Belief in God
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 622 words
| Patria Henriques
Across the world, people have varying levels of belief (and disbelief) in God, with some nations being more devout than others. But new research reveals one constant across parts of the globe: As people age, their belief in God seems to increase.
The new study is based on data collected as part of the General Social Survey by researchers at the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago.
[Read More]Pristine DNA recovered from 1,600-year-old sheep mummy
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 5 minutes
| 890 words
| Patria Henriques
A lone sheep leg, likely discarded by hungry mine workers, lay hidden in a salt mine in Iran for over a thousand years, during which time the salinity of the surrounding environment naturally mummified the limb. Now, scientists have extracted pristine DNA from the mummified leg and dated the sample to the fifth or sixth century.
The DNA molecules were "so well preserved and not fragmented, despite their age," senior study author Kevin Daly, a research fellow at the Smurfit Institute of Genetics at Trinity College Dublin, told Live Science.
[Read More]Renaissance Master Caravaggio Didn't Die of Syphilis, but of Sepsis
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 533 words
| Patria Henriques
Famed Renaissance painter Caravaggio didn't die of syphilis, as some historians long thought.
Instead, it appears that the talented Italian artist — who had a reputation for gambling, drinking, sleeping with prostitutes and even murder — died of a sword wound that developed a nasty infection, leading to deadly condition called sepsis, a new study finds. Sepsis is the body's overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection.
A team of French and Italian scientists made the discovery by digging up and analyzing what they believe are the skeletal remains of the revolutionary painter, who died at age 39 in 1610.
[Read More]Scientists Piped Music Into Women's Wombs to See If Fetuses Like Freddie Mercury
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 655 words
| Patria Henriques
When Freddie Mercury sang, "Mama, life had just begun," in the second verse of "Bohemian Rhapsody," he probably didn't have an audience of fetuses in mind. Let's consider it a happy coincidence, then, that unborn babies really do seem to love Queen.
According to a new, as-yet-unpublished study by the Institut Marquès assisted-fertility clinic in Spain, fetuses exposed to "Bohemian Rhapsody" — as well as classic jams by Bach and Mozart — showed clear signs of mental stimulation in the womb.
[Read More]There's No Evidence Marijuana Will Treat Your Anxiety or Depression
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 5 minutes
| 1040 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
People may smoke weed to "mellow out," but experts say medicinal cannabis and its chemical relatives don’t effectively relieve mental health disorders like depression or anxiety. The evidence just isn't there.
That's according to the most comprehensive analysis of medical cannabinoids and mental health to date.
Cannabinoids, which include any chemical derived from the Cannabis plant that exerts drug-like effects in the body, "are often advocated as a treatment for various mental health conditions,"
[Read More]Traumatic Brain Injury: Causes, Symptoms & Treatment
Posted on December 29, 2022
| 6 minutes
| 1099 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is damage to the brain caused by an outside force. It is a very common brain condition. In 2010, there were about 2.5 million TBI-related deaths, hospitalizations and emergency room visits, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and more than 50,000 people died due to TBI.
Among TBI-related deaths from 2006 to 2010, men were about three times as likely to die as women, according to the CDC, and rates were highest for people 65 years and older.
[Read More]