Cuneiform inscription from last king of Babylon discovered in Saudi Arabia
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 343 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
A 2,550-year-old inscription, written in the name of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, has been discovered carved on basalt stone in northern Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage recently announced.
An engraving at the top of the inscription shows King Nabonidus holding a scepter alongside four other images that include a snake, a flower and a depiction of the moon, the commission said in a statement, noting that these symbols likely have a religious meaning.
[Read More]Does the explosion of the delta variant mean we need a new COVID-19 vaccine?
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 11 minutes
| 2263 words
| Trudie Dory
(opens in new tab)The rapid spread of the delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 has put more patients in hospital beds and led to reinstatements of mask mandates in some cities and states. The variant, which is more transmissible than previous variants, also seems more able to cause breakthrough infections in vaccinated people.
Fortunately, vaccines are forming a bulwark against severe disease, hospitalization and death. But with the specter of delta and the potential for new variants to emerge, is it time for booster shots — or even a new COVID vaccine?
[Read More]Fossils of Earliest Old World Monkeys Unearthed
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 472 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Ancient teeth of old-world monkeys, which are most closely related to humans, have now been unearthed, fossils 3 million years older than previous remains found to date, researchers say.
The old-world monkeys are native to Africa and Asia today, and include many familiar primates, such as baboons and macaques. Unlike the new-world monkeys of the Americas, tails of old-world monkeys are never prehensile, or able to grasp things.
The modern old-world monkeys emerged during the Miocene epoch, which lasted about 5 million to 23 million years ago and saw the first appearance of wide expanses of grasslands.
[Read More]Giant 'Fatberg' of Grease and Baby Wipes Jams British Sewer
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 2 minutes
| 238 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
A 210-foot-long (64 meters) monster made from grease and used baby-wipes has clogged up a sewer in Sidmouth in southwestern England. British officials said in a statement they expect that removing the gooey blob, which will happen in "exceptionally challenging work conditions," could take up to eight weeks.
"Fatbergs" like this one have become unpleasantly familiar in the United Kingdom. As Live Science reported back in 2017, workers used high-pressure water jets to slowly break down an 820-foot-long (250 m), 143-ton (130,000 kilograms) "
[Read More]Going viral: 6 new findings about viruses
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 7 minutes
| 1402 words
| Fernande Dalal
Viruses were discovered in 1892, and yet even in 2022, researchers are still uncovering new secrets about these tiny invaders. Viruses are not quite living things and have no way to reproduce on their own. Instead, they're made of genetic material, usually DNA or its chemical cousin RNA, that's wrapped in a protein coating. Because of their ability to integrate their genetic code into the code of their host, viral genes are found hidden in the genetic codes of many living things all over the world, from bacteria to humans, in habits from deep in the ocean to inside Arctic ice, and even sometimes falling from the sky.
[Read More]How a Mysterious 'Moho' Forms Beneath Earth's Crust
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 830 words
| Fernande Dalal
A dense crystalline "rain" falling into Earth's mantle could explain how a mysterious seismic boundary forms beneath the crust, according to a study published today (Dec. 4) in the journal Nature.
The model, based on rock evidence from volcanic islands that smashed into Asia and Alaska, confirms long-standing ideas about how continents are born.
"There are a lot of things I think this study will resolve and a lot of questions that will remain,"
[Read More]Is Too Much Protein Bad for Men's Heart Health?
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 4 minutes
| 837 words
| Patria Henriques
High-protein diets like the keto diet and the Atkins diet are popular these days, but such diets may increase the risk of heart failure in middle-age men, a new study from Finland suggests.
The study researchers analyzed information from more than 2,400 men ages 42 to 60, who kept track of the food they ate for four days. (The men in the study were not told to follow any particular diet.) Then, the men were divided into four groups based on how much protein they ate, with the lowest group consuming about 78 grams a day, on average, and the highest group consuming 109 grams a day.
[Read More]Male Mice Go From Violent Virgins to Doting Dads
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 3 minutes
| 472 words
| Trudie Dory
Male mice are not natural-born fathers. Males that have never mated respond with aggression to chemical signals from newborn mice pups, whereas those that have fathered pups are more nurturing, a new study finds.
In addition to their normal sense of smell, mice and some other animals have a sensory system in their brain, known as a vomeronasal organ, that responds to chemical signals, or pheromones. The study, detailed in the March 20 issue of the Journal of Neuroscience, showed that after male mice spent some time around baby mice, neurons in this sensory organ were more active in virgin males than in mouse fathers.
[Read More]Russia's Ukraine invasion could imperil international science
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 7 minutes
| 1398 words
| Fernande Dalal
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, which has forced at least 1 million people(opens in new tab) to flee their homes, and has already seen thousands of Ukrainian civilians killed(opens in new tab), could also have wide-reaching and prolonged ramifications for scores of industries and organizations, including many designed to be apolitical.
Global efforts that could suffer include international science collaborations, which focus predominantly on the pursuit of technological and scientific progress.
[Read More]Stomach Sucker: How Does New Weight-Loss Device Work?
Posted on December 22, 2022
| 8 minutes
| 1541 words
| Fernande Dalal
The Food and Drug Administration recently approved a weight-loss device that may sound like something out of a science-fiction movie: a small tube inserted into the stomach allows patients to drain a portion of their gut's contents before the body absorbs those calories.
The device, called AspireAssist, was approved by the FDA after a year-long clinical trial on 171 people, 111 of whom underwent a procedure to place the device.
[Read More]