Worms May Hold Clues to Neurological Disorders

This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation. Basiru Leigh peers into a microscope in the lab of Oliver Hobert of Columbia University in NY. Leigh is examining mutant ground worms from a species known as C. elegans. "There! You see?" he exclaimed. "They are moving abnormally — in a circle instead of a U-shape." This uncoordinated movement is a symptom of the worms' motor neuron disease; Leigh is trying to find the cause. [Read More]

'Extreme' Binge Drinking Is on the Rise in the US

Millions of Americans say they engage in extreme binge drinking — or downing at least eight to 10 drinks containing alcohol on a single occasion — and the behavior appears to be on the rise in the U.S., according to a new report. The findings are concerning because this high level of drinking is linked with health and safety risks, including an increased risk of injury or even death, according to the researchers, from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). [Read More]

30 Perfectly Preserved Coffins Holding Ancient Egyptian Priest Mummies Discovered

Archaeologists have unearthed 30 sealed wooden coffins with mummies inside at "El-Assasif," an ancient necropolis near Luxor, Egypt, Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities announced this morning (Oct. 19) at a press conference.  Called the "cachette of the priests" because some of the mummies appear to be those of ancient Egyptian priests, the coffins date back about 3,000 years.  Vividly colored paintings on the coffins are so well-preserved one can make out the complex patterns, Egyptian deities and hieroglyphic writing they depict. [Read More]

500,000 Kids Have High Lead Levels

More than half a million children in the United States have elevated levels of lead in their blood, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Surveys done between 2007 and 2010 show that about 535,000 children ages 1 to 5, or 2.6 percent of kids in this age group, had blood lead levels equal to or above the recommended 5 micrograms per deciliter, the report says. [Read More]

8 Ways That Air Pollution Can Harm Your Health

Breathe deepAn estimated 3.3 million deaths worldwide are caused by outdoor air pollution, according to a study published in September 2015 in the journal Nature(opens in new tab). Of those deaths, about 75 percent are from heart attacks or strokes, while about 25 percent are from lung-related ailments, Live Science previously reported. The majority of these deaths — about 75 percent — happen in Asia, where air pollution is particularly severe, especially in China and India. [Read More]

Americans Lose Touch, Report Fewer Close Friends

People in America have fewer close friends nowadays than two decades ago, researchers announced today. New research compared studies from 1985 and 2004. On average, each person in 2004 reported 2.08 close friends—those they can discuss important matters with. That's down from 2.94 people in 1985. People who said they had no one with whom to discuss such matters more than doubled, to nearly 25 percent. “The evidence shows that Americans have fewer confidants and those ties are also more family-based than they used to be,” said Lynn Smith-Lovin, professor of sociology at Duke University. [Read More]

Ancient Hyenas Ate Human Relatives Half a Million Years Ago

Tooth marks on the leg bone of a hominin, an ancient human relative, suggest that the poor soul had a gristly end, a new study finds. The tooth marks and fractures on the roughly 500,000-year-old femur indicate that a large carnivore, likely an extinct hyena, chewed on the bone, the researchers said. However, it's a mystery as to whether the tooth marks were a result of hunting or scavenging, the researchers said. [Read More]

Chillaxing? 'Snorkeling' Walrus Charms Twitter

A "snorkeling" walrus has achieved its 15 minutes of fame after a photo of the flippered behemoth was tweeted along with this oddly charming wildlife fact: "Good morning, walruses sometimes hook their teeth on the ice and relax." But is this delightful post — which has skyrocketed to more than 37,000 likes since it was tweeted Wednesday (March 14) — accurate? It could be: Walrus are known to prop their teeth on ice when they're resting in the water, wildlife experts told Live Science. [Read More]

Elon Musk Doesn't Know Where the Aliens Are (So, Stop Asking)

There's still no sign of aliens at Area 51, according to Elon Musk (or so he claims).  Last weekend in Boca Chica, Texas, in front of a gleeful crowd of SpaceX employees, guests and members of the media, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk revealed new details (opens in new tab)about Starship Mk, the company's enormous reusable launch system(opens in new tab). But the conversation drifted to extraterrestrial life. "As far as we know, we're the only consciousness, or the only life that's out there," [Read More]

First ancient mammoth image discovered in Americas

Hundreds of images of the now extinct mammoths and mastodons — elephant-like animals hunted by prehistoric people — have been found in Europe, but none had surfaced in the Americas, until now. A fragment of bone, discovered in Vero Beach, Fla., by a fossil hunter, bears a 3-inch-long, 1.75-inch tall (7.62 centimeters by 4.45 centimeters) engraving of a trunked creature, whose shortened, high-domed skull and longer forelimbs evoke the body of a mammoth, according to researchers, led by Barbara Purdy of the University of Florida. [Read More]