Bizarre cloud of gas is one of the longest structures in the Milky Way

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  542 words  |  Fernande Dalal

(opens in new tab)Astronomers have discovered what may be the longest structure in the Milky Way: an unusual cloud of hydrogen. The gigantic structure, which is more than 3,900 light-years long and around 150 light-years wide, is located roughly 55,000 light-years away from the solar system, according to a statement by researchers. (Previously, the largest known clouds of gas in the Milky Way were thought to be about 800 light-years across. [Read More]

Boys Reaching Sexual Maturity Earlier Than Ever

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  522 words  |  Patria Henriques

Boys may be reaching sexual maturity earlier than ever, according to a new study that uses mortality data to estimate a young man's peak testosterone-driven phase of risky behavior. According to this estimate, boys have been maturing about 2.5 months earlier per decade since at least the 1700s. The result, study author Joshua Goldstein said in a statement, is that "being 18 today is like being 22 in 1800." Girls have long been known to grow up faster than they once did. [Read More]

Cartoon Seizures: Are They Real?

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  479 words  |  Patria Henriques

A marketing logo designed to promote London, England, as host for the 2012 Olympics was roundly criticized by Britons, whose politicians wasted no time in labeling the design “hideous.” While the logo simply offended some people, others claim it is actually dangerous. Earlier this month the logo was blamed for causing seizures in about two dozen people who watched a short animated promotion clip on the London2012 Web site. Studies have shown that, under certain circumstances, bright flashing lights can trigger seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy. [Read More]

Caterpillars Click and Puke to Stop Predators

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  680 words  |  Patria Henriques

Caterpillars can fend off hungry birds and other predators by clicking at them, scientists now report. These clicks warn that the caterpillars will be unsavory to eat—at least, after they regurgitate a foul brown fluid. To understand the clicking and barfing, neuroethologist Jayne Yack at Carleton University in Ottawa headed up a study of green-colored common silkmoth caterpillars (Antheraea polyphemus).  They mostly rely on camouflage for protection, using clicks and regurgitation as last resorts. [Read More]

DNA From Mystery Human Species Detected in Pacific Islanders

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  644 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Melanesians — people native to Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, New Caledonia, West Papua and the Maluku Islands — could carry DNA from a now-extinct human ancestor that is so far unknown in the fossil record, new genetic analysis suggests. Melanesians retain both Neanderthal and Denisovan ancestry in their genes. Neanderthals and Denisovans were both extinct populations of humans in our genus, Homo. The new research, presented recently at the American Society of Human Genetics Annual Meeting in Vancouver, B. [Read More]

Dogs' Closest Wolf Ancestors Went Extinct, Study Suggests

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  5 minutes  |  1002 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

A new genetic analysis of modern dogs and wolves suggests that man's best friend was domesticated before agriculture. But the origin of this domestication remains stubbornly mysterious. Researchers analyzed the genomes of wolves from three likely sites of domestication (the Middle East, Asia and eastern Europe), and found that modern dogs were not more closely related to any of the three. In fact, it seems that the closest wolf ancestors of today's dogs may have gone extinct, leaving no wild descendants. [Read More]

Dolphins 'Talk' Like Humans, New Study Suggests

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  489 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

Dolphins "talk" to each other, using the same process to make their high-pitched sounds as humans, according to a new analysis of results from a 1970s experiment. The findings mean dolphins don't actually whistle as has been long thought, but instead rely on vibrations of tissues in their nasal cavities that are analogous to our vocal cords. Scientists are only now figuring this out, "because it certainly sounds like a whistle," [Read More]

Fertile Ground: Soil Map Gives the Dirt on US

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  1 minutes  |  203 words  |  Patria Henriques

Quick: What's your official state soil? If you're like most Americans, you probably have no idea what you've been standing on all these years — or that you even had an official state soil. Well, wonder no more. Retired art director Les Gregor discovered a novel way to use his creative energies when he dropped a piece of tape on the ground. When he picked it up, according to Slate.com, it had a perfect, uniform coating of soil on its sticky side. [Read More]

Germs Really Are Everywhere (Infographic)

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  3 minutes  |  503 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Having an attendant pump your gas may be in order, with new research suggesting gas-pump handles, along with ATM buttons and mailbox handles, among the dirtiest surfaces Americans touch, at least in the six major cities where testing was completed. The testing was conducted by trained hygienists in high-traffic locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and Philadelphia. Swabs were tested for ATP, which is a primary source of energy in cells, and so can indicate the presence of animal, bacteria, yeast and mold cells. [Read More]

Prenatal Multivitamins Don't Help Much, Study Says

 Posted on September 16, 2022  |  4 minutes  |  749 words  |  Trudie Dory

For pregnant women, taking prenatal vitamins may be a waste of money, a new review of previous research suggests. Instead of taking multivitamin and mineral supplements, pregnant women should focus on improving the overall quality of their diets, and should take just two vitamins: folic acid and vitamin D, according to the review, conducted by researchers in the United Kingdom. "We found no evidence to recommend that all pregnant women should take prenatal multinutrient supplements beyond the nationally advised folic acid and vitamin D supplements, generic versions of which can be purchased relatively inexpensively," [Read More]