Jaguar Photographed Visiting Island in Panama Canal
Posted on June 3, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 308 words
| Trudie Dory
A jaguar has been photographed on a research island in a man-made lake that links up the locks of the Panama Canal, surprising biologists there.
In fact, the image is the first picture taken of this large, carnivorous cat in the field station's 86-year history, the scientists said.
As part of an annual census for mammals on the island, Jackie Willis, a zoologist at Montclair State University, and her husband Greg set up cameras to take pictures of local animals.
[Read More]Mug Shots: 10 Lost Amphibians
Posted on June 3, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 464 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Lost AmphibiansScientists are on the look-out for "lost amphibians" animals considered possibly extinct but that may be holding on in a few remote places. There may be up to 100 of them hiding in the world's forests.
Here are just a few of the many fascinating amphibian species who have not been seen for over a decade. Some may be lost forever, while others may still exist, hidden under rocks in a remote stream, waiting to be rediscovered.
[Read More]Tiny 'hearts' self-assemble in lab dishes and even beat like the real thing
Posted on June 3, 2023
| 6 minutes
| 1128 words
| Patria Henriques
Under the watchful eyes of scientists, stem cells in lab dishes assembled themselves into tiny heart "organoids," roughly the size of sesame seeds, and began "beating" like real miniature hearts.
To guide the stem cells into these structures, the research team exposed the cells to a suite of proteins and small molecules that are known to be involved in early human heart development in the womb, according to a new study, published Thursday (May 20) in the journal Cell.
[Read More]What's in Your Gut? 3 Bacterial Profiles Defined
Posted on June 3, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 525 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Similar to the classification of blood types, the bacteria in our guts appear to fit into one of three categories that have no relation to our nationality, age, sex and other characteristics, new research indicates.The study combined genetic information from about three dozen people in six countries, revealing that everyone falls into one of three categories they dub enterotypes, which they believe are spread around the globe just like blood types.
[Read More]Young Kids' Parents Can Make Food Ads Less Tempting
Posted on June 3, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 377 words
| Arica Deslauriers
Parents concerned about the effect of advertising on what their children eat will be happy to learn that a new study shows their opinions can lessen the impact of commercials and help young kids make healthier food decisions.
"Parents have an advantage if they are consistent with their long-term messages about healthy eating," study researcher Christopher Ferguson, of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical International University, said in a statement.
Researchers at the university showed two cartoons to 75 children between the ages of 3 and 5.
[Read More]170-Million-Year-Old 'Fish Lizard' Fossil Unearthed in Scotland
Posted on June 2, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 485 words
| Patria Henriques
A prehistoric marine-reptile fossil found in Scotland's Isle of Skye represents a new species that lived about 170 million years ago, a new study finds.
The specimen was a member of a group of extinct marine reptiles called ichthyosaurs. Researchers say the creature helps to fill in a gap in the fossil record during the Middle Jurassic period, which lasted from about 176 million to 161 million years ago.
"It's one of a select few specimens of that age in the world,"
[Read More]Ancient Yahweh Worshipper's Jar Bears Hebrew Script in Biblical City
Posted on June 2, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 451 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
A 2,800-year-old jar inscribed in Hebrew with the Yahwistic name "Benayo" has been discovered at Abel Beth Maacah, a site in northern Israel that is mentioned numerous times in the Hebrew Bible.
Since Benayo (or Benayau) is a Yahwistic name (it incorporates part of Yahweh's name), the man likely worshipped Yahweh, the god of Israel. In the north, names mentioning Yahweh generally ended in Hebrew letters that can be translated as "
[Read More]Are Invisibility Cloaks Hiding Around The Corner?
Posted on June 2, 2023
| 6 minutes
| 1074 words
| Fernande Dalal
This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
In 1897 H.G. Wells created a fictional scientist who became invisible by changing his refractive index to that of air, so that his body could not absorb or reflect light. More recently, Harry Potter disappeared from sight after wrapping himself in a cloak spun from the pelts of magical herbivores.
Countless other fictional characters in books and films throughout history have discovered or devised ways to become invisible, a theme that long has been a staple of science fiction and a source of endless fascination for humans.
[Read More]Cave Art Reveals Ancient View of Cosmos
Posted on June 2, 2023
| 3 minutes
| 498 words
| Patria Henriques
Some of the oldest art in the United States maps humanity's place in the cosmos, as aligned with an ancient religion.
A team of scientists has uncovered a series of engravings and drawings strategically placed in open air and within caves by prehistoric groups of Native American settlers that depict their cosmological understanding of the world around them.
"The subject matter of this artwork, what they were drawing pictures of, we knew all along was mythological, cosmological,"
[Read More]Cell Phone Users Make Polling More Difficult
Posted on June 2, 2023
| 2 minutes
| 356 words
| Mittie Cheatwood
Telephone polling has long been a staple of political prognosticating and otherwise sampling the tastes and opinions of Americans on everything from evolution to hybrid vehicles to cell phone use.
But there is a growing potential problem pollsters must confront: More than 7 percent of U.S. residents rely entirely on cell phones and do not use landlines.
"This trend presents a challenge to public opinion polling, which typically relies on a random sample of the population of landline subscribers,"
[Read More]