China says moonbound rocket stage was not from 2014 lunar mission: Report

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  591 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

China says a rocket stage set to slam into the moon on March 4 isn't from one of its missions, contradicting several recent reports. Several independent observations(opens in new tab) suggest the rocket is from the Chang'e 5-T1 mission(opens in new tab) in 2014, following a misidentification that said the stage was part of a SpaceX(opens in new tab) Falcon 9 rocket that launched the Deep Space Climate Observatory(opens in new tab) satellite in February 2015. [Read More]

Cold, Dark and Alive! Life Discovered in Buried Antarctic Lake

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  868 words  |  Mittie Cheatwood

Antarctica, the coldest place on Earth, teems with microscopic life. Tiny organisms dwell on the ice and live inside glaciers, and now, researchers confirm, a rich microbial ecosystem persists underneath the thick ice sheet, where no sunlight has been felt for millions of years. Nearly 4,000 species of microbes inhabit Lake Whillans, which lies beneath 2,625 feet (800 meters) of ice in West Antarctica, researchers report today (Aug. 20) in the journal Nature. [Read More]

Defying Gravity: Tokyo Photographer 'Levitates'

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  324 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

 Natsumi Hayashi makes flying look easy. But the self-portraits that seem to show the Toyko photographer levitating above the ground are actually the result of a lot of hard work. "Sometimes I need to jump more than 300 times to get the perfect shot," Hayashi told MSNBC.com on June 8. [Photo of Hayashi levitating] Hayashi blogs a levitating picture-of-the-day each day on her website, http://yowayowacamera.com/. Either working with an assistant or using a self-timer, she uses photography to freeze herself hanging in the air in diners, phone booths and on Tokyo sidewalks. [Read More]

Drought Can Destroy Biodiversity

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  533 words  |  Arica Deslauriers

The skimmer and swimmer critters in ponds dried out by drought end up looking the same as each other when waters return, causing a decline in biodiversity, a new study finds. In worst-case outcomes, drops in biodiversity—the variety and number of species, in a given locale can lead to more serious consequences, such as resulting in ecosystem collapses that affect the web of life and food that supports all animals and humans. [Read More]

Ethical Failures Found on 'Grey's Anatomy' and 'House'

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  789 words  |  Trudie Dory

Many health care professionals cringe when they watch popular medical programs — episodes of which glamorize behavior that would not be tolerated in reality. A medical student and faculty directors from the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics analyzed depictions of bioethical issues and professionalism over a full season of two popular medical dramas — "Grey's Anatomy" and "House, M.D." — and found that the shows were "rife" with ethical dilemmas and actions that often ran afoul of professional codes of conduct. [Read More]

Frogs from Hell: Their Venomous Head Spikes Could Kill You

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  630 words  |  Trudie Dory

In the wilds of Brazil, researchers have discovered frogs with venomous spikes on their heads. Although scientists have long known of poisonous frogs, these are the first venomous frogs — that is, they not only secrete poison, but are armed with weapons that can deliver this poison into victims. Most amphibians, such as frogs, newts and salamanders, concentrate or secrete poisons in skin glands to ward off predators. Frogs include some of the most toxic animals on Earth — for instance, the 2-inch-long (5-centimeter) golden poison dart frog has enough toxin to kill 10 grown men, and the indigenous Emberá people of Colombia have used its poison for centuries in blowgun darts. [Read More]

New You: Personality May Change After Therapy

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  5 minutes  |  1049 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Personality, once thought to be fundamental and resistant to change, can shift in response to therapy, new research finds. The study synthesizes data from 207 published research papers that measured personality traits as one outcome of various psychotherapies. Though most of the research was observational rather than experimental, the review, which was published on Jan. 5 in the journal Psychological Bulletin, adds new weight to the idea that personality is not static. [Read More]

Noise Pollution Knocks Squid & Octopi Off Balance

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  4 minutes  |  673 words  |  Fernande Dalal

Noise pollution in the ocean can confuse and even injure marine species such as dolphins and fish. Now, a new study finds that the same is true of squid and other cephalopods. The research, published today (April 11) in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, finds that even short exposures to low-intensity, low-frequency sound can wreak havoc on the balance systems of squid, cuttlefish and octopi. The findings are a cause for concern, the researchers write, because shipping, commercial fishing and offshore operations such as oil-drilling are on the rise. [Read More]

Origami Eye Candy (Gallery)

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  3 minutes  |  500 words  |  Patria Henriques

Robert J. Lang is an origami artist and the author of numerous books on paper folding, including "Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami(opens in new tab)" (Tuttle Origami Books, 2013), co-authored with Meher McArthur. He contributed these images to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. Origami artist Robert J. Lang has spent the last four decades mastering the art, and mathematics, of origami. This gallery features an assortment of some of the hundreds of pieces he has created, some of which have been featured in automobile advertisements and the film " [Read More]

Photos: How 'Microneedles' Can Deliver the Flu Vaccine

 Posted on May 29, 2023  |  2 minutes  |  251 words  |  Fernande Dalal

The microneedle patch Researchers in Georgia have developed a "microneedle patch" that can deliver the flu vaccine through a person's skin. In a new study, 70 percent of people who used the experimental patch in a Phase I clinical trial said they preferred it to a traditional flu shot. This close-up image shows the microneedles on the patch. Each microneedle is 650 micrometers (about 0.03 inches) long and is filled with the flu vaccine. [Read More]