New Discoveries

Benjamin Johnson May 28, 2018 53

The discovery of a site, which dates back 14,550 years, shows that humans settled the south-eastern United States much earlier than scientists previously believed by as much as 1,500 years. The discovery of stone tools alongside mastodon bones in a…

Benjamin Johnson May 24, 2018 19

Astronomers at ANU have found the fastest-growing black hole known in the Universe, describing it as a monster that devours a mass equivalent to our sun every two days. The astronomers have looked back more than 12 billion years to…

Benjamin Johnson May 19, 2018 14

Latest research finds plant debris in lake sediment affects methane emissions. The flourishing reed beds created by changing climates could threaten to double the already significant methane production of the world’s northern lakes. A new study of chemical reactions that…

Benjamin Johnson May 14, 2018 7

Evidence that humans can genetically adapt to diving has been identified for the first time in a new study. The evidence suggests that the Bajau, a people group indigenous to parts of Indonesia, have genetically enlarged spleens that enable them…

Benjamin Johnson May 12, 2018 8

Cancer is a major cause of death worldwide. But humans are not the only species affected by cancer; in fact, only a few primitive animals are thought to escape the disease. Furthermore, incidence rates and cancer types differ widely among…

Benjamin Johnson May 11, 2018 45

A new study by geoscientists at the University of Liverpool has identified the temperature at which cooling magma cracks to form geometric columns such as those found at the Giant’s Causeway in Northern Ireland. Geometric columns occur in many types…

Benjamin Johnson May 07, 2018 3

Physicists at the University of Warwick have published new research in the journal Science that could literally squeeze more power out of solar cells by physically deforming each of the crystals in the semiconductors used by photovoltaic cells. The paper,…

Benjamin Johnson May 05, 2018 21

Scientists have discovered a completely new type of opal formed by a common seaweed that harnesses natural technology by self-assembling a nanostructure of oil droplets to control how light reflects from its cells to display a shimmering array of colors…

Benjamin Johnson May 03, 2018 8

While astronomers routinely study galaxies much farther away, they’re visible only because they glow with the brightness of billions of stars. And a supernova, often brighter than the galaxy in which it sits, also can be visible across the entire…

Benjamin Johnson May 01, 2018 107

Scientists have created a non-invasive adhesive patch, which promises the measurement of glucose levels through the skin without a finger-prick blood test, potentially removing the need for millions of diabetics to frequently carry out the painful and unpopular tests. The…