Rachel K Wentz

Got a Hangover? Pedialyte to the Rescue!

There's good news for anyone who's ever suffered from a hangover. Now, there's a safe and simple remedy available for those who overindulge. The only problem is, you may have to wrestle it from your child.

Los Angeles Leads the Way to a Higher Minimum Wage

In an overwhelming vote of 14-1, the City Council of Los Angeles will increase the city's minimum wage from $9 an hour to $15 an hour by 2020, which is good news for the nation's second-largest city where almost a quarter of its residents live below the poverty line.

Yale Traces the Origins of all Snakes

Researchers at Yale University recently delved into the evolutionary history of snakes, and what they discovered was an ancient creature who lived over 120 million years ago in the warm forests of the Southern Hemisphere. And most interesting of all, this creature sported tiny hindlimbs, replete with ankles and toes.

Oldest Stone Tools Discovered in Kenya, Pushing the Technology Back Some 700,000 Years

The ancient stone tool industry of our early ancestors was just pushed deeper back in time, based on recent findings near the western shore of Lake Turkana in Kenya. Tools dating to over 3 million years ago - some 700,000 years earlier than previous finds - indicate the technology arose even before the genus Homo roamed the planet.

Panda Poo Reveals a Mismatched Gut

In an ongoing attempt to boost the dwindling number of pandas on the planet (currently tallying just under 2,000), scientists have discovered what appears to be a physiological roadblock to the bear's good health: they possess the wrong type of gut.

The Forecast Calls for Chance of Spiders in Australia

Australia has always been a land of the strange and bizarre. It is home to some of the world's most unique animals, from the kangaroo, to the wombat, to the lovable Tasmanian devil. So the fact that it's raining spiders should come as no surprise.

Ancient Earthquakes along New Zealand’s Coast Give Rise to New Concerns

About 80 km off the east coast of New Zealand lies the Hikurangi Trench, a subduction zone that plunges 3,000 meters beneath the surface and forms the margin between the vast Pacific Plate and its smaller western neighbor, the Australian Plate. The earthquake potential for this region is well known, but new research indicates the massive quakes that have occurred in the past may occur with greater frequency than once believed, which is bad news for New Zealand. According to the latest findings, they are long overdue.

New Research Isolates Speech Center in the Human Brain

In our quest to understand the complex inner workings of the human brain, researchers at New York University have brought us one step closer. They have pinpointed a region of the brain exclusively devoted to processing speech, which not only provides a better understanding of the cerebral landscape, but settles a long-standing dispute concerning the brain's perception of sound.

Hacker’s Claims of Commandeering a Commercial Flight Dismissed by Industry Experts

In the ongoing investigation concerning the possible hacking of a commercial aircraft's flight system, the latest news reveals no evidence of flight tampering. In fact, it appears the entire story was conflated by out-of-context quotes, a poorly worded tweet, and perhaps a mild case of braggadocio on the part of the hacker.

A New Vehicle in the Works to Investigate the Hellish Atmosphere of Venus

While much attention has been paid to Martian exploration in recent years, there remains a dedicated cadre of scientists focused on Earth's twin, Venus. And in a recent press release from Northrup Grumman, plans for a new vehicle were unveiled that just might provide a bird's eye view of this hot and hostile planet.

A Special Mother’s Day Gift: A Baby Beluga

Mother's Day took on a whole new meaning for the folks at the Georgia Aquarium following the triumphant birth of a beluga whale - the first to be born to parents bred in captivity. And mother and baby are doing just fine.

Record-Setting Drought Forces California Salmon to Take to the Highway

California's record-setting drought has dried up large swaths of the San Joaquin River; bad news for the state's salmon. So in a desperate effort to save a generation of hatchlings, tanker trucks are being employed to transport the young fish downstream. With their normal passage blocked, the fish are now migrating via Highway 99.

Zoos Raise Awareness of Endangered Species by Making their Animals Disappear

May 15th marked the 10th anniversary of Endangered Species Day, which kicked off awareness events across the country. More than 200 zoos participated by restricting access to some of their endangered species, with the aim of giving visitors a glimpse of a world where such animals no longer existence.

Research on a Grand Scale: Over 5,000 Scientists Come Together for Record-Breaking Publication

If only the world were as unified as the field of particle physics, what a grand world it would be...Over 5,000 of them have come together in what is the largest scientific collaboration on record. Their paper, which was published on May 14th in Physical Review Letters, is a joint effort between members from ATLAS and CMS, two teams that operate detectors at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), as they attempt to unravel the mysteries of our universe.

Up From the Depths: The First Warm-Blooded Fish

In the cold waters off the California coast, researchers have discovered something no one ever knew existed: a warm-blooded fish. Not only can this large fish regulate its body temperature, but it does it through a truly unique mechanism.

California One Step Closer to Abolishing ‘Personal Belief Exemption’ for Immunization

A California bill that abolishes the "personal belief exemption" for vaccinations is one step closer to becoming a law. The bill, SB 277, passed 25-10 in the California Senate on Thursday. Its next stop is clearing the Assembly before being signed into law and if it is, it will make it that much harder for parents to avoid vaccinating their children; good news for the fight against infectious disease.

The Trap-Jaws’ Mighty Mandibles Propel Them from Danger

The mighty mandibles of the trap-jaw ants are legendary in the animal kingdom. Members of the genus Odontomachus have specialized spring-loaded jaws that can snap shut at speeds of 60 meters per second, with forces that exceed 300 times their body weight. But in four species, those powerful jaws are not only great at catching prey, they can also aid in the ant's escape.

Drug Testing for Cocaine Gets Personal

Outwitting a drug test just got harder. Instead of relying on blood or urine, which can be switched, researchers at the University of Surrey have devised a technique that uses fingerprints to test for cocaine. And it not only tests whether a person has handled the drug; this new technique confirms cocaine actually entered the body.

Look Out, Master Locks: The Combo Breaker Has Arrived

Recent news from the hacking world reveals a new device that can solve the combination of Master Locks in under five minutes. And if that's not fast enough for a clean getaway, there's a speedier technique that will crack the code in under thirty seconds.

Macaques Prove Quite Handy with a Hammer

It was once believed that tool use was one of the signifying traits distinguishing humans from the rest of the animal world, but research has shown that is simply not the case. Chimps crack nuts, gorillas build rudimentary bridges, and dolphins use sponges to stir up the ocean floor, just to name a few. Scientists can now add macaques to the list, for it turns out they are quite handy with a hammer.

New Therapy Strips Cancer Cells of their Immortality

Cancer's deadly calling card has always been its cells' ability to replicate with abandon. Scientists continue to seek effective means of destroying cancer cells, while at the same time, protecting the healthy cells of the body.New research may have found a way to do just that. By stripping the malignant cells of their immortality.

Meet Velociraptor’s ‘Nosey’ Cousin

Paleontologists have recently identified a new member of the raptor family, one that may have had a leg up on its competition: a keen sense of smell.

A New Form of College Rivalry: Genetic Engineering Patents

College rivalries are nothing new. Some even reach legendary proportions. USC vs. Notre Dame, Alabama vs. Auburn, Army vs. Navy. They make for great football. Not so much when it comes to technological rights, as we're discovering in the ongoing battle between UC Berkeley and MIT, as they wrestle over the patent for a machine that just might revolutionize genetic engineering.

Cuban Lung Cancer Vaccine Coming Ashore in the US

Just months after the White House announced plans to normalize relations with Cuba, an exciting research partnership is in the works, which just might prolong the lives of those suffering from lung cancer.

As Ebola Wanes, a New Threat Emerges

Just as the Ebola threat wanes, a new pathogen is reaching epidemic proportions across parts of Africa. To make matters worse, it's resistant to traditional antibiotics.
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