Can the Air You Breathe Cause Your Brain to Shrink?

Medicine & Technology Apr 25, 2015

According to a new study published this week in the journal Stroke, researchers found the first link directly correlating changes in brain volume to exposure to air pollution, and during the 10-year monitoring period found that brains exposed to areas of dense air pollution were smaller leading to poorer cognitive function—poorer thinking and memory problems just being the start.

Celebrate Earth Day with NASA

Apr 22, 2015

Today is the 45th anniversary of Earth Day, and to celebrate NASA has planned a series of activities to celebrate the beauty of our little corner of the galaxy.

Scientists Set a New Record with Most Accurate Clock Ever Built

Apr 22, 2015

Scientists have set a new record in accurate timekeeping, by creating a new atomic clock that won't lose or gain a second in 15 billion years. This timespan is greater than the estimated age of the Universe itself.

Largest Known Structure in the Known Universe Turns Out To Be a Supervoid

Apr 21, 2015

Astronomers have discovered the largest known structure in the universe, but it may not be what you think it is. The biggest structure ever identified in the universe is a gigantic hole in the universe known as the supervoid.

Vampire Squids Reveal Far More Secrets Below—How These Deep-Sea Dwellers Are Changing The Biology Game

Apr 20, 2015

It’s no real big secret that researchers still don’t know much about what lies deep within the ocean’s unreachable depths. And thus it is ever evident that marine ecologists also do not known a lot about life at the lower depths. But with a new study published this week in the journal Current Biology, researchers now reveal that even the creatures they have found and studied in detail may house some strange secrets of the vast oceans, as well.

Curiosity Observing While On the Move

Apr 20, 2015

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover is on the move this month, but it continues to make observations as it traverses the Red Planet's terrain. On April 16, the mission passed 10 kilometers (6.214 miles) of total driving including 310 meters (one-fifth of a mile) so far this month.

NASA Defends Asteroid Mission and Earth Research to Congress

Apr 17, 2015

NASA's mission to land on an asteroid and its Earth Science division drew criticism from members of Congress, as administrator Charles Bolden defended the agency on Capitol Hill.

They’re ALIVE—With a Snapshot Researchers Reveal That Bouvier’s Red Colobus Monkeys Survived

Apr 17, 2015

With the death of three endangered sperm whales this week, the news this week surrounding conservation efforts has been rather bleak. But with the snap of a flash and a near-perfect picture moment, researchers in the Congo’s newest national park are turning the tide. And the announcement of a long-lost species comes with even better news—it appears that there’s a baby on-board too for the field researchers’ record-breaking findings.

Scientists Believe That Venus Holds the Secret of How Life Developed on Earth

Apr 14, 2015

Space agencies from around the world including NASA, the Russians and even the Europeans are planning trips to Venus that could provide valuable insight into the universe and perhaps even give scientists clues about how life originally formed right here on Earth.

Holding Clinical Researchers Accountable—WHO Puts New Timelines on Publishing

Apr 14, 2015

Ever think that the cure to a disease or the answer to one of modern medicine’s questions must already be out there, and that some physician or pharma company is keeping it under wraps until they need to release it? Well in some cases you may be right, but now the World Health Organization is looking to change that. In a new statement recently released by WHO, the organization seeks to hold researchers and regulatory bodies accountable for keeping the public abreast to the findings of their recent research. And now their taking the opportunity in this month’s issue of the journal PLOS Medicine to say something about it.

The Miracle of Birth of the Ancient Mosasaurs

Apr 11, 2015

A new study published in the journal Palaeontology has revealed some interesting new details about the process of reproduction in Mosasaurs, the large marine lizards that once populated the waters about 65 million years ago.

New Sensitivity Study May Reveal ‘Terror Birds’ Hunted In Packs

Apr 11, 2015

News this week revealed a frightening new addition to the fossil record—a “Terror Bird” species known more scientifically as Llallawavis scagliai (aka Scaglia’s Magnificent Bird). But in spite of its massive size and terrifying stance, this top-tier predatory may not have been the most well-adapted hunter that it could be… That is, unless it was hunting in packs.

With a Bit of Luck and Inspiration, One 4-Year-Old Boy Found a Dinosaur in Texas

Apr 11, 2015

Think that you don’t have what it takes to start a career in paleontology, even though your fascination with dinosaurs never ends? Well never fear, news this week reveals that you’re never too old, or too young, to start on the hunt for dinosaurs. And 4-year-old Wylie Brys, of Mansfield, Texas, is proving this sentiment true.

Giving a Voice to Long-Lost—New ‘Terror Bird’ Species Reveals a Knack for Being on the Hunt

Apr 11, 2015

Think that we’ve found just about every prehistoric species that there is to find? You’d be terrifyingly wrong if you said yes. In fact, adding a new view on the diversity of some unlikely large predators that predate humans, a new fossil this week revealed another species of South American “terror birds” known as Llallawavis scagliai.

Tombs Filled with Mummies Discovered in Peru

Apr 10, 2015

Scientists have discovered tombs filled with up to 40 mummies, each around a 1,200 year old ceremonial site in Peru's Cotahuasi Valley. Thus far, archaeologists have excavated seven tombs containing at least 171 mummies in an area now called Tenahaha.