Navy Launches New Communications Satellite

Medicine & Technology Jan 22, 2015

A powerful Atlas 5 rocket blasted its way into space Tuesday carrying a 15,000 pound Navy communications satellite. This satellite is the third of five relay stations planned for a new $5 billion global network designed to handle high-speed mobile phone traffic as well as voice and data from other, older systems.

New Island Created By Volcano in Tonga

Jan 22, 2015

The Earth continues to change its landscape right before our eyes. A volcanic eruption in Tonga has created a new island, but one scientist says it could soon vanish just as quickly as it formed.

Follow-Up on the Alien Radio Transmissions and What they Could Mean for Researchers? Finding Stellar remnants far after the blast

Jan 22, 2015

For the first time, astronomers have been able to pick up and observe a fast radio burst in real time as it moves through space. Though little is know about these radio bursts, which are short and sharp flashes of radio waves coming from an unknown source, researchers hope that this new live transmission may help them soon be able to pinpoint sources of cosmic transmissions.

Dust on the Ocean Floor Reveals Ancient Supernova

Jan 21, 2015

Scientists have made a startling discovery while exploring the ocean floor that could change how we understand supernovae. Researchers now believe that exploding stars, often far beyond the confines of our solar system, have deposited extraterrestrial dust at the bottom of the oceans, and that could give us better insights into the composition of far off galaxies.

Through Time and Stone--X-Rays Help Solve 2,000 year old mystery from Mt. Vesuvius

Jan 21, 2015

When Mt. Vesuvius erupted in 79 AD, it destroyed several Roman towns including Pompeii and Herculaneum. With Herculaneum's destruction, hundreds of writings from the time were buried for what some believed could be all of eternity. However, scientists have now succeeded in reading parts of an ancient scroll buried by the eruption.

Stress Could Be Why We Don’t Empathize

Jan 21, 2015

Most people are able to feel empathy for a friend or loved one who is experiencing physical or emotional pain. But it is often far more difficult to experience this same feeling when it is a stranger. Researchers now believe, however, that one of the major factors that prevent us from empathizing with others is stress.

Tools Could Be the Topic for First Ever Conversations

Jan 21, 2015

What were the first words uttered by the early ancestors of modern humans? According to a new study, one of the first possible sentences could have been, "Tool bad," and likely occurred between 2.5 and 1.8 million years ago.

India's Patent Office Breaths New Life On The Production Of Hepatitis C Medication, Gilead Shot-Down In The Process

Jan 21, 2015

Hepatitis C is a life-or-death disease of the liver that's known to be prevalent in third-world countries. But, with a steep medication price, treatment is often times a luxury. But with new Indian-based pharmaceutical companies joining Gilead, that all may change in the near future.

Fertilizers Pose a Threat to the Future of Our Planet

Jan 21, 2015

While the concept of feeding our flora may seem innocuous, the use of fertilizers on our crops could be destroying the planet. A new study published in the journal Science by researchers from the University of Wisconsin reveals that excessive use of artificial fertilizers, which contain phosphorus and nitrogen, could pose a threat to the future of planet Earth.

Online Hospital Booking Sites Like ZocDoc Are Allowing Members To Text-in Their Upcoming Appointments

Jan 20, 2015

Don't have the time to call your doctor or healthcare provider for an appointment reservation? Not a problem, you may just be a text away from your 3 pm consultation.

Dwarf Planet Ceres Approached by Dawn

Jan 20, 2015

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has begun approaching the dwarf planet Ceres, and with a new vantage point it has snapped some of its first images of the planet showing possible craters on the surface.

The Secret Behind The Cone Snail's Lethal Venom―Insulin

Jan 20, 2015

Cone snails are one of the ocean's most lethal, efficient predators. Able to immobilize captured prey within a matter of seconds, its venom contains one unusually potent compound―hypoglycemic-inducing insulin.

Researchers in Scottland Find Remnants of Nessy’s Relatives—Or So It Seems

Jan 20, 2015

While tales of the cryptid, the Loch Ness monster more colloquially known as Nessy, have gone largely unsubstantiated in the past, archaeologists in Scotland believe that they may now have found creature that fits the bill. The only problem is, that the dolphin-like marine reptile which grew to lengths of up to 14 feet went extinct nearly 170 million years ago.

Planets Outside Our Solar System May Be More Hospitable to Life Than Originally Believed

Jan 20, 2015

A study by astrophysicists at the University of Toronto suggests that exoplanets - planets that are outside our solar system - are more likely to have liquid water, and therefore may be more hospitable to life than researchers originally thought.

Could More Dwarf Planets Lie Beyond Pluto

Jan 20, 2015

According to calculations by scientists at the Complutense University of Madrid and the University of Cambridge, not one, but at least two dwarf planets must exist beyond Pluto in order to explain the orbital behavior of extreme trans-Neptunian objects.