A new study out of Imperial College London describes the discovery of a new type of photosynthesis, one the institute says "changes our understanding of the basic mechanism" involved. Even better, researchers indicate this discovery could pave the way for engineered crops that are more efficient than existing options.
This week a report showed off the newest "world's oldest" rain forest frogs. "It was exhilarating to hold these small fossils up to the light to reveal the frogs within," said David C. Blackburn, one of several paleontologists that authored the study published this week. "We have few small and intact fossil frogs, and the primary specimen of Electrorana is a rare find."
A new study out of South Korea's Seoul National University College of Medicine has found weight implications associated with both excess sleep and a lack of sleep. The research, which was recently published in the BMC Public Health journal, evaluated 133,608 individuals aged from 40- to 69-years-old. Too much sleep may negatively effect cholesterol levels, as well.
A supermassive black hole with a mass 20 million times greater than our own Sun was recently spotted shredding a massive star that got too close. The event was directly observed forming and launching a jet of material, marking the very first time such an observation has happened. The star that fell victim to the supermassive black hole had more than twice the mass of our Sun.
New satellite research has confirmed that Antarctica's ice is melting, but that it's more complicated than simply shrinking glaciers. For years, scientists have been concerned about the impact of climate change on ice changes and how that impacts sea level contribution from the continent. However, the sheer scale of Antarctica has made measuring that problematic.
Scientists have been studying a distant exoplanet that is very young. The star is called HD 163296 and is about 330 light years from our solar system. The star is a scant 4 million years old, an infant by astronomical standards. The star is in the direction of the constellation Sagittarius.
Some say we're on the brink of a psychedelics revolution, one that may pave the way for more effective depression and anxiety treatments. Studies on psychedelics are still limited due to the substances' legal status, but an increasing body of research hints at potentially beneficial mental health effects from psilocybin, ketamine, and more. The latest study indicates psychedelics may "rewire" the brain to counter the effects of depression and similar disorders.
Gastric bypass is a life-saving surgery for some people...assuming they survive the surgery. It's a drastic procedure with life-altering effects, making it a last resort for many people. The future may hold a better alternative, though, one that comes in the form of a simple pill. Such a development has been detailed in a recently published study.
Scientists have longed for generations to know exactly how the planets formed from the fields of interstellar dust that orbited the sun. Dust from that phase no longer exists having been destroyed, reformed, and reaggregated in multiple phases over the eons. Scientists can study presolar dust that is part of the cometary comas using ground-based analysis and data from Cassini.
Uber has submitted an application to patent an artificial intelligence technology that identifies drunk passengers. The patent, which is dated June 7 with the US Patent and Trademark Office, is titled "Predicting User State Using Machine Learning," and it hints that such a system may be used to accommodate riders who are outside of their "normal behavior" state.
Researchers with the CDC recently conducted a study that found free workplace food may be a major contributor to unhealthy diets. The researchers looked at 5,222 volunteers who work in various places across the United States, finding that food provided at work is often unhealthy and contain things like high sodium levels. The CDC indicates this may be the first national study of its kind.
For the last half-decade, the most powerful supercomputers in the world have been in China. That has changed with the US now the home of the world's most powerful supercomputer called Summit. This beast of a supercomputer can operate at peak performance of 200 petaflops.