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Physicists Float a New Theory of Levitation

Frictionless parts could fly through the air with the greatest of ease

(Newser) - Two Scottish physics professors have published a report on forces of attraction that could be used to make objects levitate, writes the Telegraph. They've engineered a way to reverse the Casimir force, which normally causes elements to stick together. The discovery may lead to frictionless levitating parts in small mechanical... More »

Climate Change Deniers Still Impeding Progress

Americans lost in haze of contradictory information

(Newser) - Scientists thought they'd convinced the world it was getting warmer, but a powerful, flush campaign of cynics is still successfully sowing doubt, Newsweek reports—and hobbling efforts to stave off disaster. From its humble beginnings ridiculing any warming, the "denial machine" has picked up funding from big oil and... More »

10 Technologies on the Cusp

MIT experts look ahead at breakthroughs and brainstorms that may change the way we live

(Newser) - Technology Review presents 10 technologies you'll soon be hearing about.
  1. Peer-to-peer networking as a way for legitimate businesses to handle heavy data streaming.
  2. Nanocharging solar, which could make solar power cost-competitive.
  3. Artifically structured metamaterials.
  4. Personalized medical monitors.
  5. Single-cell analysis.
More »

New Genetic Ties to MS Found

Findings represent stunning medical breakthrough

(Newser) - Scientists have pinpointed two genes that may be linked to MS, signaling a breakthrough in the fight against the debilitating disease 20 years in the making. In separate studies published today by two medical journals, researchers revealed one specific gene receptor may trigger cells to inhibit the body's autoimmune reaction,... More »

Scientists Rethink the Bonobo

Bonobos are not the solution to all of life's problems

(Newser) - Bonobos—the chimp cousins revered by generations of naturalists for their peaceful, playful, apparently even eco-conscious attitudes—may not be quite as groovy as we've been led to believe. Much of the cult of bonobo has been built around data from animals in captivity, where, as one scientist says, "... More »

A Megaflood Made England an Island

Sonar shows Channel carved violently; bridge to continent cut

(Newser) - England became an island as a result of a massive flood that tore through a land bridges to France 400,000 years ago, a study of  high-resolution sonar images of the bottom of the English Channel shows. The torrent of water and boulders carved the cliffs of Dover, and left... More »

Trauma Patients Control Memory With Minds

'Try not to think about it' is good advice, research reveals

(Newser) - Suppressing memories may be as simple as deciding not to think about them, scientists say, offering hope to survivors of traumatic events. Researchers say the findings in a report out today could lead to new treatments for PTSD by offering patients a measure of control over their recollection of disturbing... More »

Butterfly Evolves in Blink of Eye

Parasite forces hyper-speed adaptation in male blue moon butterflies

(Newser) - One of the fastest evolutionary changes ever observed has been witnessed by scientists studying butterflies in the South Pacific, the BBC reports. Blue Moon butterflies managed to fight off a deadly parasitic bacteria by developing suppressor genes to fight the bacteria in just six years. Hard-hit males rebounded from 1%... More »

Sun Sets on Solar Global Warming Theory

Greenhouse gases the culprit, not sun's heat, experts say

(Newser) - A theory that global warming is caused by increased solar output is bunk, according to climate-change scientists. Although the world has grown hotter over the last 20 years, solar activity has actually dropped, the BBC reports, and an international panel concluded that greenhouse gases are 13 times more responsible for... More »

Colon Cancer Gene Tagged

But the risk isn't significant enough for testing, say researchers

(Newser) - Two studies have linked a specific genetic variant to an increased risk of  colon cancer, the BBC reports. About half the population has the permutation, which was linked to a 20% increased risk of developing colon cancer and accounts for 1 of  ten cases. But the risk isn't significant enough... More »

Stereotype That Women Out-Blab Men Is Blather

Study silences gender misconceptions

(Newser) - Women do not talk more than men, despite widely accepted stereotypes in popular culture of strong silent guys and chattering females, reports Time. Both men and women use about 16,000 words a day, with women typically employing a statistically insignificant 500 extra words daily, according to the new research. More »

Ten Worst Jobs in Science

The less glamorous side of research, from toxic waste to whale feces

(Newser) -
  1. Hazmat diver: They swim in sewage, toxic spills and other undesirable liquid environments.
  2. Oceanographer: With the coral reefs dying, pollutants rising, and overfishing it's just one long stream of bad news.
  3. Elephant vasectomist: With a testicle a foot in diameter, it isn't exactly a walk in the wildlife preserve.
... More »

Weight a Minute! Stress Triggers Fat in Study

A nervous mouse is a chubby mouse

(Newser) - A newly discovered chemical connection between chronic stress and fat could help curb obesity— or grow fat in places like breasts for cosmetic purposes, the Washington Post reports. Scientists found that  stressed-out mice on a rodent junk-food diet grew the fattest, and that injecting or blocking a stress neurotransmitter can... More »

Scientists on the Brink of Artificial Life

Synthetic genomes close to creating new bacteria

(Newser) - The first artificial life could be created within months as researchers emboldened by "species transplant" experiments prepare to insert synthetic genomes into a host bacterium, the Daily Telegraph reports. Maryland scientists have been replacing one bacterium's DNA with another, transforming the host  into the invader, and now plan to... More »

House Cat Hisstory Traced to 5 Mideast Matriarchs

Felines chose domestic life 10,000 years ago

(Newser) - The origin of 600 million house cats has been traced to five matriarchal lines in the Mideast, where the first wildcats moved close to families some 10,000 years ago and earned their keep eating vermin,  the New York Times reports. House cats share striking DNA similarities with wildcats... More »

Mouse Stem Cell Discovery Speeds Cures

'Missing link' embryonic cell boosts fight against Parkinsons, diabetes

(Newser) - British scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in mice that's much closer to human embryonic stem cells, making them invaluable in the search for cures for diseases like Parkinson's and diabetes. Two independent teams from Oxford and Cambridge today revealed the "missing link" cells, which can... More »

It's a Wrap: Tooth ID's Mummy Queen

Powerful Hatshepsut linked to dental root and DNA tests

(Newser) - An ancient tooth and DNA evidence appear to prove that an obese mummy found in 1903 is one of Egypt's most powerful female rulers, Hatshepsut, the New York Times reports. The tooth, located in a box labeled with the queen's name, "fits exactly" with a broken root in the... More »

Giant Penguin Fossils Found in Peruvian Desert

Spearfishing birds waddled the earth 36 million years ago

(Newser) - Penguins haven't always lived on ice, scientists have concluded after unearthing fossils of giant penguins in Peru's Atacama desert. The penguins, nearly human-sized at 4.5 feet tall, had extraordinarily long beaks apparently used for spearfishing, and waddled the earth some 36 million years ago, the National Geographic News reports.... More »

Coffee's Perks Not in the Caffeine

Go for decaf: other chemicals in coffee give health a jolt

(Newser) - Scientists have long championed coffee's health benefits, but a series of recent studies is waking them up to the fact that caffeine has nothing to do with it. Regular consumption of coffee or tea can provide protection against cancer, diabetes and heart disease, but researchers say other chemicals are responsible. More »

New Studies Give Hope to Parkinson's Patients

Gene therapy, drug could halt disease

(Newser) - Two new experimental treatments for Parkinson's could stop the progress of the devastating disease and allay its symptoms, researchers say. A new study shows gene therapy was successful in boosting production of an enzyme that calms overactive neurons, reducing the jittery effects of the brain disorder. More »

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