SPACE.COM - A perplexing "break" in a stream of stars around the Milky Way could be the result of dark matter — that is, if the mysterious cosmic stuff interacts with itself. The feature in question is in the GD-1 stellar stream, a thin group of stars moving together on a shared trajectory through the...
NEUROSCIENCE NEWS - The gene neuropilin2 encodes a receptor involved in cell-cell interactions in the brain and plays a key role in regulating the development of neural circuits. Neuropilin2 controls migration of inhibitory neurons as well as the formation and maintenance of synaptic connections in excitatory neurons — two crucial components of brain activity. A...
THE DEBRIEF - On New Year’s Eve 2023, amid appearances by Joss Stone and Rod Steward on Jools Holland’s holiday ‘Musical Hootenanny’, a major 2024 revelation was alluded to: soon, we might learn that we aren’t alone in the universe. The insinuations that the discovery of alien life could be imminent all followed news from...
FORBES - Mars remains a true puzzle, but not for the reasons most people would think. Sure, there's debate over whether it ever had surface water, oceans and life. But Mars’ small mass relative to earth and Venus have been a major conundrum that has plagued planetary scientists for decades. Because the red planet’s mass...
THE NAKED SCIENTISTS - Mice are genuinely fearful of cats; and when they encounter the aroma of a feline, they freeze and then scarper. This happens thanks to an accessory smell system called the vomeronasal organ, or VNO. One of its roles is to detect pheromones, and its wiring into the limbic system enables it...
KESQ - Meanwhile the Department of Homeland Security and Federal Bureau of Investigation continue to press there is no evidence of reported drone sightings posing a national security or public safety threat from a foreign nexus. Despite that, the FBI and DHS are deploying drone detection technology and infrared cameras to probe whether the drones...
STUDY FINDS - For the millions of people living in earthquake-prone regions, from New Zealand to California, a few minutes of warning could mean the difference between life and death. Now, by studying ancient curved scratches left behind on fault surfaces from past seismic events, scientists have discovered a way to better predict how earthquakes...
CSA NEWS - Commercial markets are embracing traditionally ethnic vegetable crops, adding diversity to the food system. Long beans (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis), which originated in Africa and have been refined through domestication in Southeast Asia, have an export value of $80 million. The edible pods are a symbol of luck and longevity, but more...
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE - UC Riverside and a Riverside-based sod company have teamed up to sell a new drought-resistant bermuda grass. The grass, called Coachella, is a less thirsty, greener-longer hybrid of bermuda grass. The university’s Office of Technology Partnerships and West Coast Turf hope to initially target golf courses and sports stadiums that need large...
PEOPLE - Celebrities can be found throughout the animal kingdom — if you know where to look. Occasionally, when a new species is discovered, pop culture-loving scientists decide to name the creature after their favorite star. There are bugs named after Oscar winners, lemurs sharing names with comedians and spiders with the same titles as...
STUDY FINDS - A simple yogurt supplement could help protect people from the hidden dangers lurking in everyday household items. A groundbreaking study from the University of California-Riverside is offering hope for those worried about our exposure to pervasive fire-retardant chemicals. Polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs, are everywhere. They’re in your couch, a child’s car...
LIVE SCIENCE - Your skin color may influence how safe and effective a given drug is for you, a new analysis suggests. In a recent think piece, published Oct. 9 in the journal Human Genomics, scientists examined a plethora of studies, revealing that melanin — the pigment that gives our skin, hair and eyes their...
THE WEEK - Spiders are some of the most diverse creatures on Earth. While they can be frightening, most of them are harmless and skittish. However, some spiders are dangerous — or deadly. Several species have venom that is toxic to humans and can have long-lasting, even fatal, consequences. Here are some of the scariest...
SCIENCE MAGAZINE - Some of Ian Hughes’s earliest memories are of playing in the dust and digging holes while his mom and her colleagues searched for fossils in South Australia. His mother, University of California, Riverside, paleoecologist Mary Droser, was searching for fossilized remnants of animals from the Ediacaran era, stretching from approximately 635 million...
INTERESTING ENGINEERING - Over 500 million years ago, the ancestors of a diverse group of animals known as Ecdysozoans existed. This group includes various species of insects, arachnids, and nematode worms. For a long time, the group’s early history was a blank page until now. A team of researchers has identified the earliest known ecdysozoan...
STUDY FINDS - Like something straight out of a Disney movie, a study finds that gophers worked to save an entire mountain. These little critters dug up bacteria and fungi that helped restore lost plant and animal life to the devastated mountain landscape. Forty years later, the 24-hour gopher experiment continues to yield results. In...
POPULAR MECHANICS - It would probably pretty alarming to learn that, in the early 1980s, scientists decided to drop off a bunch of gophers at the site of a volcanic eruption. But don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds. In fact, according to a new report from the University of California, this particular...
SMITHSONIAN MAGAZINE - In May 1980, a magnitude-5.1 earthquake accompanied by an avalanche flipped the switch on a volcano in Washington state. With pressure suddenly removed from the magma below, Mount St. Helens spewed lava, ash and debris in the southwestern part of the state. It became the most destructive eruption in United States history...
STUDY INTERNATIONAL - Born in Colombia and raised in Costa Rica and San Diego, Danilo has harbored a lifelong fascination with plants. His interest in flora, particularly epiphytic plants — those that grow on the surface of other plants — inspired him to pursue a career in plant biology. This led him to choose the...
ASBMB TODAY - Scientists explore genetic and biochemical innovations fueling future-proofing agriculture. Adapting to changing temperatures Many people think of higher temperatures and heat waves when they think of climate change, but cool seasons are also affected. According to the U.S. Climate Program Office, the expanding Arctic polar vortex —a strong band of winds in...