Science

Despite the fact that they have no ear drums, the eight-legged creepy-crawlies can hear you “walking and talking” from more than 10 feet away, new research has found. The research was conducted by scientists at Cornell University and was published in Current Biology October 13. The scientists found that spiders, specifically the jumping spider, can perceive and respond to airborne …

Researchers discover more than 400 ancient human footprints near the southern shore of Tanzania’s Lake Natron in Africa. The footprints were first discovered by a local villager in 2006 but they did not come to the attention of scientists for another two years. While research began on the site, a number of delays meant analysis stalled. The team has now …

This is your brain in space — and it does not look pretty. Scientists studying the effects of radiation in rodents say that astronauts’ exposure to galactic cosmic rays could face a host of cognitive problems, including chronic dementia. Published in the journal Scientific Reports, the study follows another report published last year that showed somewhat shorter-term brain effects of …

A novel, highly energy efficient and ultrafast magnetization control scheme is successfully demonstrated by international team of scientists from the Netherlands, Germany, and Russia. Researchers have proposed a new method using much more rapid terahertz radiation, aka “T-rays,” the same things used in airport body scanners. According to their research, published in the journal Nature, swapping out magnetic fields for …

A team of Chinese conservationists claims it spotted the baiji – known as the ‘goddess of the Yangtze’ – in a stretch of Asia’s longest river. According to Chinese legend, baiji was the reincarnation of a drowned princess, and it was considered to be a national treasure. But its habitat, the Yangtze River, the cradle of Chinese civilization, quickly became …

A team of scientists found the oldest known vocal organ of a bird in Antarctica’s Vega Island. The Mesazoic era vocal organ, known as syrinx, demonstrates that dinosaurs did not make the same sounds as present-day birds do. The organ was found in a fossil of Vegavis iaai, a species of bird that lived during the Cretaceous period. It is …

Scientists have dated an ancient and incredibly rare collection of footprints on the mudflats beyond the Ol Doinyo Lengai volcano in Tanzania. There are more than 400 footprints at the site, thought to have been left between 5,800 and 19,100 years ago. A few of the tracks appear to show people jogging through the mud, running a 12-minute-mile pace or …

If you like to moon gaze, there’s another full moon this weekend! The Hunter’s Moon is then the first full moon to come after the Harvest Moon and we can expect to see it this Saturday and Sunday (October 15 and 16). What makes a Hunter’s Moon special? Nature is particularly cooperative around the time of the autumn equinox to …

Scientists at the University of Michigan found a new dwarf planet in our solar system. Known for now as 2014 UZ224, the newly found planet is 330 miles wide, 8.5 billion miles from the sun, and has a year equivalent to 1,100 Earth years The discovery of UZ224 was possible thanks to the Dark Energy Camera in the Chilean Andes. …

NASA scientists have developed electric gauze that could not only protect the wounds but also heal them. NASA is working on the new technology and early results are showing promise for athletes on Earth. As for our future Mars astronauts, in different gravities blood behavior can change, so there’s no firm word yet on if this will work on other …

Global dust storms on Mars may follow a predictable pattern, with an active period likely to begin at the end of this month, according to NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) planetary scientist James Shirley. “Based on the historical pattern we found, we believe it is very likely that a global dust storm will begin within a few weeks or months …