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Yearly Archives: 2019
Dung beetle discovery revises biologists’ understanding of how nature innovates
When studying how organisms evolve, biologists consider most traits, or features, as derived from some earlier version already present in their ancestors. Few traits...
Innovative study produces first experimental evidence linking math anxiety, math avoidance
Math anxiety is far from uncommon, but too often, those who dread the subject simply avoid it. Research from the University of Chicago offers...
‘I knew that was going to happen:’ Déjà vu and the ‘postdictive’ bias
For many, déjà vu is just a fleeting, eerie sensation that "I've been here before." For others, it gets even eerier: In that moment...
New model for the way humans localize sounds
One of the enduring puzzles of hearing loss is the decline in a person's ability to determine where a sound originates, a key survival...
Huge gaps in research on microplastics in North America
Amid increasing concern about the effects of plastic pollution on marine ecosystems, a new study led by Portland State University found that North America...
Dolphins demonstrate coordinated cooperation
Cooperation is one of the most important abilities for any social species. From hunting, breeding, and child rearing, it has allowed many animals --...
Micromotors push around single cells and particles
A new type of micromotor -- powered by ultrasound and steered by magnets -- can move around individual cells and microscopic particles in crowded...
How measles wipes out the body’s immune memory
Over the last decade, evidence has mounted that the measles vaccine protects in not one but two ways: Not only does it prevent the...
Light-based ‘tractor beam’ assembles materials at the nanoscale
Modern construction is a precision endeavor. Builders must use components manufactured to meet specific standards -- such as beams of a desired composition or...
Screen-based media associated with structural differences in brains of young children
A new study documents structural differences in the brains of preschool-age children related to screen-based media use.
The study, published in JAMA Pediatrics, shows that children...
The world is getting wetter, yet water may become less available for North America...
With climate change, plants of the future will consume more water than in the present day, leading to less water available for people living...
