Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Computing
Barrel jellyfish may hunt with new kind of math
Barrel jellyfish use a new type of mathematical movement pattern to forage for food, a new study suggests.
- Planetary Science
Three volcanic eruptions rock Jupiter’s moon Io
Over two weeks last year, the tiny moon Io blazed with three vigorous volcanic eruptions.
- Health & Medicine
Two American Ebola patients given experimental therapy
The two American missionaries who contracted Ebola in Liberia have been treated with an experimental therapy that consists of antibodies to fragments of the deadly virus.
- Anthropology
‘Hobbit’ may have been human with Down syndrome
A reanalysis of a skull scientists used to argue for the hobbit species Homo floresiensis suggests the woman was a modern human with features of Down syndrome.
- Earth
Siberian crater mystery may be solved
Thawing permafrost probably burped a ground-breaking methane bubble that ripped the huge hole in the Yamal peninsula.
- Health & Medicine
Fist bumps spread fewer bacteria than handshakes
Fist bumping spreads far fewer bacteria than a handshake or a high five, a new study shows.
- Planetary Science
Rosetta spacecraft gets better view of comet’s fuzz
News images are giving astronomers a sense of the size of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko's coma and the shape of its core.
- Environment
Deepwater Horizon damage footprint larger than thought
In the Gulf of Mexico, most deep-sea corals have escaped damage from the Deepwater Horizon blowout. However, the impact does extend deeper and wider than previously thought.
- Health & Medicine
Hepatitis E widespread among English blood donors
Screening of 225,000 blood donations reveals a high prevalence of the hepatitis E virus.
- Tech
Small lies in social networks may keep society running
Lying in social networks could have adverse, as well as beneficial, effects depending on the severity of the deception.
- Health & Medicine
Tests hint at trouble with pairing cystic fibrosis drugs
Combining two types of cystic fibrosis drugs may cancel out the benefits of one of the medications.
- Genetics
Airborne MERS virus found in Saudi Arabian camel barn
The air in a Saudi Arabian camel barn holds genetic fragments of MERS, a new study shows.
