Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Neuroscience
MRI scans reveal how the brain tells the body to pee
Scientists see heightened brain activity in men right before they urinate.
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Enzyme separates healthy and unhealthy obesity
Healthy versus unhealthy obesity depends on levels of an enzyme that causes inflammation.
- Astronomy
Young stars vibrate faster as they age
Stellar pulsations provide a new way to gauge ages of infant stars.
- Animals
Mantis shrimp tune their eyes with sunscreen
Blocking some rays in just the right way creates six ways of actually seeing ultraviolet light.
- Health & Medicine
Candidate asthma and allergy drug passes early test
By suppressing an inflammation-causing antibody, an experimental drug can lessen allergy and asthma symptoms for months at a time.
- Planetary Science
Titan’s origins linked to Oort cloud
The building blocks of Titan may have formed in the early solar system, not from a warm disk around Saturn when the planet was young.
- Ecosystems
Invasive insect tied to shrinking river
A river in North Carolina shrank after a hemlock woolly adelgid eradicated eastern hemlock trees in the region.
- Animals
Emperor penguin population could decline by 2100
Emperor penguins’ reign over Antarctic sea ice could be in decline by the beginning of the 22nd century.
- Neuroscience
Shaking up the body may improve attention
Just two minutes of whole body vibrations improved young adults’ attention to detail.
- Chemistry
Safe salt could yield cheaper, more efficient solar cells
Magnesium chloride could be the key ingredient for concocting efficient solar cells with cadmium telluride.
- Physics
Tiny silica spheres put the disco in disco clams
The electric effect in disco clams is actually the result of light scattering off tiny silica spheres.
- Microbes
The most personal data on your phone is your microbiome
Phones carry more than your contacts and messages. They’ve got your microbiome too.
