Wednesday Science News Roundup #24

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Your brain reveals who your friends are – You may perceive the world the way your friends do, according to a new study finding that friends have similar neural responses to real-world stimuli and these similarities can be used to predict who your friends are. Science Daily

TBI is associated with increased dementia risk for decades after injury – Traumatic brain injuries increase the risk of a dementia diagnosis for more than 30 years after a trauma, though the risk of dementia decreases over time, according to a new study. Science Daily

Language is learned in brain circuits that predate humans – It has often been claimed that humans learn language using brain components that are specifically dedicated to this purpose. Now, new evidence strongly suggests that language is in fact learned in brain systems that are also used for many other purposes and even pre-existed humans. Science Daily

Life may have been possible in Earth’s earliest, most hellish eon – Maybe Earth’s early years weren’t so hellish after all. Science News

Here’s why so many saiga antelope mysteriously died in 2015 – Spring calving season for the saiga antelope of central Kazakhstan is a delight for the researchers who keep tabs on the critically endangered animals. During the day, thousands of newborn saigas lie quiet, hidden within a sea of waving grass. Mothers return twice daily to feed them. “If you come at dawn and dusk, it’s magical,” says E.J. Milner-Gulland, a conservation biologist at the University of Oxford who has studied saigas for 27 years. “You hear this mewing noise, and all the babies come rushing up to the females.” Science News

There’s a Scary Link Between Bad Sleep And The Onset of Alzheimer’s – Fragmented sleep, marked by repeated wake-ups during the night and a need to nap during the day, could be an early sign of Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research. Science Alert

Earth Went Strangely Quiet About 2 Billion Years Ago And We Don’t Know Why – A new study has added evidence to the hypothesis that our planet experienced a lull in geology between 2.2 and 2.3 billion years ago, when not a lot went on as far as rock-forming processes go. Science Alert

The Eastern Cougar Is Declared Extinct After Not Being Seen For 80 Years – The eastern cougar is now officially extinct. IFLScience

Discoverer Of Gabon’s Strange Orange Crocodiles Thinks They’re Evolving Into A New Species – Just 10 years ago, an expedition of biologists came across a very strange group of cave-dwelling, bat-munching dwarf crocodiles living within Gabon’s Abanda cave system. IFLScience

More Evidence Has Been Found For A Link Between Sugar And Alzheimer’s – A new study provides more evidence for a link between diabetes and Alzheimer’s, something that’s been hinted at before. IFLScience

Wednesday Science News Roundup #23

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Screen-addicted teens are unhappy – Researchers found that teens who spent a lot of time in front of screen devices — playing computer games, using more social media, texting and video chatting — were less happy than those who invested time in non-screen activities like sports, reading newspapers and magazines, and face-to-face social interaction. The happiest teens used digital media for less than an hour per day. But after a daily hour of screen time, unhappiness rises steadily along with increasing screen time. Science Daily

New Eocene fossil data suggest climate models may underestimate future polar warming – A new international analysis of marine fossils shows that warming of the polar oceans during the Eocene, a greenhouse period that provides a glimpse of Earth’s potential future climate, was greater than previously thought. Science Daily

First evidence of winds outside black holes throughout their mealtimes – New research shows the first evidence of strong winds around black holes throughout bright outburst events when a black hole rapidly consumes mass. The study sheds new light on how mass transfers to black holes and how black holes can affect the environment around them. Science Daily

Dietary fiber protects against obesity and metabolic syndrome, study finds – Consumption of dietary fiber can prevent obesity, metabolic syndrome and adverse changes in the intestine by promoting growth of ‘good’ bacteria in the colon, according to a new study. Science Daily

MIT Engineers Have Designed a Chip That Behaves Just Like Brain Cell Connections – For those working in the field of advanced artificial intelligence, getting a computer to simulate brain activity is a gargantuan task, but it may be easier to manage if the hardware is designed more like brain hardware to start with. Science Alert

This New Brain Study Shows Why Some People Are More Creative Than Others – Creativity is often defined as the ability to come up with new and useful ideas. Like intelligence, it can be considered a trait that everyone – not just creative “geniuses” like Picasso and Steve Jobs – possesses in some capacity. Science Alert

Every Single Piece Of Plastic Packaging In The EU To Be Reusable Or Recyclable By 2030 – The European Union has launched an ambitious campaign against single-use plastic, in an urgent plan to rid the continent of the flood of damaging plastics that are now choking the rivers, oceans, and countryside. IFLScience

Retirement Makes Short-Term Memory Decline 38 Percent Faster In Old Age – Dementia and Alzheimer’s are growing problems in many Western nations as people are living longer. While a treatment for these cognitive conditions still evades detection, there are certain behaviors and lifestyle choices that are known to exasperate the issue. It now seems that retirement might be one of them. IFLScience

The world’s largest set of brain scans are helping reveal the workings of the mind and how diseases ravage the brain – ENIGMA, the world’s largest brain mapping project, was “born out of frustration,” says neuroscientist Paul Thompson of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. In 2009, he and geneticist Nicholas Martin of the Queensland Institute of Medical Research in Brisbane, Australia, were chafing at the limits of brain imaging studies. The cost of MRI scans limited most efforts to a few dozen subjects—too few to draw robust connections about how brain structure is linked to genetic variations and disease. The answer, they realized over a meal at a Los Angeles shopping mall, was to pool images and genetic data from multiple studies across the world. Science Mag

Stars with too much lithium may have stolen it – Something is giving small, pristine stars extra lithium. A dozen newly discovered stars contain more of the element than astronomers can explain. Science News

Wednesday Science News Roundup #22

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Tracking the impact of early abuse and neglect – Maltreatment experienced before age 5 can have negative effects that continue to be seen nearly three decades later, according to a new study. Science Daily

Don’t hold your nose and close your mouth when you sneeze, doctors warn – Pinching your nose while clamping your mouth shut to contain a forceful sneeze isn’t a good idea, warn doctors. Science Daily

Pollution is endangering the future of astronomy – Even as technological advances allow astronomers to peer more deeply into the cosmos than ever before, new technologies also have the potential to create blinding pollution. Science News

Large Amounts Of Water Found On Mars, And It’s Tantalizingly Within Reach – Scientists say they’ve found significant deposits of water ice hiding extremely close to the surface of Mars, a discovery that could be hugely beneficial for future Mars exploration missions. IFLScience

Over 2,000 Newly Discovered Biological Markers Could Help Explain How Autism Develops – Scientists have discovered a swathe of biochemical regions that look to be deeply involved with the risk factors behind autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Science Alert

A new gel could help in the fight against deadly, drug-resistant superbugs – A new antibacterial ointment could help take down drug-resistant bacteria. Science News

Trio of dead stars upholds a key part of Einstein’s theory of gravity – Observations of a trio of dead stars have confirmed that a foundation of Einstein’s gravitational theory holds even for ultradense objects with strong gravitational fields. Science News

Scientists Catch A Glimpse Of A Four-Dimensional Effect In Two Dimensions – Two independent groups of scientists have been able to reproduce four-dimensional properties of a quantum mechanical effect using a two-dimensional analog. IFLScience

Dark Energy Survey Reveals That The Milky Way Has Devoured 11 Other Galaxies – As part of an effort to find out more about the elusive nature of the cosmos, the Dark Energy Survey (DES) – a joint venture between the University of Chicago and dozens of other institutions across the world – was launched back in the summer of 2013. IFLScience

A Salt-Rich Diet Has An Unusual Effect On Your Brain – It’s hardly news to hear that too much salt is bad for you, but new research has shown that a salt-rich diet can have an unexpected effect on your health beyond heart problems and high blood pressure. IFLScience

Wednesday Science News Roundup #20

Below are 10 science news that I found interesting and are related to topics I care about.

Diabetes drug ‘significantly reverses memory loss’ in mice with Alzheimer’s – A drug developed for diabetes could be used to treat Alzheimer’s after scientists found it ‘significantly reversed memory loss’ in mice through a triple method of action. This is the first time that a triple receptor drug has been used which acts in multiple ways to protect the brain from degeneration. It combines three growth factors. Problems with growth factor signalling have been shown to be impaired in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. Science Daily

State-of-the-art MRI technology bypasses need for biopsy – The most common type of tumor found in the kidney is generally quite small (less than 1.5 in). These tumors are usually found by accident when CAT scans are performed for other reasons and the serendipitous finding poses a problem for doctors. Science Daily

New brain mapping technique highlights relationship between connectivity and IQ – A new and relatively simple technique for mapping the wiring of the brain has shown a correlation between how well connected an individual’s brain regions are and their intelligence, say researchers. Science Daily

Food Comas Are Real And They’re Slowing Down Your Brain, New Study Finds – Ever felt your brain a little sluggish a little while after eating sugar or a giant meal? You are probably feeling the effects of a sugar crash, which, new research shows, really can slow down your cognitive function. Science Alert

Some People Have an Uncanny Sixth Sense For Detecting Sickness – Humans may possess an inherent ability to detect sick people from subtle visual cues. This skill could act as a behavioural defence against disease by limiting the risk of contamination, according to new research. Science Alert

If We Don’t Act Now, Climate Change Could Devastate The Chocolate Industry In Just 30 Years – It’s that time of the year when even just looking at another piece of chocolate runs the risk of making you feel slightly queasy. But our insatiable appetite for the sweet treat coupled with predicted temperature rises due to climate change could mean that we might run out of chocolate within just three decades if nothing is done to prevent it. IFLScience

Hybrid Bird Species Discovered In The Amazon For The First Time– A species of bird first described in 1957, but then not seen again until its rediscovery 45 years later, is even more mysterious than previously thought. It turns out that the golden-crowned manakin – a small, vivid green bird with a yellow noggin – is actually the result of a hybridization event between two other species of manakin birds. IFLScience

The World Didn’t Have Many Natural Disasters In 2017 (Except For The US) – It’s fair to say that the US will remember 2017 for two things: political shitstorms and literal storms. Over the past year, North America has had more than its fair share of extreme weather events, from an onslaught of hurricanes and blazing wildfires to droughts and floods. IFLScience

A sinking, melting ancient tectonic plate may fuel Yellowstone’s supervolcano – The driving force behind Yellowstone’s long and explosive volcanic history may not be as deep as once thought. A new study suggests that instead of a plume of hot mantle that extends down to Earth’s core, the real culprit is a subducting tectonic plate that began sinking beneath North America hundreds of millions of years ago. Science News

Spider’s web inspires removable implant that may control type 1 diabetes – For the more than 1 million Americans who live with type 1 diabetes, daily insulin injections are literally a matter of life and death. And while there is no cure, a team has developed a device that could revolutionize management of the disease. Science Daily

10 Science News Roundup #9

Here are 10 science news that I find interesting and important to take note.

What training exercise boosts brain power best? New research finds out – One of the two brain-training methods most scientists use in research is significantly better in improving memory and attention, Johns Hopkins University researchers found. It also results in more significant changes in brain activity. Science Daily

Brain waves reflect different types of learning – Figuring out how to pedal a bike and memorizing the rules of chess require two different types of learning, and now for the first time, researchers have been able to distinguish each type of learning by the brain-wave patterns it produces. Science Daily

A universal flu shot may be nearing reality – One of the planet’s deadliest viruses makes an annual pass through the United States with little fanfare. It rarely generates flashy headlines or news footage of health workers in hazmat suits. There’s no sudden panic when a sick person shows up coughing and feverish in an emergency room. Yet before next spring, this season’s lethal germ will probably have infected millions of Americans, killing tens of thousands. Still, it’s often referred to as just the flu. Science News

Your eyes make waste. Without it, you could go blind – One man’s trash is another man’s treasure, even at the level of the cell. That’s where—according to new research—a waste product of the retina fuels part of the eye that powers the rods and cones that help us sense light. Without this waste, that part of the eye “steals” glucose from the retina, leading to the death of retinal cells and likely vision loss. The finding could help explain why eyesight degenerates with age—and in diseases such as macular degeneration and diabetes. Science

Was this ancient person from China the offspring of modern humans and Neandertals? – When scientists excavated a 40,000-year-old skeleton in China in 2003, they thought they had discovered the offspring of a Neandertal and a modern human. But ancient DNA now reveals that the “Tianyuan Man” has only traces of Neandertal DNA and none detectable from another type of extinct human known as a Denisovan. Instead, he was a full-fledged member of our species, Homo sapiens, and a distant relative of people who today live in East Asia and South America. The work could help scientists retrace some of the earliest steps of human migration. Science

Blood Transfusions From Some Women Can Be More Dangerous For Men, Says Study – Providing a detailed medical history when donating blood could be more important than we know – and not just when it comes to screening for disease. Science Alert

An Alzheimer’s Drug Has Been Found to Help Teeth Repair Themselves in Just 6 Weeks – Dental fillings may soon be left in the ash heap of history, thanks to a recent discovery about a drug called Tideglusib. Developed for and trialled to treat Alzheimer’s disease, the drug also happens to promote the natural tooth regrowth mechanism in mice, allowing the tooth to repair cavities. Science Alert

In many places around the world, obesity in kids is on the rise – Over the last 40 years, the number of kids and teens with obesity has skyrocketed worldwide. In 1975, an estimated 5 million girls and 6 million boys were obese. By 2016, those numbers had risen to an estimated 50 million girls and 74 million boys, according to a report published online October 10 in the Lancet. While the increase in childhood obesity has slowed or leveled off in many high-income countries, it continues to grow in other parts of the world, especially in Asia. Science News

Having A High IQ Puts You More At Risk Of Mental Illness, Study Finds – If you look at television shows featuring a genius you very quickly see a pattern emerge. Hugh Laurie’s TV-doctor, House, is a medical genius but struggles with severe depression as well as a messiah complex. Sherlock Holmes can solve any case, but has many addictions and may just be a sociopath. Countless TV shows, films, and books all peddle the idea that highly intelligent people are prone to mental illness. IFLScience

Nine Year Study Finally Explains The Relationship Between Sugar And Cancer – Scientists have discovered the exact relationship between sugar and cancer by revealing that the way in which cancer cells break down sugar is linked to the stimulation of tumor growth. Cancer cells tend to produce energy differently from normal cells – they use a process that involves fermentation of glucose into lactate, rather than ordinary respiration. IFLScience