Want to start an argument among shark paleontologists? Ask whether Carcharodon carcharias, the great white shark, evolved from the line that produced Carcharodon megalodon, the largest carnivorous fish known, or from the broad-toothed mako shark.
The mako camp contends megalodon, which grew to a length of 60 feet, should have its genus name switched to Carcharocles to reflect its different ancestry. A study in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology says the mako proponents are right and concludes megalodon and modern white sharks are much more distantly related than paleontologists initially believed.
A new dating method found that "Peking Man" is around 200,000 years older than previously thought. So how did he adapt to the cold of even a mild glacial period?
The Zhoukoudian, China, site of the remains of Homo erectus, commonly known as "Peking Man", was found to be 680,000-780,000 years old. Earlier estimates put the age at 230,000-500,000 years old.
Homo erectus is considered to be the ancestor species to humans and the first species that left Africa and moved into Asia. The "Peking Man" site, discovered in the late 1920s, was among the first found for Homo erectus and shaped the thoughts on the age and behavior of the species.
Researchers have found evidence suggesting that stars rich in carbon complex molecules may form at the center of our Milky Way galaxy - and it helps solve a mystery. Namely, why have telescopes never detected carbon-rich stars at the center of our galaxy even though they have found these stars in other places?
This discovery is also significant because it adds to our knowledge of how stars form heavy elements like oxygen, carbon and iron and and then blow them out across the universe, making it possible for life to develop.
Researchers in Japan have turned to mathematics to build a computerized 3D model of the female trunk that could help lingerie and other clothes designers make more sensuous, comfortable, and better fitting product ranges.
According to Kensuke Nakamura of Kyoto Institute of Technology and Takao Kurokawa of Osaka University, identifying body shape components is critical for designing close-fitting products, whether underwear, everyday clothes, or safety garments.
Research at the new School of Creative Arts Therapies at the University of Haifa: Drawing enhances emotional verbalization among children who live under the shadow of drug-addicted fathers
"The use of art seems to help with verbalizing trauma. It is usually difficult to express the trauma through speech, yet the body remembers it," said Prof. Rachel Lev-Wiesel, Head of the Graduate School of Creative Arts Therapies who carried out the study.
Rutgers AIDS researchers Gail Ferstandig Arnold and Eddy Arnold and colleagues say they may have turned a corner in their search for a HIV vaccine.
The researchers say they have been able to take a piece of HIV that is involved with helping the virus enter cells, put it on the surface of a common cold virus, and then immunize animals with it. They found that the animals made antibodies that can stop an unusually diverse set of HIV isolates or varieties.
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope says a look into the heart of the Perseus galaxy has provided evidence that galaxies are embedded in halos of dark matter. Small galaxies have remained intact while larger galaxies around them are being ripped apart by the gravitational tug of other galaxies.
The explanation? The undisturbed galaxies are enshrouded by a "cushion" of dark matter that protects them.
Dark matter is a theoretical invisible form of matter that accounts for most of the Universe's mass. Astronomers have deduced the existence of dark matter by gravitational influences on normal matter, such as stars, gas and dust.
Are Americans bad at science? If so, are they worse than anywhere else? We know the answer to one of those questions.
A new national survey commissioned by the California Academy of Sciences and conducted by Harris Interactive says that the U.S. public is unable to pass even a basic scientific literacy test.
The good news; U.S. adults
do believe that scientific research and education are important. About 4 in 5 adults think science education is "absolutely essential" or "very important" to the U.S. healthcare system (86%), the U.S. global reputation (79%), and the U.S. economy (77%).
When a single female antbird is nearby, those with male partners will sing over the songs of their betrothed in an apparent attempt to keep their messages from getting through, according to a new report in Current Biology.
Males, of course, then change their tune.
This may be the first evidence that such "signal jamming" and "jamming avoidance" (literal cock-blocking) occurs between mates, according to the researchers.
New interactive features on NASA's Global Climate Change Web site give the public the opportunity to "fly along" with NASA's fleet of Earth science missions and observe Earth from a global perspective in an immersive, 3-D environment.
Developed using a state-of-the-art, browser-based visualization technology, "Eyes on the Earth 3-D" displays the location of all of NASA's 15 currently operating Earth-observing missions in real time. These missions constantly monitor our planet's vital signs, such as sea level height, concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, global temperatures and extent of sea ice in the Arctic, to name a few.
