SciGlow is a newsletter of science stories from the major research labs. Headlines link to in-depth articles and editorials. SciGlow keeps scientists and others up-to-date on current research.
Human behaviour is influenced by many things, most of which remain unconscious to us. One of these is a phenomenon known among perception psychologists as “pseudo-neglect”. This refers to the observation that healthy people prefer their left visual field to their right and therefore devide a line regularly left of centre. A study published on … Read more
Hummingbirds are some of the most brightly-colored things in the entire world. Their feathers are iridescent– light bounces off them like a soap bubble, resulting in shimmering hues that shift as you look at them from different angles. While other birds like ducks can have bright feathers, nothing seems to come close to hummingbirds, and … Read more
Christopher Columbus’ accounts of the Caribbean include harrowing descriptions of fierce raiders who abducted women and cannibalized men – stories long dismissed as myths. But a new study suggests Columbus may have been telling the truth. Using the equivalent of facial recognition technology, researchers analyzed the skulls of early Caribbean inhabitants, uncovering relationships between people groups and … Read more
Plant life is expanding in the area around Mount Everest, and across the Himalayan region, new research shows. Scientists used satellite data to measure the extent of subnival vegetation – plants growing between the treeline and snowline – in this vast area. Little is known about these remote, hard-to-reach ecosystems, made up of short-stature plants … Read more
The small red planet is losing water more quickly than what theory as well as past observations would suggest. The gradual disappearance of water (H2O) occurs in the upper atmosphere of Mars: sunlight and chemistry disassociate water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen atoms that the weak gravity of Mars cannot prevent from escaping into space. … Read more
Hidden away on a trio of tiny and under-explored Wallacean islands off the eastern Indonesian coast, researchers discovered 10 new species and subspecies of songbirds, according to a new study, bringing a long-overlooked pocket of local biodiversity to light. The findings mark the largest number of new species identified from such a small geographically confined … Read more
People and other great apes are known for their willingness to help others in need, even strangers. Now, researchers reporting in Current Biology on January 9 have shown for the first time that some birds – and specifically African grey parrots – are similarly helpful. “We found that African grey parrots voluntarily and spontaneously help familiar parrots … Read more
A preliminary study has found that when young, healthy men were deprived of just one night of sleep, they had higher levels of tau, a biomarker for Alzheimer’s disease, in their blood than when they had a full, uninterrupted night of rest. The study is published in the January 8, 2020, online issue of Neurology®, the … Read more
A three-year, comprehensive study of the effects of ocean acidification challenges previous reports that a more acidic ocean will negatively affect coral reef fish behaviour. The study, conducted by an international coalition led by scientists from Australia and Norway, showed that coral reef fish exposed to CO2 at levels expected by the end of the century … Read more
Despite progress toward global education targets, a new study reveals that 1 in 10 women ages 20-24 in low- and middle-income countries had zero years of schooling in 2017, and 1 in 6 had not completed primary school. For the first time, researchers have mapped years of education and child malnutrition across all low- and … Read more