Tornadoes Strike Dallas-Fort Worth Area: 'Any City Can Be Hit By A Tornado'
The US National Weather Service has issued tornado warnings for much of Northern Texas as at least two tornadoes reportedly touched down in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Ants Lick Each Other To Fight Disease
If a friend had a fungal infection on his face, your first instinct would probably not be to lick it off of him. But for Lasius neglectus, the garden ant, swabbing fungus off a nestmate with one's tongue is actually a good strategy to keep from getting sick, and scientists are calling it social vaccination.
Why the Cancer Drug Rapamycin Causes Diabetes
Many organ transplant recipients and cancer patients depend on rapamycin, a drug that suppresses the immune system and targets proteins involved in cell division. But this highly effective drug has an unfortunate side effect: many of the people who take it develop diabetes. Scientists now say they've figured out the root of the problem by studying the drug's effects on mice.
Scientists Take Ocean’s Temperature, Find Rise Beginning in 1800s
Modern researchers traced the path of a 19th-century sailing ship in order to compare ocean temperatures over the past century and found that the water started getting hotter much earlier than previously expected.
Radioactive ‘Hotspots’ Found Far From Fukushima Disaster
Three months after a March 2011 tsunami led to meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in northern Japan, scientists detected higher levels of radioactive elements in the ocean up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) off the Japanese coast - but not at levels that present an immediate threat to human health, according to a new study.
Should Senior Drivers Have Restricted Licenses?
Should elderly drivers be treated like teenagers? If driver's licenses for seniors came with restrictions like those imposed on new drivers, the roads could be a lot safer, two Canadian researchers argued on Monday.
Physics Experiments To Pay Attention To Besides the Higgs Boson Search
The Higgs boson -- aka the God particle -- grabs headlines these days, but physicists are working on other fascinating experiments that could impact our daily lives and provide fundamental insights into the nature of the universe. Here's a roundup of a few of the notable findings and lingering questions in the field of physics.
Van Gogh Sunflowers: Genetic Portrait Painted By Scientists
Researchers have unlocked the genetic secrets of a mutated variety of sunflower depicted in paintings by famed post-Impressionist painter Vincent Van Gogh.
911 Dispatchers Show Signs of PTSD: New Study
Emergency dispatchers answering 911 calls can develop symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder even if they are not directly witnessing tragic events, a new study shows.
Ancient Dung Yields Answers To Hyena Family Tree
It's surprising how much you can learn from an old piece of dung. In a new study, French scientists describe how they unraveled details about the family history and diet of ancient cave hyenas from studying fossilized bits of their feces.
Milky Way Harbors Billions of Planets Where Life Could Flourish: Study
Red dwarf stars are some of the most common and long-lived stars in the galaxy -- and many of them may be harboring planets that could support life, according to a new study announced Wednesday.
Cheney Too Old For A New Heart? Not So, Say Docs
When the news broke this week that 71-year-old Dick Cheney received a heart transplant, some readers may have wondered if the former US Vice President was a bit too old for the procedure. But when it comes to transplants, age isn't necessarily a discriminating factor, experts say.
Denser, More Efficient Cities Key To Coping With Population Explosion: Experts
With the world's population increasing by an estimated 1 million more people each week for the next 38 years and more of humanity shifting from rural to urban living, cities across the world will be feeling squeezed very soon.
Antibody Overcomes Defenses For Wide Range Of Cancers
Cancer often evades the human immune system by fooling white blood cells into not destroying it. Researchers may have found a way to overcome this defense by masking a protein flag that tumors wave as a don't eat me signal.
Popcorn Exploding With Health Benefits, Study Says
Next time you're at the movie theater, you might feel a little less guilty about ordering that large popcorn: a researcher has found that the snack has more antioxidants than many fruits and vegetables.
Pain Meds Could Be Linked To Tumor Growth
Opioids, a type of molecule that includes painkillers like morphine, may stimulate tumor growth, according to two studies appearing in the latest issue of the journal Anesthesiology. The studies suggest that opioid painkillers may hamper recovery for cancer patients but could also lead to a new possible target for tumor-fighting drugs.
Want To Eat Less? Take a Big Whiff
If you're aiming to control your portion sizes, anchovies and onions might be the way to go -- Dutch researchers have found that stronger food aromas can cause people to take smaller bites of food.
Fly Mutations Offer Quicker Clues To Human Diseases
A group of Baylor College of Medicine scientists studying fruit flies and Canadian genetics researchers put their heads together and found a gene linked to a neurodegenerative disorder in humans, according to a study published Tuesday in PLoS Biology.
Spring Equinox Earliest In More Than 100 Years
Spring has sprung, and a little bit earlier than usual - in fact, it's the earliest vernal equinox in over a century.
Electroshock Undoes The Ties That Bind Depressed Minds
Electroshock is one of the most effective - and controversial - treatments for depression, but until recently, scientists have been at a loss to explain just how it works. A new study suggests that ECT may reduce depression symptoms by putting a lid on overactive communications between areas in the brain involved in thinking and areas associated with mood control.
Poisons In The Laboratory: Scientists, Beware
Next week is National Poison Prevention Week, and it's not just parents that should keep proper poison control in mind. While laboratories are not the riskiest place to work, accidental poisoning has claimed the lives of experienced researchers as well as some of the most acclaimed figures in science.
Heartbroken Fruit Flies Self-Medicate With Alcohol
Turns out that fruit flies, like humans, tend to their romantic wounds by drinking.
My, What Amazing Eyes You Have!
Scientists think they have discovered why giant squid have the largest eyes on the planet. Squid, however, hardly have a monopoly on extraordinary eyesight in the animal kingdom.
