mysteries

New research from the University of Ottawa has revealed a new neuroimaging technique that might be used to enable large-scale screenings for Alzheimer’s. It could also reveal new details about the disease’s earliest stages.Specialized brain imaging can reveal new details about Alzheimer’s disease and other disorders<span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Alzheimer’s</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Alzheimer's disease…

A study finds that algal genes provide answers to questions concerning plant growth and health.The discovery will help develop heat-tolerant crops and improve algal biofuel productionPlants, like all other known organisms, utilize <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>DNA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is a molecule composed of two long strands of nucleotides that coil around each other to…

Credit: Allen Lane, publisher A Nottingham professor has turned his passion for physics and science communication into his first book, dedicated to a friend who inspired him. …

Schematic drawing of a subset of the animals that were investigated as part of the research. Metabolic rates and resulting thermophysiological strategies are color-coded, orange hues characterize high metabolic rates coinciding with warm-bloodedness, and blue hues characterize low-metabolic rates coinciding with cold-bloodedness. From left to right: Plesiosaurus, Stegosaurus, Diplodocus, Allosaurus, Calypte (modern hummingbird). Credit: © J. WiemannPaleontologists have been debating for decades whether dinosaurs were…

A mirror world is a common trope in fantasy and fiction, but it may also be the answer to one of Space's biggest mysteries today. A group of scientists behind a new research paper suggest that a “mirror world” of particles that remains unseen from us may be the answer to the Hubble Constant problem. The Hubble constant problem refers to the discrepancy in the theoretical value of the rate of expansion in the universe and the actual rate of expansion as observed by measurements. The issue remains to reconcile the two…

An ancient tooth found in a cave has been linked to the Denisovans, a sister species of modern humans. The tooth was first found during an archaeological survey in a remote area of Laos. Now, scientists have shown that it originated from the same ancient human species that was first discovered in Denisova Cave in the mountains of Siberia. The Denisovans are believed to be cousins of the Neanderthals, which are often pictured like the man in the image above. Now that scientists have connected this tooth to the…

Martian surface frost, made up largely of carbon dioxide, appears bluish-white in these images from the Thermal Emission Imaging System (THEMIS) camera aboard NASA’s 2001 Odyssey orbiter. THEMIS takes images in both visible light, perceptible to the human eye, and heat-sensitive infrared. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASUA new research study using data from <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>NASA</div><div…

The Vertex Locator detector at the University of Liverpool. Credit: McCoy Wynne, University of LiverpoolThe device hopes to answer the ultimate existential questions.The final piece of an all-new detector has completed the first leg of its journey toward unlocking some of the most enduring mysteries of the Universe.The 41-million-pixel Vertex Locator (VELO) was assembled at the University of Liverpool. It was assembled from components made at different institutes, before it traveled to its home at the Large Hadron…

Hubble Space Telescope image of the spiral galaxy NGC 247 (Caldwell 62), which has the nickname the Needle’s Eye. Credit: NASA, ESA, and H. Feng (Tsinghua University); Image processing: G. Kober (NASA Goddard/Catholic University of America)This <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>NASA</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Established in 1958, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is an independent agency…

Devil House begins with a proposal from true crime author Gage Chandler’s editor: a property is for sale in the California town of Milpitas. Abandoned after a spell as a pornographic book and video shop, it subsequently became the site of a little known, possibly occult double murder. The deadly weapon was a sword, and this was 1987: the peak of the satanic panic, when devil worship was supposedly rife and lurking in the grooves of every heavy metal record. Why doesn’t Gage move in, investigate the murders and write his…