Category: Science News

Scientists Trained Ants to Detect Cancers

Researchers have successfully trained ants to detect cancer cells in as little as half an hour, thereby providing an inexpensive, noninvasive way to identify the disease. A Feb. 21 study published in the iScience journal details how Formica fusca, a species of black-colored ants, can be used to detect cancer. “Cancer cells are characterized by an…


RNA-Based Vaccine Technology: The Trojan Horse Did Not Contain mRNA

A few years ago, the term “mRNA” was primarily confined to scientific circles and research papers. Then, the use of messenger RNA seemed promising: It would teach cells to create a protein that would initiate an immune response against a specific pathogen. Today, many more of us have heard of mRNA, as both the Pfizer-BioNTech…


Curious Diner Makes Dinosaur Discovery in Chinese Restaurant

A perceptive diner has spotted dinosaur footprints in a restaurant in southwestern China, with an international research team confirming that they belonged to the sauropod—a long-necked and small-headed herbivore. Hongtao Ou, a self-reported palaeontology buff, was having a meal at a restaurant in Leshan, Sichuan, when he found evenly divided craters on the floor and…


Old NASA Satellite Plunges to Earth Over Sahara Desert

An old NASA satellite that studied the sun for more than a decade fell to Earth over the Sahara Desert, the space agency reported Thursday. NASA officials said they have received no reports of damage or injury so far from the reentry, which occurred in the wee hours of the morning in Sudan. Most of…


Fluoride: A Miracle Cure for Cavities, a Poison, or Both

In this series, we explore the contentious findings surrounding fluoridation of the U.S. public water supply and answer the question of whether water fluoridation poses a risk and what we should do about it. Previously: Fluoridation of the U.S. public water supply has been a polarizing topic both academically and politically since its start in…


Confidence in Childhood Vaccine Dips by 44 Percent During COVID-19

A new report on immunisation suggests that confidence in childhood vaccines has fallen up to 44 percent in 52 countries coinciding with the largest sustained backslide in childhood immunization in 30 years, fuelled by the COVID-19 pandemic. The only three countries where vaccine confidence remained steady were China, India, and Mexico. The data from these…


Thousands to Witness Rare Solar Eclipse

Day is set to turn into night when the sun vanishes from the sky during a rare total solar eclipse on a remote peninsula on the Western Australian coast. About 20,000 eclipse chasers from around the world are expected to witness the phenomenon on Thursday when the moon casts a 40-kilometre-wide shadow over the World…


Sky-High Emotions as Total Solar Eclipse Wows Thousands

Thousands of sightseers gathered in Western Australia’s red dirt as a total solar eclipse plunged day into darkness for one minute during the rare celestial event. The total eclipse fell across the North West Cape in WA’s north at about 11.29 a.m. AWST (1.29 p.m. AEST) when the moon completely blocked the sun for a…


SpaceX Calls Off First Launch Attempt of Giant New Rocket

SOUTH PADRE ISLAND, Texas—SpaceX called off its first launch attempt of its giant rocket on Monday. Elon Musk and his company had planned to launch the nearly 400-foot Starship rocket from the southern tip of Texas, near the Mexican border. SpaceX postponed the launch because of a problem with the first-stage booster. No people or…


Researchers Analyze Road Rage to Improve Self-Driving Cars

Researchers are analyzing road rage so that they can train self-driving vehicles to respond to aggressive driving. Research conducted by the University of Warwick, United Kingdom, found that aggressive drivers had a 5 km/h (3.11 mph) faster speed than their non-aggressive counterparts. They also made more mistakes, like not indicating when changing lanes. Researchers hope…