Genetic variant of calcium channels could be an underlying cause of ALS
We all marvel at the athletic dexterity of the Olympians. But let’s take a moment here to appreciate and be awed by our ability to command the muscles to move at all. An act...
SOMETHING ABOUT SCIENCE Blog
Story of ants: how they build a raft from memory
Do ants rely on memory to work together? Apparently, yes. A research group at the University of California, Riverside, showed that ants remember their positions within the ant-made rafts. A species of ant, Formica...
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Story of wasps: their facts and a stolen lunch
One fine summer day at lunch, an uninvited guest paid my lunch mates and me a visit: a yellow jacket. The yellow jacket is a type of wasp commonly found in North America. The...
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Three Science Ghost Stories of 2015 (Halloween special)
This is not your typical Halloween-themed article. There are no pumpkins, zombies, or bats here. Instead, read on for a taste of this year’s (unexpected) “ghost” stories in astrophysics, science policy, and evolution. ...
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Frog tongues work like scotch tape
A new study reveals that a frog tongue acts like an adhesive tape. Although frogs are well known for their sticky tongues that flick out of their mouths to capture the prey, the actual...
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Microbes that can live on electricity
Previously, only two types of autotrophs (organisms that can produce nutrients from simple inorganic substances, such as carbon dioxide) were known: those that use light as the energy source (phototrophs) and those that...
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Bold chickens, bigger chickens
What happens when birds are domesticated? Study shows that domestication makes chickens larger. When selected over multiple generations for reduced fear towards humans, red junglefowls (ancestors of domestic chickens) grew faster and larger, laid...
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Dogs are not good at solving puzzles
Welcome to the first science comics on Something About Science! Enjoy an illustrated (and humorous/cute) summary of a research paper: Summary: A new study shows that dogs are more dependent than wolves when it...
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Mechanism of new anticonvulsant unraveled: how it “sticks” to the target
Epilepsy is a common disorder, affecting 1 in every 100 people worldwide. However, an overwhelming number of patients develop resistance to common medications, requiring new classes or improved versions of existing drugs. In the...
