Inducing narcissistic feelings leads people to overestimate their intelligence

Does narcissism really make people think that they’re smarter than they are, even if they aren’t a narcissist? A study published in the Journal of Research in Personality suggests that inducing narcissistic feelings can lead individuals to overestimate their own intelligence.

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Lockheed Martin's vision for Mars base in 2050

At its "Destination: Space 2050" event in October Lockheed Martin (one of the largest American aerospace, advanced technologies and defense companies) shared its vision of a vibrant space economy in the year 2050. Here Lockheed Martin envisions a future on Mars with "power beaming, laser communications and robotic in-situ construction for a sustainable living and economic environment". Note company's conceptual Mars lander on the landing pad.

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Owning a pet is linked to having better cognitive health in advanced age, study finds

A study on a national sample of U.S. adults above 50 years of age found that persons above 65 who owned a pet for more than 5 years had higher cognitive scores and higher immediate and delayed word recall scores (better memory) compared to people of the same age who did not own a pet.

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An A.I. Pioneer on What We Should Really Fear

“Some people naïvely think if we teach A.I. ‘Don’t kill people while maximizing paper-clip production,’ that will take care of it,” says Yejin Choi.

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Scientists develop blood test for Alzheimer’s disease

Scientists say test could replace a costly brain scan or painful lumbar puncture and enable earlier detection of disease

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Here’s What’s Next for Pig Organ Transplants

THE NIGHT BEFORE the transplant, surgeon Bartley Griffith didn’t sleep well. When he awoke around 3 am and went to make a cup of coffee, he forgot to put his mug below the machine and ended up with coffee all over the floor. But when he arrived in the operating room on the morning of January 7, the very unusual operation he was about to perform became just like any other heart transplant. The only difference was the organ donor was a pig. The recipient: a 57-year-old man with a failing heart.

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The Dinosaurs Didn't Go Extinct in a Day (They Didn't Go Extinct At All...)

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They’re one of Earth’s rarest reptiles. But these crocodiles are bouncing back.

Siamese crocodiles were almost hunted to extinction. Now, efforts to reintroduce the species may be Cambodia’s most successful conservation story.

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Glass act: Scientists reveal secrets of frog transparency

WASHINGTON (AP) — Now you see them, now you don’t. Some frogs found in South and Central America have the rare ability to turn on and off their nearly transparent appearance, researchers report Thursday in the journal Science .

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Psychedelic drugs may launch a new era in psychiatric treatment, brain scientists say

One of the hottest tickets at this year's Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego was a session on psychedelic drugs. About 1,000 brain scientists squeezed into an auditorium at the San Diego Convention Center for the symposium, called Psychedelics and Neural Plasticity.

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SpaceX activates nearly 100 Starlinks in Iran amid country-wide protests: report

As Iran reaches 100 days of civil unrest, SpaceX has deployed nearly 100 Starlinks in the region. SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted "approaching 100 Starlinks active in Iran" on Monday(opens in new tab) (Dec. 26) in response to a tweet showing women walking outdoors in Iran with their hair uncovered, which is technically forbidden under the country's restrictive regime.

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Researchers explore the relationship between childhood trauma, gray matter, and social anhedonia

A new study published in Brain Imaging and Behavior searches for the potential relationship between childhood trauma, social anhedonia, and brain gray matter volume. The research found individuals with moderate to severe childhood trauma experienced higher levels of social anhedonia and exhibited differences in gray matter.

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Green electronics rely on materials that grow on trees

Compounds derived from eucalyptus and other plants are formulated into an ink for printing electronic components.

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Flexibility is key to building a carbon neutral power system

To manage future electricity demand in line with the EU's Energy Roadmap 2050, power grids need to rely on both supply and demand flexibility and be structured as a system of systems.

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A More Elegant Form of Gene Editing Progresses to Human Testing

Instead of cutting out chunks of the genome to disable malfunctioning genes, base editing makes a smaller, more precise swap.

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Co-working spaces limit creativity in the long run, finds new study

Co-working spaces can limit the creativity and innovation of new businesses, a study has found.

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How artificial intelligence is helping us explore the solar system

Planetary scientists are finding creative ways to use machine learning.

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James Webb Space Telescope's 1st year in space has blown astronomers away

Just one year after launch, the James Webb Space Telescope is exceeding all expectations, and astronomers are thrilled. Launched on Dec. 25, 2021, the $10 billion infrared observatory was designed to learn how galaxies form and grow, to peer far back into the universe to the era of the first galaxies, to watch stars be born inside their nebulous embryos in unprecedented detail, and to probe the atmospheres of exoplanets and characterize some of the closest rocky worlds.

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Harvard, Penn research says people like you more than you think—how to use that to your advantage

Harvard and Penn psychology research shows that people routinely underestimate how much others like them. Here's how to use that "liking gap" to your advantage.

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First came a viral storm. Now, we have puzzling superinfections.

Rare bacterial infections, such as invasive strep A, are popping up around the United States and Europe, with unusual effects for children.

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Gene therapy restored immune system in children with rare disorder

Children born without a working immune system due to a rare genetic disorder called Artemis-deficient severe combined immunodeficiency (Artemis-deficient SCID) may be able to lead normal lives thanks to a new gene-replacement therapy. A trial found that the therapy either partially or fully restored the immune systems of 10 infants with the condition.

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Want to start your own company? You might have a brain parasite.

A new study of alpha leaders underscores a strange link between entrepreneurship and an infection caused by cat poop

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Horror stories of cryonics: The gruesome fates of futurists hoping for immortality

Cryonics is the practice of freezing your body in the hope of resurrection by future medicine. Some pioneers met a fate grislier than death.

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How a gene-editing breakthrough from a Harvard lab saved the life of a girl with leukemia

A 13-year-old girl became the first-ever patient to receive a base-editing therapy, and her leukemia went into remission. Here's how it works.

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The Era of One-Shot, Multimillion-Dollar Genetic Cures Is Here

Gene therapies promise long-term relief from intractable diseases—if insurers agree to pony up.

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Alien planet found spiraling to its doom around an aging star

For the first time, astronomers have spotted an exoplanet whose orbit is decaying around an evolved, or older, host star. The stricken world appears destined to spiral closer and closer to its maturing star until collision and ultimate obliteration. The discovery offers new insights into the long-winded process of planetary orbital decay by providing the first look at a system at this late stage of evolution.

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Playing Competitive Video Games Helps the Brain & the Soul

Yes, “try-harding” in Mortal Kombat or Call of Duty will improve your mental functions and values in life. Even if you do not play video games, this post will show you how impactful video games, but even more specifically, competitive video games are to your well-being.

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A Powerful Recoil Effect Magnified NASA’s Asteroid Deflection Experiment

Scientists continue to pore over the results of NASA’s stunningly successful DART test to deflect a harmless asteroid. As the latest findings suggest, the recoil created by the blast of debris spewing out from Dimorphos after impact was significant, further boosting the spacecraft’s influence on the asteroid.

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NASA Mars rover captures first sound of dust devil on red planet

NASA can now say what a dust devil sounds like on Mars. A NASA rover had its microphone on by chance when a whirling tower of red dust passed directly overhead, recording the racket. It is about 10 seconds of not only rumbling gusts of up to 40kph (25mph), but the pinging of hundreds of dust particles against the rover Perseverance. Scientists released the first-of-its-kind audio Tuesday.

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A New Way to Achieve Nuclear Fusion: Helion

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First impressions of strangers' faces are strongly influenced by political partisanship

New research published in PLOS ONE reveals a potential consequence of political polarization in the United States. The study provides evidence that partisan labels influence first impressions of strangers’ faces.

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Seawater-to-Hydrogen Tech Makes a New, Blue H2

Using renewable electricity to split water into hydrogen and oxygen is considered by experts the cleanest route to producing hydrogen fuel. But we live in a world where clean water is a precious commodity to which a third of the world lacks easy access. Researchers in China have now made a device that can directly split seawater to make hydrogen fuel.

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Uber Eats launches robot delivery service in Miami

The next time you order a meal from Uber Eats, it may be delivered by a robot -- at least if you live in Miami.

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First human trials test light & sound therapy for Alzheimer's disease

A new study published in the journal PLoS ONE has reported on the first human tests of an experimental therapy using sound and light to treat Alzheimer's disease (AD). The initial findings are promising.

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Space debris expert: Orbits will be lost—and people will die—later this decade

"Flexing geopolitical muscles in space to harm others has already happened."

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Degrowth can work — here’s how science can help

Wealthy countries can create prosperity while using less materials and energy if they abandon economic growth as an objective.

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Gene-edited hens may end cull of billions of chicks

Israeli researchers say they have developed gene-edited hens that lay eggs from which only female chicks hatch. The breakthrough could prevent the slaughter of billions of male chickens each year, which are culled because they don't lay eggs. The female chicks, and the eggs they lay when they mature, have no trace of the original genetic alteration

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NASA's Perseverance rover captures first-ever sound of dust devil on Mars: "Definitely luck"

What's a dust devil sound like on Mars? A NASA rover by chance had its microphone on when a whirling tower of red dust passed directly overhead, recording the racket. It's about 10 seconds of not only rumbling gusts of up to 25 mph, but the pinging of hundreds of dust particles against the rover Perseverance. Scientists released the first-of-its-kind audio Tuesday.

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UK-led robotic sky scanner reveals its first galactic fingerprint

A major telescope upgrade has peered through to the distant Universe to reveal the spectra of a pair of galaxies 280 million light years away from Earth.

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New European satellite will better predict violent storms

A new European satellite launches on Tuesday that will greatly enhance forecasting of sudden, violent storms so that we can better prepare for them. An Ariane rocket will lift the Meteosat-12 weather satellite into the sky to watch over the European continent, the Middle East and Africa.

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Air pollution can drive people to kill themselves

Polluted air is bad for your health. It increases the risk of strokes, heart disease and a list of respiratory illnesses. It is linked, as well, to low productivity at work and poor scores on academic tests. And pollution may have a yet-more-sinister effect. It may also promote suicide.

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Children with autism show improvement after being treated with cannabidiol-rich medicinal cannabis

A study of children with autism spectrum disorders in Israel reported significant improvements in their social communication abilities after six months of treatment with cannabidiol-rich cannabis oil. Additionally, parents reported a reduction in restrictive and repetitive behaviors of children. Children’s cognitive scores were not changed. The study was published in Translational Psychiatry.

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Would you switch your dog to eating lab-grown meat?

As environmental and ethical concerns grow over pet food, some say cultivated meat is the solution.

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Australia’s mountain mist frog declared extinct as red list reveals scale of biodiversity crisis

Experts describe it as a ‘beautiful endemic rainforest species’, one of several that have not been seen for decades

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U.S. expected to announce major breakthrough in quest for zero-carbon nuclear fusion energy

The U.S. Department of Energy said Sunday it would announce a "major scientific breakthrough" this week, after media reported a federal laboratory had recently achieved a major milestone in nuclear fusion research. The Financial Times reported Sunday that scientists in the California-based Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) had achieved a "net energy gain" from an experimental fusion reactor.

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AI is finally good at stuff. Now what?

Here’s why you’ve been hearing so much about ChatGPT.

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Robot guides needle into lungs more accurately than human doctors

A robot guided a flexible needle into the lungs of pigs, outperforming humans using straight needles

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Keystone pipeline leaks 14,000 barrels of oil into creek in biggest spill yet

The leak occurred in Washington county, Kansas, with the affected segment being ‘isolated’ and the drip contained

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Shocking photo shows what happens when you flush with the lid up

Every time you flush a toilet, it releases plumes of tiny water droplets into the air around you. We used lasers to show how, writes John Crimaldi.

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Star may have drawn scorching 'hell planet' into super-close orbit

You thought Venus was hot? While the planet does have an average surface temperature of nearly 900 degrees Fahrenheit (500 degrees Celsius), there's an exoplanet just 40 light-years away from Earth that has a surface temperature a scorching three times hotter: 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit (2,000 degrees Celsius). Now, new data has led scientists to develop a theory of how this "hell planet" came to be.

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