Research News

Project Puffin staffers "grub" for puffin chicks beneath boulders.

On A Rocky Maine Island, Puffins Are Making A Tenuous Comeback

8:12pm August 21, 2013

by Fred Bever

The windswept island about 6 miles off the coast was a haven for a hugely diverse bird population until fishermen decimated the birds' ranks. Puffins have been successfully reintroduced to Eastern Egg Rock, but warming ocean waters may be threatening their ability to survive.

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Heavy rains in Australia in 2010 and 2011 flooded farmland and homes, like these in the Queensland state town of St. George, seen here on Feb. 7. 2011.

How Extreme Australian Rains Made Global Sea Levels Drop

9:19am August 20, 2013

by Richard Harris

Sea level has been rising steadily as a result of global warming. But in 2010 and 2011, levels dropped sharply by a quarter of an inch. A new analysis says that's because extraordinarily heavy rainfall got trapped in inland Australia.

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Science

Researchers Use Genetic History To Answer Mutation Questions

6:58am August 20, 2013

by Tristan Ahtone

In the Southwest, a rare genetic disorder known as Common Hispanic Mutation has haunted those of Spanish-colonial descent for nearly 400 years. They call it El Frio or the cold. A majority of people with the disorder reside in New Mexico.

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The olinguito (right) was discovered while a researcher was sifting through specimens at The Field Museum in Chicago. On the left is a North American raccoon.

Science

Meet The Olinguito, The Newest Member Of The Raccoon Family

5:44pm August 19, 2013

by Rhitu Chatterjee

This cousin of the raccoon is the first new carnivore discovered in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. Native to the Andes Mountains of Colombia and Ecuador where it's still living, the olinguito was actually first identified in a Field Museum specimen storage room in Chicago.

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N. America's Oldest Known Petroglyphs Discovered In Nevada

6:22pm August 16, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The carvings etched into limestone boulders near Pyramid Lake in western Nevada show that the early North Americans were surprisingly creative artists. The carvings, which are at least 10,000 years old, are abstract, geometric designs including shapes that look like diamonds and trees.

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New Drug Study Revives Debate Over Prostate Cancer Screening

8:40am August 16, 2013

Robert Siegel speaks with Dr. Michael LeFevre, professor at University of Missouri Medical school and co-vice chair of the United States Preventive Services Task Force, about how the new drug study revives a debate over the need for a controversial prostate cancer screening tool, the PSA test.

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Could the images common in accounts of near-death experiences be explained by a rush of electrical activity in the brain?

Brains Of Dying Rats Yield Clues About Near-Death Experiences

7:57am August 13, 2013

by Rob Stein

Researchers discovered what appears to be a momentary increase in electrical activity in the brain associated with consciousness. As the brain struggles to survive, it also struggles to make sense of many neurons firing in the survival attempt.

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This simulated image shows what information about a Higgs particle would look like in the proposed International Linear Collider.

Science

Particle Physicists Want A New Collider To Study The Higgs

6:03pm August 12, 2013

by Geoff Brumfiel

High-energy physicists are still riding high from last year's discovery of the Higgs particle, a major finding decades in the making. Now they want a big new machine to study the Higgs, but budget cuts and the high costs of building a new particle accelerator mean the world can afford only one.

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A red blood cell infected with malaria parasites (blue) sits next to normal cells (red).

Experimental Malaria Vaccine Shows Promise In Human Test

11:02am August 09, 2013

by Jason Beaubien

In a preliminary study, a new type of vaccine offers strong protection against malaria when given at high doses. The study was extremely small and short-term. But health leaders say they are cautiously optimistic about the approach.

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A gene known as DRD2 affects the brain's dopamine system and is known to be associated with aggressive behavior.

Harsh In Hard Times? A Gene May Influence Mom's Behavior

7:51am August 08, 2013

by Jon Hamilton

Mothers with the "sensitive" version of a gene became more likely to strike or scream at their children during the Great Recession, researchers say. But as a complete economic collapse became less likely, the moms relaxed. Those with the "insensitive" version didn't change their behavior.

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