News tagged with royal society

Chandra finds Milky Way's black hole grazing on asteroids

(PhysOrg.com) -- The giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the frequent flares observed, according to astronomers using data from NASA's ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (8) | comments 14 | with audio podcast

Obstacles no barrier to higher speeds for worms, researchers find

Obstacles in an organism's path can help it to move faster, not slower, researchers from New York University's Applied Math Lab at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences have found through a series ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Statistical model unlocks barriers to use of fingerprint evidence in court

Potentially key fingerprint evidence is currently not being considered due to shortcomings in the way it is reported, according to a report published today in Significance, the magazine of the Royal Statistical Society and th ...

Other Sciences / Mathematics

created Feb 08, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (2) | comments 1

Dry conditions spurred advanced photosynthesis

The need to conserve water played a vital role in driving plants to evolve a specialised form of photosynthesis, scientists have shown.

Biology / Evolution

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Do black holes help stars form?

(PhysOrg.com) -- The center of just about every galaxy is thought to host a black hole, some with masses of thousands of millions of Suns and consequently strong gravitational pulls that disrupt material around ...

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Feb 03, 2012 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (6) | comments 1 | with audio podcast

Could brain size determine whether you are good at maintaining friendships?

(Medical Xpress) -- Researchers are suggesting that there is a link between the number of friends you have and the size of the region of the brain – known as the orbital prefrontal cortex – that ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Feb 02, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (11) | comments 9 | with audio podcast

Testosterone makes us less cooperative and more egocentric, study finds

Testosterone makes us overvalue our own opinions at the expense of cooperation, research from the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London has found. The findings may have implications for how group ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Jan 31, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (10) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genetics of Arctic plants under serious threat from climate change, study says

A new EU study by a team of Austrian, French and Norwegian researchers has found that rising temperatures as a result of climate change will have differing genetic consequences within single Arctic plant species. ...

Biology / Ecology

created Jan 30, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0

Scientists reveal how females store sperm for decades

(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have discovered that all sorts of females – from birds to reptiles to insects – have a nifty trick to prolong the lifespan of sperm, letting them store it for weeks, months ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 26, 2012 | popularity 4.4 / 5 (7) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Turtles' mating habits protect against effects of climate change

The mating habits of marine turtle may help to protect them against the effects of climate change, according to new research led by the University of Exeter. Published today in the journal Proceedings of th ...

Biology / Plants & Animals

created Jan 24, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (3) | comments 5 | with audio podcast

It's evolution: Nature of prejudice, aggression different for men and women

Prejudice is linked to aggression for men and fear for women, suggests new research led by Michigan State University scholars.

Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry

created Jan 24, 2012 | popularity 4.3 / 5 (9) | comments 3 | with audio podcast

Evolution is written all over your face

Why are the faces of primates so dramatically different from one another?

Biology / Evolution

created Jan 11, 2012 | popularity 4.6 / 5 (16) | comments 10 | with audio podcast

How does our brain know what is a face and what's not?

Objects that resemble faces are everywhere. Whether it’s New Hampshire’s erstwhile granite “Old Man of the Mountain,” or Jesus’ face on a tortilla, our brains are adept at locating ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jan 09, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Scientists urge balance in the war on antimicrobial resistance

Scientists are urging policymakers to reconsider priorities in efforts to understand and control antimicrobial resistance. The new research, published today, was led by Royal Veterinary College Principal Professor Stuart ...

Biology / Cell & Microbiology

created Jan 05, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Facing complexity in the left brain/right brain paradigm

The left brain/right brain dichotomy has been prominent on the pop psychology scene since Nobel Laureate Roger Sperry broached the subject in the 1960s. The left is analytical while the right is creative, ...

Medicine & Health / Neuroscience

created Jan 04, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast