Contrary to popular belief, spooning is not always the best sex position for those with a bad back. Using infrared and electromagnetic motion capture systems – like those used in the creation of video games – scientists tracked how 10 couples’ spines moved when attempting five common sex positions. They found that sex positions that are […]
Category: Paper of Interest
Cannabis impacts on teenagers
Daily users of cannabis before age 17 are over 60% less likely to complete high school or obtain a degree compared to those who have never used the drug, a new review of literature shows. The authors reviewed 290 reports on cannabis use in teenagers published since 2004. The authors conclude that adolescent cannabis use […]
Long term use of pills for anxiety and sleep problems and Alzheimer’s 
Prolonged use of benzodiazepines, drugs useful to treat anxiety and insomnia, is linked to higher risks of developing Alzheimer’s disease, a new study indicates. Researchers looked at the benzodiazepine drug use in 1,796 elderly patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease living in Quebec and compared them to a control group of elderly without diagnosed cognitive problems. They […]
Resistance of the boreal forest to fire
A new study shows that the boreal forest could be more resilient to forest fire than previously thought. Using climate projections, scientists estimate that forest fire in the Boreal forest in Canada will be bigger and happen more frequently by the end of the 21st century. However, a careful study of the past 200 years […]
Calculating the impact of a “Green Revolution”
New research suggests that improving crop yields has reduced carbon emissions and land use worldwide, but that this might not be the case in the future. The “Green Revolution” refers to the use of fertilizers, pesticides and other agricultural technology to increase crop yields. Previous studies have shown that rather than decreasing the amount of land […]
Archerfish are more skillful than previously thought
Archerfish use jets of water to shoot down insects for dinner, but new research shows they are more skilled at this than previously thought. Researchers trained archerfish to hit targets ranging in height from 20 to 60 centimeters from a precise location, and monitored how they produce the jet. They found that the fish adjust […]
Colossal fossil: 26 meter dinosaur discovered
International scientists have found a new species of dinosaur in Argentina, named Dreadnoughtus, which may represent one of the most complete examples of gigantic titanosaurian sauropod dinosaurs ever discovered. It lived in the southern continents over 66 million years ago, and was one of the biggest creatures ever to walk the Earth. Dreadnoughtus was the most massive land […]
Light-scattering crystals found in Canadian fossil weevils
Scientists have found unique light-scattering crystals in a 700,000-year-old fossilized bug from Gold Run, Yukon. Modern weevils also produce such crystals, but until now not much was known about their evolution. The crystals exploit quantum phenomena to shine bright red and green when examined closely, but from afar the colours blend to produce a muddy brown […]
Dieting? Do whatever works for you
A new meta-analysis of dozens of “brand-name” diets finds that while most are better than no diet at all, there is not much difference between them. The study looked at 48 randomized trials containing a total of nearly 7300 overweight individuals. In terms of amount of weight lost, low-carbohydrate diets give a slight advantage at […]
Polar vortex linked to Arctic sea-ice loss
The loss of Arctic sea-ice may be responsible for the weakened polar vortex and cold Northern Hemisphere winters observed in recent years, a new study shows. The researchers conducted observational analyses and model experiments to reveal a link between Arctic sea-ice loss and polar atmospheric circulation. Researchers showed that decreased sea-ice cover during November and December […]
Phytoplankton produces its own vitamins
A type of phytoplankton found all over the world appears to be able to survive without external supplies of vitamin B1, leading to a re-thinking of how the vitamin controls growth and carbon uptake in the global oceans. The availability of nutrients and vitamins in the ocean is a key limiting factor controlling blooms of phytoplankton, […]
Experimental drug reverses Ebola in monkeys
A new study reports that treatment with the experimental antibody “cocktail” known as ZMapp resulted in recovery in 100% of the 18 rhesus macaques treated with the drug, even when initiated up to five days after infection. This experimental therapy still requires safety testing in humans, but these results indicate that it could be a […]
Genetic studies trace shifting populations in Canada’s Arctic
A new genetic study has clarified the relationships between the ancient and modern cultures in Canada’s Arctic. The results confirm that a single group – known as Paleo-Eskimo – arrived around 3000 BCE and disappeared around 1300 CE when a new group arrived from northern Alaska, the ancestors of today’s Inuit. Genetic information shows that […]
Stone-tipped spears cause more damage
It’s long been assumed that stone-tipped spears – the earliest examples of which appeared about 500,000 years ago – were a technological advance, but a new paper actually puts this theory to the test. Researchers used a cross-bow to fire wooden-tipped and stone-tipped spears into blocks of ballistics-grade gelatin. While both penetrated to a similar […]
A fish out of water . . . can get used to it
A new study shows just how much a fish can change when raised in a land environment, and sheds light on the role such changes could have played in the evolution of land animals. Bichir (Polypterus senegalus) have both gills and lungs and, although they prefer water, can walk across land to reach new habitat […]
A healthy mind with a healthy heart
A new study confirms that exercise and healthy lifestyle maintains the elasticity of the arteries and is linked to preserved cognitive abilities later in life. Researchers performed MRI scans and physical tests on 31 young people (aged 18-30) and 54 older participants (aged 55-75) and while they found that age-related decline of cognitive functions and […]