Mark Hoffman : Science World Report

Mar 13, 2013 03:12 PM EDT

raiBig Eyes Using Too Much Brain Power Got Neanderthals Extinct

Bigger eyes and a corresponding greater allocation of the brain to process visual information is the most recent theory about the reasons that led to the extinction of Neanderthals, our closest relatives, brought forward in a new study.

Mar 13, 2013 02:08 PM EDT

Grasshopper Rocket Made by SpaceX Achieves Record Jump

A SpaceX experimental rocket, called the Grasshopper, made a record jump recently, reaching a height of 80.1 meters, the company announced.

Mar 13, 2013 11:53 AM EDT

World's Largest Radio Telescope ALMA Opens in Chile Today

The Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) will officially open Wednesday, 13 March. The telescope is expected to give researchers vital information about the formation of stars.

Mar 12, 2013 09:37 PM EDT

Russia to Hammer Out Asteroid Shield Plan in 2013

According to a ministerial statement, Russia will complete a plan for a program to monitor threats from space, and possibly defend itself against them, by the end of this year.

Mar 12, 2013 09:10 PM EDT

More Earth-Sized Planets in Habitable Zones And Closer Than Thought

The number of potentially habitable, earth-sized exoplanets is larger than the current estimate when extrapolating the total numbers using an updated habitability zone, instead of the old definition from 1993.

Mar 12, 2013 04:52 PM EDT

Mars Colonization Project Awards First Supplier Contract

Mars One, the organization with the purpose to establish a human settlement on Mars in 2023, made a concrete step towards that goal by contracting its first aerospace supplier, Paragon Space Development Corporation(R), for a core component needed on the Red Planet.

Mar 12, 2013 02:31 PM EDT

Ancient Mars Had Habitable Conditions Curiosity Results Prove

Mars rover Curiosity provided evidence confirming that Mars could have once supported microbial life, NASA scientists announced in a press conference from Washington D.C. on Tuesday.

Mar 12, 2013 01:14 PM EDT

Bioteeth From Stem-Cells Will Regrow Complete Teeth, Superior to Implants

Replacing missing teeth with new bioengineered teeth, grown from stem cells generated from a person's own gum cells, is a future method that could be superior to the currently used implant technology, but for now not all required pieces are in place.

Mar 11, 2013 05:52 PM EDT

Third Closest Neighbouring Star System Found 6 Lightyears Away

An astronomer announced today, March 11, that by scanning archival images that are publicly available and dating back to 1978, he has located a binary star system only 6.5 light years from Earth. The duo is the closest star system discovered since 1916 and has taken over the title for the third-clos...

Mar 11, 2013 04:42 PM EDT

New 'Mortality Index' Calculates Probabilities Of Dying In Next Ten Years

A "mortality index" developed by researchers in San Francisco is designed for doctors to get basic numbers about their patients likelihood to die within the next 10 years, which would help them to determine how useful complicated treatments would be for a patient.

Mar 11, 2013 04:23 PM EDT

Nanoparticles Coated With Bee Venom Kill Viruses Including HIV

Nanoparticles that are coated with melittin, a toxin found in bee venom, can effectively destroy human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) while leaving surrounding cells unharmed, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have shown.

Mar 11, 2013 01:13 PM EDT

Molecule in Green Tea Blocks Formation of Amyloid Plaques in Alzheimers

A new potential benefit of a molecule in green tea was found by researchers at the University of Michigan: preventing the misfolding of specific proteins in the brain, leading to plaque, that are associated with Alzheimer's disease.