science
Washington (AFP) - Humankind's two closest primate relatives are often said to embody contrasting sides of our nature: peace-loving bonobos versus violence-prone chimpanzees. But a new study out Friday in Current Biology says it's not that simple. Male bonobos in fact fight each other more often than male chimps do -- and the bonobo "bad boys" who have more dust-ups also see greater mating success. Lead author Maud Mouginot of Boston University told AFP she decided to investigate the question of aggression among bonobos after prior research revealed a "reproductive skew" among males, meaning ...
AFP
Seoul (AFP) - South Korea put its second domestically made spy satellite into orbit, Seoul's defence ministry said Monday, after it launched from an American space centre on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The satellite successfully communicated with an overseas ground station shortly afterwards, the ministry said. "Our military's second reconnaissance satellite successfully separated from the launch vehicle at around 09:02 (1202 GMT) and entered the target orbit," the defence ministry said in a statement. The satellite "successfully established contact with an overseas ground station at approximat...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Whether dogs truly understand the words we say -- as opposed to things like tone and context clues -- is a question that has long perplexed owners, and so far science hasn't been able to deliver clear answers. But a new brain wave study published Friday in Current Biology suggests that hearing the names of their favorite toys actually activates dogs' memories of those objects. "It definitely shows us that it's not human-unique to have this type of referential understanding," first author Lilla Magyari of the Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, told AFP, explaining that res...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Elon Musk suggested his use of drugs benefits Tesla investors in an interview released Monday, saying he takes prescribed ketamine to treat his "negative frame of mind." The 52-year-old tycoon confirmed he takes the anesthetic -- typically used for pain management and to treat depression -- following reports in the US media that his drug use was spooking investors. “Ketamine is helpful for getting one outside out of a negative frame of mind," Musk told former CNN host Don Lemon in an interview published on social media on Monday. Asked if his ketamine use could impact inves...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - The mystery of so-called Havana Syndrome, which struck down dozens of US diplomats, deepened Monday as new research found no tangible evidence of brain injury in those affected. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) acknowledged that ongoing symptoms including migraines, chronic dizziness, and depression are still very much real -- even if they cannot yet be explained. Havana Syndrome first baffled officials in 2016 when US diplomats in Cuba's capital reported falling ill and hearing piercing sounds at night, sparking speculation of an attack by a foreign e...
AFP
Boston (AFP) - Propelled to prominence by the blockbuster film "Oppenheimer", papers charting the world-changing creation of the atomic bomb by the eponymous physicist are up for auction in the United States. Christopher Nolan's $1 billion-grossing epic immortalizes the story of the wartime race to create nuclear weapons, with the film the leading contender at the Academy Awards Sunday. It has received 13 nominations, including for best picture, best actor and best director. Among the items to go under the hammer in Boston is a report on the birth of the atomic bomb which was subsequently used...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - A stingray housed in a small-town aquarium in the United States is expecting offspring without ever having shared a tank with a male of her kind, making her not just a local sensation but a scientific curiosity. Charlotte, who has been at the Aquarium & Shark Lab in Henderson, North Carolina for more than eight years, started showing an unusual growth on her body around late November. Staff were initially worried she might have a tumor. "Her hump just started growing and growing, and we thought that it could be potentially cancer," Kinsley Boyette, the aquarium's assistant ...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Ancient viruses that infected vertebrates hundreds of millions of years ago played a pivotal role in the evolution of our advanced brains and large bodies, a study said Thursday. The research, published in the journal Cell, examined the origins of myelin, an insulating layer of fatty tissue that forms around nerves and allows electrical impulses to travel faster. According to the authors, a gene sequence acquired from retroviruses -- viruses that invade their host's DNA -- is crucial for myelin production, and that code is now found in modern mammals, amphibians and fish. "...
AFP
Washington (AFP) - Ancient viruses that infected vertebrates hundreds of millions of years ago played a pivotal role in the evolution of our advanced brains and large bodies, a study said Thursday. The research, published in the journal Cell, examined the origins of myelin, an insulating layer of fatty tissue that forms around nerves and allows electrical impulses to travel faster. According to the authors, a gene sequence acquired from retroviruses -- viruses that invade their host's DNA -- is crucial for myelin production, and that code is now found in modern mammals, amphibians and fish. "...
AFP
Clark (Philippines) (AFP) - NASA has kicked off a series of marathon flights in Asia with the world's biggest flying laboratory, in an ambitious mission to improve the models that help to forecast and fight air pollution. Millions of deaths each year are linked to air pollution, and improving the ability to identify its sources and behaviour can lead to more accurate warning systems for the public. Starting this week in the Philippines, the US agency's DC-8 is flying for up to eight hours at a time -- sometimes just 15 metres (50 feet) from the ground -- to swoop up air particles for study. "W...
AFP
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