As an alternative to government-issued money, the cryptocurrency Bitcoin offers relative anonymity, no sales tax and freedom from bank and government interference. But some people argue that these benefits have an enormous environmental impact, particularly with regard to Bitcoin mining — the process used to secure the cryptocurrency. Now, researchers have estimated that past and…

Vocal learning leads to modification of call structure in a multi-level baboon society. Musical masterworks as the Queen of the Night’s Aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute, are examples of the sounds trained human voices can produce. The precondition for vocal virtuosity as well as for any spoken word is vocal learning, the ability to…

A new study shows how a particular molecule, produced by gut bacteria, affects brain function and promotes anxiety-like behaviors in mice. The research was conducted primarily in the laboratory of Sarkis Mazmanian, Luis B. and Nelly Soux Professor of Microbiology and affiliated faculty member with the Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute for Neuroscience at Caltech.…

Scientists have named a newly discovered species of worm that kills tarantulas after American actor Jeff Daniels, a distinction no other actor can claim. There are more than 25,000 described species of these worms, called nematodes, and they are one of the most abundant animals on Earth. However, this is only the second time one…

In the Stone Age, some 8,000 years ago, people danced often and in a psychedelic way. This is a conclusion drawn from elk teeth discovered in the Yuzhniy Oleniy Ostrov burial site in the Republic of Karelia, Russia, whose wear marks and location in the graves indicate that the objects were used as rattlers. Rainio…

The spectacularly colorful aurora borealis — or northern lights — that fills the sky in high-latitude regions has fascinated people for thousands of years. Now, a team of scientists has resolved one of the final mysteries surrounding its origin. Scientists know that electrons and other energized particles that emanate from the sun as part of…

Researchers have discovered a way to stably fine-tune the amount of lignin in poplar by applying CRISPR/Cas9 technology. Lignin is one of the main structural substances in plants and it makes processing wood into, for example, paper difficult. Towards a bio-based economy Today’s fossil-based economy results in a net increase of CO2 in the Earth’s…

A tiny rodent trims tall grasses so it can watch the skies for flying predators, new research shows. Brandt’s voles live in grassland in Inner Mongolia, China, where they are hunted by birds called shrikes. Brandt’s voles live in grassland in Inner Mongolia, China, where they are hunted by birds called shrikes. The new study…

If you’ve ever suffered from a sore jaw that popped or clicked when you chewed gum or crunched hard foods, you may be able to blame it on your extinct ancestors. That’s according to a recent study of the chewing mechanics of an ancient human relative called Homo floresiensis, which inhabited the Indonesian island of…

The strange social structure of tiny fish called emerald coral gobies may be explained by family loyalty, new research shows. Coral goby groups contain a single breeding male and female and — as «sequential hermaphrodites» — the subordinate gobies can take over either role if one of the breeders dies. The puzzle for biologists is…