science

Getting The Particle-ulars Of The Higgs-Boson

Beth Lipoff and Steve Kraske — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 15:49:49 +0000

The Higgs-Boson is said to be the key to understanding why mass exists and how atoms are possible. Some call it "The God Particle."

When Artificial Intelligence Meets Biology

Beth Lipoff and Steve Kraske — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 00:00:00 +0000

Nanobots swimming in your bloodstream may not be the stuff of science fiction for too much longer.

Remember When Pluto Was A Planet?: The Half-Life Of Facts

Brian Ellison and Danie Alexander — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 06:34:58 +0000

A fact is something that actually exists; reality; truth. Until it isn't anymore. How does that happen?

Fossil Facebook: Digitization of Fossils Going Public

Charlie Upchurch — Tue, 26 Jun 2012 16:23:58 +0000

If some people are worried about pictures from freshman year surfacing on the internet, imagine this: a 290 million year old organism gets put on a publicly accessible database, from its specific location all the way to a picture from its deathbed.

Coming soon to your newsfeed: Fossil Facebook.

Early Man And Mammoths: Linda Hall Exhibit Shows Human History

Charlie Upchurch — Thu, 21 Jun 2012 17:45:49 +0000

In the early 19th century, it was commonly believed that humans were a relatively new species, existing for only about 6,000 years. However, the discovery of human remains alongside stone tools and extinct animals began to change some minds in the scientific community in the 1840s, leading to the now-commonly accepted belief in human antiquity.

Bobbing Continents Believed To Cause Changes In Biodiversity

Charlie Upchurch — Fri, 01 Jun 2012 12:25:29 +0000

According to a KU professor, we have evidence that periodic changes in marine biodiversity are tied to uplifting continents.

Real Hobbits: Discovery of New Hominid Shows Diversity of Evolution

Charlie Upchurch — Fri, 11 May 2012 20:18:51 +0000

Matt Tocheri knows hobbits pretty well: he’s been studying their wristbones for years.

Well, not quite hobbits, per se, but homo floresiensis, a hominid fossil discovered on the island of Flores in Indonesia, which at first glance appeared to be a small version of a modern human. However, researchers argue that these ‘hobbits’ are in fact h. floresiensis, and make up a new branch of the human evolutionary tree.

The Traveling Trunk Of African American & Latino Inventors

Charlie Upchurch, Andrea Silenzi and Jabulani Leffall — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 19:39:26 +0000

If you're a young black or latino student plotting your future, do you look up to athletes or entrepreneurs? Entertainers or innovators?

The Race To Create The Best Antiviral Drugs

editor — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:37:00 +0000

If you've ever had a bacterial infection like staph or strep throat, your doctor may have prescribed penicillin. But if you've had the flu or a common cold virus, penicillin won't work. That's because antibacterials only kill bacteria, and both the flu and the common cold are viruses. So for illnesses like the flu, doctors prescribe antiviral drugs, which target the mechanisms that viruses use to reproduce.

"For example, there are antivirals for the flu that interfere with the virus as it tries to get out of its host cell," says science writer Carl Zimmer.

War Of The Worlds: When Science, Politics Collide

Scott Neuman — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:12:00 +0000

Roger Cone is a microbiologist, not a politician. He struggles with a basic truth: For all the scientific acceptance of evolution, many Americans simply don't believe it is factually accurate.

And when Tennessee lawmakers passed a measure allowing teachers to question accepted theories on evolution and climate change in the classroom, Cone acted.