Did a common childhood illness take down the Neanderthals?

(SUNY Downstate Health Science University) A new study suggests that the extinction of Neanderthals may be tied to persistent, life-long ear infections due to the structure of their Eustachian tubes, which are similar to those of human infants.

City shuts down preschool's farm stand

At Little Ones Learning Center in Forest Park, Georgia, outside of Atlanta, the young students do typical preschool things. They work on spelling and draw interesting creations, but they also get to play and learn in an amazing garden. The…

Learn What 370 Schools Are Now Teaching in a Massive New Mental Health Research Trial

One of the world’s largest trials ever undertaken in the realm of mental health is now underway in the classrooms of hundreds of schools in England—and GNN has learned new details about the curriculum, as outcomes are being evaluated for the first round of data. Thousands of children and teens are being taught wellness techniques […]

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Scientists taught rats how to play hide-and-seek and they really got into it

Scientists don’t know exactly why rats are so fond of playing hide-and-seek. But, as a research paper published this week in the journal Science suggests, they really get into it — and they don’t do it strictly for food rewards….

The sleep neuron in threadworms is also a stop neuron

(Goethe University Frankfurt) The nervous system of the threadworm C. elegans is simple at first sight: it consists of 302 neurons, some of which, however, have several functions. The neuron ‘RIS,’ known as a sleep neuron, can therefore put the worm into a long sleep — or also just briefly stop its locomotion, as a group of scientists led by Goethe University have now discovered.

Cheetah cubs need best friends, too

There’s a long-held misconception that dogs and cats can’t be friends. You’d be surprised at how well they can get along sometimes. That’s what keepers at the Cincinnati Zoo were hoping when cheetah cub Kris was recently introduced to a…

Climate change in the Southern Hemisphere

(Goethe University Frankfurt) On its mission ‘SouthTRAC’, the German research aircraft HALO will investigate the southern atmosphere and its effects on climate change in September and November 2019. Researchers from Goethe University will also be on board.

Machine learning in agriculture: scientists are teaching computers to diagnose soybean stress

(Iowa State University) Machine learning could lead to automated processes that would allow soybean producers to diagnose crop stresses more efficiently. A multi-disciplinary team at Iowa State University recently received a grant to develop the technology, which could lead to unmanned aerial vehicles surveying fields and automatically analyzing crop images.

New way to test for drug resistant infections

Scientists have modified an antibiotic from the beta-lactam family so that it can be attached to a sensor, enabling them to detect the presence of bacteria resistant to treatment.

Hidden danger from pet dogs in Africa

Researchers have detected a potentially human-infective microbe in pet dogs in Nigeria.