Community size matters when people create a new language

Why are languages so different from each other? After comparing more than 2000 languages, scientists noticed that languages with more speakers are usually simpler than smaller languages. For instance, most English nouns can be turned into plurals by simply adding -s, whereas the German system is notoriously irregular.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/community-size-matters-when-people-create-a-new-language

Perception and working memory are deeply entangled, study finds

Many people have an intuitive, though incorrect, understanding of how the brain works: Our senses perceive objectively factual data, and our higher-level thought processes interpret that data, pull some levers and shape our conclusions and behavior accordingly.

* This article was originally published here

New Zealand cops nab penguin prowlers in sushi stall

A pair of New Zealand penguins that broke into a sushi stall at Wellington's busiest railway station have been returned to their natural habitat.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/new-zealand-cops-nab-penguin-prowlers-in-sushi-stall

'Let's see them aliens': 1.3 mn people vow to storm classified US base

For more than a century, scientists have scoured the known universe for signs of extraterrestrial life, an endeavor that has thus far proved fruitless—unless you believe the US government is hiding aliens at a remote base in Nevada.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/lets-see-them-aliens-1-3-mn-people-vow-to-storm-classified-us-base

Iceland tries to bring back trees razed by the Vikings

Before being colonised by the Vikings, Iceland was lush with forests but the fearsome warriors razed everything to the ground and the nation is now struggling to reforest the island.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/iceland-tries-to-bring-back-trees-razed-by-the-vikings

Telescope viewing suspended as protesters block Hawaii road

Astronomers have indefinitely stopped looking through 13 existing telescopes at the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii while protesters block the road downslope in an attempt to prevent the construction of a giant new observatory.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/telescope-viewing-suspended-as-protesters-block-hawaii-road

Australian finds message in a bottle written 50 years ago

A fisherman man said on Wednesday he was looking for the author of a message in a bottle found off the southern Australian coast 50 years after it was written.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/australian-finds-message-in-a-bottle-written-50-years-ago

Avian malaria behind drastic decline of London's iconic sparrow?

London's house sparrows (Passer domesticus) have plummeted by 71% since 1995, with new research suggesting avian malaria could be to blame.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/avian-malaria-behind-drastic-decline-of-londons-iconic-sparrow

Higher iron levels may boost heart health—but also increase risk of stroke

Scientists have helped unravel the protective—and potentially harmful—effect of iron in the body.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/higher-iron-levels-may-boost-heart-health-but-also-increase-risk-of-stroke

Global commission into health inequities of mental illness gives blueprint for change

Findings released today by a commission into health inequities experienced by people with mental illness lays bare their drastic physical health challenges, and recommends changes to health policy and treatment innovations to tackle what is regarded as a "human rights scandal".

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/global-commission-into-health-inequities-of-mental-illness-gives-blueprint-for-change

Rewards incentivize people to stop smoking

Financial incentives work to help people stop smoking and remain smoke free—according to research led by the University of East Anglia (UEA).

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/rewards-incentivize-people-to-stop-smoking

Novel therapy administered after TBI prevents brain damage

An experimental treatment given to mice after a traumatic brain injury (TBI) reduced damage almost to the levels of mice that never had a TBI, researchers at UT Health San Antonio reported. The study was published July 4 in the Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow and Metabolism.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/novel-therapy-administered-after-tbi-prevents-brain-damage

Undocumented Latina immigrants face PTSD at four times the national rate, new study finds

In recent years, Latinos have migrated from Central America to the United States due to violence, high crime rates, and poverty in their home countries. However, violence and trauma continue along their way to the United States. New research led by George Mason University's College of Health and Human Services (CHHS) found that undocumented Latina immigrants meet the threshold for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis at nearly four times (34%) the rate of civilian women in America overall (9.7%).

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/undocumented-latina-immigrants-face-ptsd-at-four-times-the-national-rate-new-study-finds

Your spending data may reveal aspects of your personality

How you spend your money can signal aspects of your personality, according to research published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. Analyses of over 2 million spending records from more than 2,000 individuals indicate that when people spend money in certain categories, this can be used to infer certain personality traits, such as how materialistic they are or how much self-control they tend to have.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/your-spending-data-may-reveal-aspects-of-your-personality

Limits on pot fishing can result in win-win for fishermen and marine wildlife

Restricting the amount of inshore potting for crab and lobster within marine protected areas (MPAs) can generate a "win-win" for both fishermen and the marine environment, according to the first major study exploring the issue.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/limits-on-pot-fishing-can-result-in-win-win-for-fishermen-and-marine-wildlife

Timing is everything for the mutualistic relationship between ants and acacias

In the 1960s, Penn biologist Dan Janzen, as part of earning his Ph.D., re-described what has become a classic example of biological mutualism: the obligate relationship between acacia-ants and ant-acacia trees. The acacia trees produce specialized structures to shelter and feed the ant colony, and the ants, in turn, defend the tree against herbivores.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/timing-is-everything-for-the-mutualistic-relationship-between-ants-and-acacias

Review indicates that menstrual cups are a safe option for menstruation management

The first systematic review and meta-analysis of the international use of menstrual cups, including 43 studies and data from 3,300 women and girls—published in The Lancet Public Health journal, suggests they are safe and result in similar, or lower, leakage than disposable pads or tampons.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/review-indicates-that-menstrual-cups-are-a-safe-option-for-menstruation-management

Researchers track how cats' weights change over time

Until now, pet owners and veterinarians didn't know for sure. Now University of Guelph researchers have become the first to access data on more than 19 million cats to get a picture of typical weight gain and loss over their lifetimes.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/researchers-track-how-cats-weights-change-over-time

Miniature gravitational-wave detector to be built at Northwestern

A team of physicists and astronomers from Northwestern University is poised to lead gravitational-wave astronomy into its next evolution. The W. M. Keck Foundation has awarded $1 million, which will be used to develop a prototype for a new kind of gravitational-wave detector that is small enough to fit on a tabletop and powerful enough to detect cosmic events that existing astronomical equipment cannot.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/miniature-gravitational-wave-detector-to-be-built-at-northwestern

Salt regulation among saltmarsh sparrows evolved in 4 unique ways

In nature, as in life, there's often more than one way to solve a problem. That includes the evolutionary process. A new study in Evolution Letters finds that different bird species in the same challenging environment—the highly saline ecosystem of tidal marshes along ocean shores—were able to evolve unique species-specific ways to address the same problem.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/salt-regulation-among-saltmarsh-sparrows-evolved-in-4-unique-ways

Giving a chip about masa

Products we commonly buy at the supermarket, such as tortillas and corn chips, are made from food grade corn. The corn is grown, harvested, bought by a food company, turned into masa (dough from ground corn) through a chemical process, and then made into our favorite products.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/giving-a-chip-about-masa

Rugby-style tackling may have lower force of impact than football-style tackling

The style of tackling used in rugby may be associated with a lower force of impact than the style used in football, according to a preliminary study of college athletes released today that will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology Sports Concussion Conference in Indianapolis July 26-28, 2019.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/rugby-style-tackling-may-have-lower-force-of-impact-than-football-style-tackling

'Intensive' beekeeping not to blame for common bee diseases

More "intensive" beekeeping does not raise the risk of diseases that harm or kill the insects, new research suggests.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/intensive-beekeeping-not-to-blame-for-common-bee-diseases

Forces behind growing political polarization in congress revealed in new model

For much of the 20th century, political polarization within the United States House of Representatives tended to decrease over the course of a two-year term. But starting in the mid-1980s, that trend reversed, and in recent decades, polarization has been more likely to grow.

source https://www.lifetechnology.com/blogs/life-technology-news-blog/forces-behind-growing-political-polarization-in-congress-revealed-in-new-model