How cues and context make us recall familiar people

WASHINGTON - You see a familiar face in the crowd but can’t recall how you know them, but as you talk, a few cues from conversation or context could evoke vivid memories about the individual. Now, a new study has shed light on this mysterious process.

Nintendo Wii players can get ‘fractured limbs, damaged knees, painful tendonitis’

London, Dec 8 (ANI): While Nintendo Wii is known for keeping players in shape, the game console can leave people with fractured limbs, damaged knees and painful tendonitis, surgeons have warned.

Deaths caused by narcotic pain relievers on the rise

WASHINGTON - The number of death resulting from narcotic pain relievers has doubled since 1991, according to a new Canadian study.

Hidden sensory system in the skin found

WASHINGTON - An international team of researchers have found that human body has an entirely unique and separate sensory system aside from the nerves that give most of us the ability to touch and feel.

Super cool atom thermometer developed by physicists

WASHINGTON - A team of physicists has devised a super cool atom thermometer that can potentially measure temperatures as low as tens of trillionths of a degree above absolute zero.

Self-destructing microbe leads the way for lower-cost, renewable biofuels

WASHINGTON - An Arizona State University (ASU) research team has programmed a photosynthetic microbe to self-destruct, making the recovery of high-energy fats easier and potentially less costly, thus removing a key obstacle to producing lower-cost, renewable biofuels.

Animals that face new impacts by climate change

WASHINGTON - The Wildlife Conservation Society has released a list of animals facing new impacts by climate change, some in strange and unexpected ways.

Astronomers detect coldest ever companion of a Sun-like star

WASHINGTON - Astronomers at the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy have discovered and directly imaged a faint celestial body that orbits the star GJ 758, which at a temperature of around 330 degrees Celsius, is the coldest companion of a Sun-like star ever to be directly imaged.

Computer pop-ups really do make work harder

WASHINGTON - Pop-up windows such as email alerts or warning messages as well as advertising pop-ups have a big impact on a person’s efficiency and concentration when using the web, according to a new study.

Childhood delinquency linked to premature death, disability in middle age

WASHINGTON - Delinquency in childhood increases the risk of premature death and disability in middle age, says a new UK study.

Fit boys make smarter, successful adults

WASHINGTON - Here’s another reason to care about your health: A new study has shown that teenage boys with better cardiovascular health make smarter and successful adults.

Google launches new visual search tool ‘Google Goggles’

LONDON - A new tool has been launched by search engine Google that enables its users to locate information by using pictures instead of words.

NASA testing exclusive material in Scotland to find clues about life on Mars

LONDON - NASA scientists are testing a mineral only found in Aberdeenshire in Scotland to see if it can provide clues about life on Mars.

Antidepressants could alter personality while relieving symptoms

WASHINGTON - People who take medication to treat depression may experience changes in their personality despite alleviating depressive symptoms, according to a new study.

New observations by astronomers deepen mystery about star-like Suns

WASHINGTON - An extensive study made with ESO’s (European Southern Observatory’s) Very Large Telescope deepens a long-standing mystery in the study of stars similar to the Sun.

Soon, web ads that adapt to your personality to send product sales soaring

LONDON - Websites will now be showing advertisements just the way you want to see them, thanks to a new “ad morphing” system that can tailor the ad content according to users’ personality type.

Dino-killing asteroid impact broiled Earth, not burnt it to a crisp

LONDON - A new study has suggested that the asteroid impact that ended the age of dinosaurs 65 million years ago didn’t incinerate life on our planet’s surface, but just broiled it.

Frozen deposits on Mars may foster life

LONDON - New calculations by scientists have suggested that small frozen deposits on Mars may contain liquid water, at least during the day, which means they could also foster life.

NASA’s WISE spacecraft ready for launch on Dec. 11

WASHINGTON - NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, aboard a Delta II rocket is ready for launch on December 11, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.

Climate change triggers catastrophic overgrazing of Tasmanian reefs by sea urchins

SYDNEY - In a new research, scientists have determined that a combination of overfishing and climate change are triggering catastrophic overgrazing of reefs by sea urchins in eastern Tasmania.

Kids from military families have more stress: Study

WASHINGTON - A new study suggests that children from military families have to cope up with more emotional and behavioural difficulties compared to other American youngsters, with older children and girls struggling the most when a parent is deployed overseas.

Sweaty visitors spoiling King Tut’s tomb in Egypt

LONDON - Reports indicate that Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s underground tomb, in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, is suffering from the wear and tear caused by tens of thousands of sweaty visitors who each year make a pilgrimage to the region.

Top ten space finds of 2009

WASHINGTON - An article in the National Geographic News has listed the top ten space finds of the year 2009.

Aggression-promoting pheromone in flies discovered

LONDON - Scientists have discovered an aggression-promoting pheromone, specific chemicals used by a particular species to communicate and to control their behavior, in flies.

Marrying dancers, choreographers - ‘an invitation for divorce’

LONDON - Dancers, choreographers, bartenders, massage therapists, are more likely to divorce than vets, agricultural engineers and teachers, says a new research.

Diesel truck engine with barely measurable emissions developed

WASHINGTON - Researchers at the Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) in Munich, Germany, have demonstrated a diesel truck engine with barely measurable emissions.

Archaeologists may have found temple of Peruvian mythical ruler

LIMA - Archaeologists of the Bruning Museum in Lambayeque, Peru, have discovered, next to the Huaca Chornancap pyramid, what is thought to be the sacred temple of Naylamp, a supposedly mythical ruler that according to oral legend was the founder of the post-Moche Lambayeque civilization.

Fruit fly neuron can rebuild itself following injury

WASHINGTON - New studies in fruit flies by researchers at Penn State University (PSU) have shown that the specialized nerve cells called neurons have the ability to reprogram themselves after injury.

Irish river with sensors can detect spikes in pollution in real time

WASHINGTON - Reports indicate that nature has gone wireless in Ireland, where scientists have outfitted a major river with sensors that detect spikes in pollution in real time.

Vine seeds that disperse like ‘giant gliders’ inspiring aircraft design

LONDON - Remarkable footage of falling Alsomitra vine seeds, which use paper-thin wings to disperse like giant gliders, is inspiring researchers for designing aircraft.