THE HEALTHY - Researchers specializing in behavioral science and bioinformatics at the University of Colorado, Boulder, and the University of California, Riverside reports: “We used 2016–2020 data where traditional grocery store and dollar store locations across the contiguous US were geocoded and assigned as standard quality (SQ) and low-quality (LQ) respectively.” The ratings have to...
LOS ANGELES TIMES - For a couple of months, Norco resident John Baynes desperately searched for answers. His 10-year-old male Labrador named Colt dropped a quarter of his weight from his normally robust 80 pounds and no one knew why. “We were told by the vet that he was in liver failure and that an...
STUDY FINDS - For decades, scientists have assumed that being highly active comes at a price. Push a body harder, burn more energy, and something else must suffer, whether that’s the immune system, reproduction, or lifespan. It’s a tidy idea rooted in basic biology: resources are finite, so spending more on one thing means spending...
STUDY FINDS - Walk into almost any dollar store in America and the shelves usually tell a similar story: rows of shelf-stable snacks, sodium-heavy canned goods, and very little fresh fruit, vegetables, or lean protein. For Americans stretching grocery budgets, dollar stores have become an increasingly important food source, particularly in lower-income communities and places...
NEWSWEEK - The quality of dollar store groceries may contribute to serious health issues, a new study has warned. While consumers may choose cheaper outlets for their food, the quality of food from dollar stores has been linked to higher rates of obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. That's according to research...
EARTH.COM - Ant bait does not erase an infestation the moment workers find it. The chemical must spread through a social colony, and that process takes time. That delay can make the first few days hard to read. A drop in food searching may look like success, while a burst of roaming ants may look...
ASSOCIATED PRESS - Bedbugs are sometimes called the vampires of the insect world — hiding during the day and coming out at night to feast on human blood. Generations of children have been told: “Sleep tight. Don’t let the bedbugs bite.” Well, bad news: Bedbug infestations are increasing. This is the time of year when...
STUDY FINDS - The vanilla flavoring found in over half of tested e-cigarette products may be capable of disrupting cells at the earliest, most fragile stage of pregnancy. A new study published in Human Reproduction found that vanillin, the chemical behind that flavor, pushed early human embryonic stem cells off course at concentrations a model...
AOL - A chemical commonly found in vapes could harm unborn babies, scientists have warned. Researchers at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) have urged the NHS to warn pregnant women after finding that vanillin, a common flavouring in e-cigarettes, could impair foetal development. They examined the impact of the chemical on embryonic stem cells...
ZME SCIENCE - Discovering Venus-like conditions beyond our Solar System could reveal why some rocky worlds remain havens for life while others become scorching greenhouse infernos. Before solving that mystery, however, astronomers must determine how quickly those distant planets are truly spinning. Slower rotations can cause hellish conditions astronomers see on Venus, but new research...
SCIENCE ALERT - At some point in evolutionary history, possibly around 400 million years ago, things started having sex. This adaptational (and sensual) advance introduced multiple benefits by allowing increased gene sharing, thereby helping to prune deleterious mutations and boost general fitness. Avocado trees also ostensibly like to have sex, but face a problem: Each...
THE COOL DOWN - Before a young avocado tree ever produces its first flowers, breeders may now be able to predict whether it will follow the A or B type blooming schedule. Researchers at two University of California campuses identified its corresponding gene, according to a UC Riverside press release. What happened? A research team...
SFGATE - Even as a fixture in California cuisine and a sizable industry for the state’s farmers, avocados have presented an ongoing mystery for scientists: How do they easily flip sexes? In a new study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, California researchers have finally answered that question by tracing...
ABC7 NEWS - A new study suggests a major ocean current in the Atlantic Ocean is slowing down, a shift researchers say could influence weather patterns around the world, including the intensity of storms affecting California. Researchers have been examining changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, known as the AMOC, a system of ocean...
LIVE SCIENCE - Astronomers have found the strongest evidence yet that a rocky planet beyond our solar system has managed to hold onto an atmosphere — a crucial ingredient for life as we know it. The discovery marks the first time scientists have detected an atmosphere surrounding a rocky planet orbiting in the habitable zone...
SCIENCE ALERT - Earth's climate systems are inexorably and often unexpectedly interconnected. Dust from North Africa's Sahara Desert drifts thousands of miles to fuel food webs in the Amazon and the ocean's depths, while pollution-eating microbes hitch a ride through the atmosphere on gusts of wind or wisps of fog. Among the most influential planet-shaping...
YAHOO NEWS - Fossils from South Australia are offering a surprising clue about the deep history of animal behavior. Spriggina floundersi, an ancient organism that lived about 550 million years ago, may represent the oldest known example of "right-handedness" in animals, suggesting a preference for turning right emerged long before hands, feet, or widespread complex...
EARTH.COM - A slowdown in one of Earth’s most important ocean currents could reshape weather far beyond the Atlantic. Weakening of the ocean current could strengthen storms that slam into California while reducing the snowfall that helps keep Greenland’s massive ice sheet intact. A new study shows how changes in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation...
THE COOL DOWN - A Californian research team found fungi inside desert moss tissue, a result that could change how scientists think about plant life on land. According to Discover Wildlife, the implications may reach beyond moss biology. If the association is confirmed as a true symbiosis, it could also help explain how plants first...
EUREKA ALERT! - Scientists have uncovered what may be the earliest evidence of “right-handedness” in the animal kingdom, dating back more than half a billion years. The discovery comes from the fossil record of Spriggina floundersi, an organism from the Ediacaran Period that lived about 550 million years ago. New research published today in the...