Author: Ranveer Kumar

Pristine areas in the Amazon and Siberia may expand with animal reintroductions, scientists say Just 3% of the world’s land remains ecologically intact with healthy populations of all its original animals and undisturbed habitat, a study suggests. These fragments of wilderness undamaged by human activities are mainly in parts of the Amazon and Congo tropical forests, east Siberian and northern Canadian forests and tundra, and the Sahara. Invasive alien species including cats, foxes, rabbits, goats and camels have had a major impact on native species in Australia, with the study finding no intact areas left. The researchers suggest reintroducing a…

A new study in SLEEP, published by Oxford University Press, demonstrates the significant benefits of later school start times for middle and high school students’ sleep schedules. Sleep is essential to a student’s overall health, social development, and academic achievement, yet lack of sleep is common among children and adolescents. Biological changes to sleep cycles during puberty make falling asleep early difficult for adolescents. This, coupled with early school start times, means that students often end up with insufficient sleep. Approximately 28,000 elementary, middle, and high school students and parents completed surveys annually, before changes to school start times and for…

True flexibility is about how people work, not just where Employers must avoid measures that give the illusion of flexible working while still requiring staff to consistently put in long hours and be responsive at irregular times – otherwise parents and carers risk missing out on the benefits of remote working, a new report warns. Employee research and advisory agency Karian and Box and the Global Institute for Women’s Leadership at King’s College London surveyed 254 organisations. They found that while 90% said they’d increased support for home-working since the start of the pandemic, and 97% are planning to adopt…

Two opposing evolutionary forces explain the presence of the two different colors of spotted salamander egg masses at ponds in Pennsylvania, according to a new study led by a Penn State biologist. Understanding the processes that maintain biological diversity in wild populations is a central question in biology and may allow researchers to predict how species will respond to global change. Spotted salamanders (Ambystoma maculatum) are a widespread species that occur across the eastern United States and return to temporary ponds in the spring to reproduce. Female salamanders lay their eggs in clumps called egg masses, which are either opaque white or…

New research on Indian jumping ants shows they can undergo dramatic reversible changes previously unknown in insects. For most ant colonies, there’s a straightforward hierarchy: a single queen lays all the eggs, while a caste system of workers manages everything else—foraging for food, nursing baby ants, going to war, and so on. Only males and queens can reproduce, and the rest of the ants are sterile. If the queen dies, the colony usually does, too. Things are different for the Indian jumping ant, a species with forceps-like jaws and large black eyes that inhabits forests along India’s western coast. In these colonies,…

AD-stricken brains show a genetic deficit in ability to use glucose For years, research to pin down the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s Disease has been focused on plaque found to be building up in the brain in AD patients. But treatments targeted at breaking down that buildup have been ineffective in restoring cognitive function, suggesting that the buildup may be a side effect of AD and not the cause itself. A new study from a team of BYU researchers finds novel cellular-level support for an alternate theory that is growing in strength: Alzheimer’s could actually be a result of metabolic…

New research from McMaster University suggests the pandemic has created a paradox where mental health has become both a motivator for and a barrier to physical activity. People want to be active to improve their mental health but find it difficult to exercise due to stress and anxiety, say the researchers who surveyed more than 1,600 subjects in an effort to understand how and why mental health, physical activity and sedentary behaviour have changed throughout the course of the pandemic. The results are outlined in the journal PLOS ONE. “Maintaining a regular exercise program is difficult at the best of times…

French lawmakers have moved to ban short-haul internal flights where train alternatives exist, in a bid to reduce carbon emissions. Over the weekend, lawmakers voted in favour of a bill to end routes where the same journey could be made by train in under two-and-a-half hours. Connecting flights will not be affected, however. The planned measures will face a further vote in the Senate before becoming law. Airlines around the world have been severely hit by the coronavirus pandemic, with website Flightradar24 reporting that the number of flights last year were down almost 42% from 2019. The measures could affect…

The world’s wealthy must radically change their lifestyles to tackle climate change, a report says. It says the world’s wealthiest 1% produce double the combined carbon emissions of the poorest 50%, according to the UN. The wealthiest 5% alone – the so-called “polluter elite” – contributed 37% of emissions growth between 1990 and 2015. The authors want to deter SUV drivers and frequent fliers – and persuade the wealthy to insulate their homes well. The report urges the UK government to reverse its decision to scrap air passenger duty on UK return flights. And it wants ministers to re-instate the Green Homes Grant scheme…

You’ve probably heard that fish have a three-second memory, or that they’re incapable of feeling pain. Neither of these statements is true, but it’s telling that these misconceptions don’t crop up for other vertebrates. Perhaps it’s because fish appear so different from us. They don’t seem to have any capacity for facial expression, or vocal communication—and we don’t even breathe the same air. Collectively, these differences put fish so far away from humans that we struggle to relate to them. But when scientists have conducted experiments to discover more about fish—including their neurobiology, their social lives and mental faculties—they’ve found time and time again…