News about PaperPanda, Open Access, and Research
Scientists have been doing some great work when it comes to peering back through billions of years to figure out what ancient Earth would have looked like, and a new study reveals that the earliest conditions on our planet were probably even more hostile than originally imagined. In particular, researchers now think that we’ve … Read more
We’re seeing many spectacular sights out in space as our telescopes become more powerful, but there’s a new contender for the most exciting one yet: According to researchers, we’ve observed a red supergiant star exploding into a supernova for the first time. Supernova (SN) 2020tlf, to give it its technical name, was watched for … Read more
Following the time of the dinosaurs, it might well be that the evolution of flowering plants drove the explosion in the diversity of life on Earth, according to a 2021 paper. Most of the plants we now eat, drink, wear, and build with are of the flowering variety. They’re called angiosperms, which roughly translates from … Read more
Before Earth and the other planets in our Solar System existed, the Sun may have been surrounded by giant rings of dust similar to Saturn’s, according to a new study. Those rings of dust may have prevented Earth from growing into a “super-Earth” – a type of planet that is about twice the size of Earth and … Read more
The arid heart of Australia may not easily support life now, but once, many aeons ago, it was lush and teeming. What is now arid desert and dry shrub- and grasslands was once thick with dense forests, alive with life. In one of these grasslands, in the Central Tablelands of NSW, paleontologists have found … Read more
Women vaccinated against COVID-19 saw a slight delay in their period of almost a day compared to those who were unvaccinated, a US government-funded study said Thursday. But the number of days of bleeding was not affected, according to the research carried out on nearly 4,000 individuals and published in Obstetrics & Gynecology. Lead … Read more
Bacterial colonies can organize themselves into complex ring-like patterns which have an “intriguing similarity” to developing embryos and were thought to be unique to plants and animals, new research suggests. Bacterial cells band together in clumps to form tightly packed colonies called biofilms that have a growing reputation for acting strangely like multicellular organisms. … Read more
A new drug with the potential to treat endometriosis-associated pain with very few side effects is getting closer to official approval. Endometriosis is a chronic inflammatory condition and the leading cause of pelvic pain worldwide. With no known cause or cure, many patients have run out of options and are living with chronic and unrelenting symptoms. … Read more
If you were to move to a new country with a different language and bring along the family dog, your pet would likely have a hard time understanding commands from the locals, according to a new study looking at how dogs’ brains react to different languages. MRI scans revealed that dogs‘ brains can distinguish between familiar … Read more
Scientists have observed a stunning demonstration of classic physics giving way to quantum behavior, manipulating a fluid of ultra-cold sodium atoms into a distinct tornado-like formation. Particles behave differently on the quantum level, in part because at this point their interactions with each other hold more power over them than the energy from their movement. … Read more