Articles by Jim Algar
This Lake In Sweden Was Formed By A Space Rock
Lake in southern Sweden that has always intrigued geologists because of its shape is confirmed as an impact crater, study find. Study of rocks confirms an impact, likely around 450 million years ago.
Cold Winter Making You Sleep More? Is Human Hibernation A Thing?
Study suggests people living in colder U.S. states generally put in a little more sack time each night. Sleep-tracking app used to find out how many hours people slept each night on average.
Geysers Found To Have Useful Kinks In Their Plumbing
The periodic eruptions of geysers like Yellowstone's Old Faithful is down to "kinks" in their plumbing, volcanologists say. UC Berkeley scientists have built a glass geyser in their lab to demonstrate the effect.
Ancient Black Hole Is So Big It Doesn't Fit Current Theories: A Surprise From The Early Universe
Giant black hole and its companion quasar are bigger than they should be under current theories, astronomers say. How they grew so fast is a puzzle, they admit.
UK Officially First Country To Approve Three-Parent Babies
Fertilization technique involving DNA from three people approved in Britain. The country becomes the first in the world to allow the technique, intended to reduce chances of diseases caused by mitochondrial mutations in a mother's DNA.
New Wasp Species Discovered, Named After Boston Bruins Goalie Tuukka Rask
Boston Bruins goalie gets unusual honor, as new wasp species found in Africa will bear his name. Found in Kenya, new wasp is dubbed Thaumatodryinus tuukkaraski.
Hair From 2,000-Year-Old Mummies Helps Scientists Determine Their Diets Before Death
Examination of mummies from Peru reveals ancient diet of marine products, maize and beans. Researchers use chemical analysis of mummified hair to show diet of ancient peoples.
Northeastern Sea Level Spike Lasted Two Years
Long-lasting increase in sea levels on the Eastern Seaboard tied to ocean and climate changes. Spike in levels caused flooding in many areas, researchers report.
How The Saharan Desert Fertilizes The Amazon Rainforest
Although continents apart, the African desert and South American rainforests have a link vital to the lushness of the Amazon basin, study finds. Huge amounts of soil nutrients arrive in South America every year, a gift from Saharan dust blown across the Atlantic.
Study Claims Weed 114 Times Safer Than Alcohol
Study of risks involved in various substances finds marijuana "low risk" compared to alcohol, nicotine or drugs like heroin or cocaine. Study suggests pot should be legalized and regulated in the same manner alcohol is.
Diversity Of Small Predators Has Huge Impact On Ecosystems
An area's smallest predators may hold the key to ecosystem health, study finds. Findings suggest link between declining biodiversity and increase in infectious diseases, scientist say.
Amazonian Bird Avoids Being Eaten By Mimicking Toxic Caterpillar
Chicks of a tropical bird species make themselves safe in their nests by mimicking the color and movement of a poisonous caterpillar, naturalists find. It's an evolutionary trick that lets a vulnerable species appear to be a protected one, they explain.
How Globalization Is Worsening The World's Diets
As processed foods increasingly go global, the quality of the world's diet is suffering, expert says. Foods high in fat, sugar and starch seen as major culprits.
Scientists Create Climate Map Of Western US 21,000 Years Ago: How It Will Help Understand Potential 'Megadrought'
Map of 'paleoclimate' in the West helps scientists understand region's history of climate change. Findings strongly hint at prospect of megadrought if global warming continues.
Lunar XPrize Teams Combine Forces To Reach Moon in 2016
"If you can't beat 'em, join 'em," say two teams competing for a $20 million Google prize. Winning team will be the one that puts a rover on the moon and transmits video and images back to earth.
Downside To Dishwashers: Putting Your Kids At Risk For Allergies
Kids in families who hand-wash their dishes less susceptible to allergies, eczema and asthma, study suggest. Study supports suggestion children growing up in an "over-sanitized" world.
Humpback Whale Entangled In Fishing Line In Hawaii Finally Cut Loose
Rescuers manage to get close enough to cut away hundreds of feet of heavy crab fishing line, officials say. Entanglement could have caused the whale to drown or starve, they say.
US Spends $39M To Build World's Largest Chamber To Use Against Biological Warfare
Facility in the Utah desert will allow testing of biological warfare detection systems. Whole System Live Agent Test installation to improve U.S. ability to deal with biological threats.
Long-Term Unemployment May Bring Adverse Change In Core Personality Traits
Being out of work can alter a person's basic personality permanently, study suggests. Being unemployed can make a person less agreeable, less open and less conscientious, researchers say.
Breastfeeding Babies Influences Their Immune System And Susceptibility To Asthma And Allergies
Bacteria passed from mother to babies in breast milk helps an infant's immune system develop, researchers find. Study boosts belief that a completely sterile environment is not necessarily good for babies, they say.
Stephen Hawking Supports Colonizing Other Planets If Human Aggression Cannot Be Tempered
Space travel may be humanity's "life insurance," says famous physicist. If we don't tame our aggression and move outward into space, it could spell doom for humankind, he says.
Climate Change Denier Wei-Hock Soon Mired In Controversy For Receiving Funds From Fossil Fuel Industry
Documents obtained under Freedom of Information Act show prominent climate-denial scientist has had most of his research funded by the energy industry. Wei-Hock (Willie) Soon violated ethical guidelines in journals publishing his work by failing to disclose conflict of interest about funding, environmentalists charge.
Say Hello To Ruby: A Newly Discovered Species Of Seadragon Where Males Carry Babies
Seadragons, larger cousins of seahorses, welcome a new species to the family. Scientists identify Ruby Seadragons in museum collections, hope to mount expedition to find live ones in the wild.
Photographer Captures Amazing Wind-Crafted Sand Sculptures Frozen For Brief Moment On Lake Michigan Shoreline
Stunning natural sand sculptures are created by wind, water and freezing temperatures on Lake Michigan shoreline. Photos of unique phenomenon go viral.
New Horizons Spacecraft Spies Tiny Pluto's Tinier Pair Of Moons. Hello Nix And Hydra
Astronomers get first good look at two of Pluto's five known moons, courtesy of images from the NASA spacecraft. The dwarf planet's moons Nix and Hydra are both less than 100 miles wide.
Major Coral Bleaching Spells Terrible News For Reefs
Scientists fear global warming will spur huge tracts of the world's coral reefs to die off. Bleaching events driven by rising temperatures have decimated reefs in the past and may do so again this year, they say.
MAVEN Completes First Deep Dip Maneuver
NASA spacecraft descends deeper into the Martian atmosphere to gather new data. Probe's goal is to understand where Mars' atmosphere has disappeared to over time.
Evolution Makes Body Size Of Humans, Animals Grow: Stanford Researchers Prove Cope's Rule Right
Extensive analysis shows evolution following a rule: bigger is better. Finding confirms hypothesis first put forward in the 18th century by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope.
Mysterious Link Between Dark Matter Halos And Supermassive Black Holes Uncovered
How a black hole grows and how big it gets in a galaxy is down to dark matter, not how much mass the galaxy has in its stars, a study finds. A galaxy, its stars and its central black hole all follow a gravitational "blueprint" determined by dark matter, astrophysicists say.
First Human Epigenome Map Will Help Fight Disease
Scientists create map of human epigenomes, the "instructions" that tell cells how to become specific in type and function. Map will help understand what happens when those changes go wrong, scientists say.
