Populations of indigenous people in southern Africa carry a gene that causes lighter skin, and scientists have now identified the rapid evolution of this gene in recent human history.
Evolution
Dec 10, 2018
4
280
Cephalopods—which include octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish—are masters of disguise. They can camouflage to precisely match their surroundings in a matter of seconds, and no scientist has quite been able to replicate the ...
Materials Science
Feb 22, 2018
0
54
A new method for controlling pigmentation in fabricated human skin has been developed by researchers from A*STAR's Singapore Institute of Manufacturing Technology (SIMTech) and the Singapore Centre for 3D Printing (SC3DP) ...
Biotechnology
Jan 23, 2018
0
120
The story of humanity's vital—and fragile—relationship with the sun has been locked inside our teeth for hundreds of thousands of years. A new method is starting to tease out answers to major questions of evolution and ...
Other
May 18, 2017
0
102
Ten million years ago, a green and black snake lay coiled in the Spanish undergrowth. Once, paleontologists would have been limited to the knowledge they could glean from its colorless fossil remains, but now they know what ...
Archaeology
Mar 31, 2016
0
104
The face of a chimpanzee is decidedly different from that of a human, despite the fact that the apes are our nearest relative in the primate tree. Now researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have begun to ...
Biotechnology
Sep 10, 2015
31
444
Many factors can change skin pigmentation, including aging, exposure to UV light, certain drugs, as well as certain diseases. A simple technique for measuring skin pigmentation could be a helpful tool for research and diagnostics. ...
Analytical Chemistry
Apr 23, 2015
0
20
Some cephalopods are masters of display: Not only can they adapt their skin colour to their immediate environment, thereby merging with the background, they can also produce propagating colour waves along their body. These ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 4, 2014
0
0
The popular idea that Northern Europeans developed light skin to absorb more UV light so they could make more vitamin D – vital for healthy bones and immune function – is questioned by UC San Francisco researchers in ...
Evolution
Jun 30, 2014
17
0
Excessive sunbathing damages the skin. Humans are not the only ones who need to monitor their exposure to UV rays: animals are at risk too. Dogs and cats with white or thin coats are at particular risk, as are animals with ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 27, 2014
1
1
