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In 2010 researchers in Russia announced they had synthesized the first few nuclei of element 117. This new type of atom does not yet have a name, because the science community traditionally waits for independent confirmation before it christens a new element. But barring any surprises, 117 has now taken its permanent place in the periodic table of elements. All elements up to 116, plus element 118, had been found previously, and 117 filled the last remaining gap in the bottom row....

The Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics (CfA) has launched an inquiry into one of its researchers, solar physicist and global warming sceptic Willie Soon, following the release of documents that detail research funds he and the institution received from the energy industry and a conservative foundation. Obtained by Greenpeace through a Freedom of Information Act request and released by an affiliated group, the documents include research contracts and describe specific commitments that Soon and the CfA, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, made to corporate funders....

As everybody knows, if you do not work out, your muscles get flaccid. What most people don’t realize, however, is that your brain also stays in better shape when you exercise. And not just challenging your noggin by, for example, learning a new language, doing difficult crosswords or taking on other intellectually stimulating tasks. As researchers are finding, physical exercise is critical to vigorous mental health, too. Surprised? Although the idea of exercising cognitive machinery by performing mentally demanding activities—popularly termed the “use it or lose it” hypothesis—is better known, a review of dozens of studies shows that maintaining a mental edge requires more than that....

When we chose 89-year-old Barbara Singer as the cover model for this issue, we were drawn to her lively, expressive face, the glint of humor and intelligence in her eyes. And yes, the cool glasses, too. Little did we know she was a perfect fit for our cover story about how to keep Alzheimer’s disease at bay. The article was written by neurologist David A. Bennett, director of the Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center in Chicago....

In the 1970s, when biologists first glimpsed the landscape of human genes, they saw that the small pieces of DNA that coded for proteins (known as exons) seemed to float like bits of wood in a sea of genetic gibberish. What on earth were those billions of other letters of DNA there for? No less a molecular luminary than Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA’s double-helical structure, suspected it was “little better than junk....

By George Tanber TOLEDO Ohio (Reuters) - A ban on drinking tap water in Toledo was lifted early Monday after new tests showed that toxins were no longer at dangerous levels from algae on Lake Erie, the mayor’s office said. “Our water is safe,” Mayor Michael Collins said at a Monday news conference announcing the latest results from city tests. Some 400,000 residents had been told not to drink the water in the Toledo area on Saturday after health officials found the lake, which supplies most of the area’s drinking water, may have been affected by a harmful algal bloom....

A new NASA organization dedicated to protecting Earth from dangerous asteroids has hit the ground running. In early January, NASA announced the establishment of a Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO), which will synchronize U.S. efforts to deal with threatening near-Earth objects (NEOs) and will supervise all NASA-funded projects to find and characterize asteroids and comets that visit Earth’s neighborhood. “There is no identified threat that we know of right now,” said Lindley Johnson, NASA’s new planetary defense officer....

Annual opioid fatalities have now surpassed the yearly number of deaths from AIDS at the height of that epidemic in the mid-1990s. In 2016 drug overdose deaths numbered 63,000, more than the U.S. death toll from the entire Vietnam War. The trend is terrifying: the problem is getting worse each year. Cities and states reeling from opioid deaths need to give serious consideration to setting up safe injection rooms, which could significantly reduce fatalities....

The wildfires raging across California are a sight to behold from 250 miles (400 kilometers) above Earth. Astronauts aboard the International Space Station (ISS) have taken dramatic new photos of the dangerous and destructive blazes, which are blackening huge swaths of the Golden State and throwing off smoke that billows far to the east. “California burning. These fires are frightening to watch, even from space,” European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Alexander Gerst wrote via Twitter Friday (Aug....

Hollywood movies would have you believe that you can have sex without taking the time to remove your underwear (or wetsuit). You can also make love effortlessly in a standing position, with both of you climaxing quickly—simultaneously, of course, and while making attractive sounds and facial expressions. At the other extreme is modern pornography, in which coupling (if I may use that word to refer to activities that often involve a roomful of people) is fantastically prolonged and explicit....

On January 8, 2014, at 17:05:34 UT, a meter-sized rock from space streaked through the sky off the coast of Manus Island, Papua New Guinea, burning up with an energy equivalent to about 110 metric tons of TNT and raining debris into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Similar-sized fireballs are not uncommon occurrences in Earth’s skies; in fact, a few dozen of them occur every year. But what was notable about this particular meteor was the very high speed and unusual direction at which it encountered our planet, which collectively suggested it came from interstellar space....

The “I Trust My Legs” gold mine in Ghana is a local affair, where miners shift silt from rudimentary pits and then combine it with mercury. The element (a toxic metal that can cause brain damage) captures all the gold in the dirt and then, when the mixture is heated, dissipates into the air, leaving just gold bits behind. Unfortunately, in what is known as artisanal mining, the mercury also enters the lungs of miners, their families and others nearby....

Talk about your hot phone. A truck containing 22,500 LG G2 smartphones was stolen on the way to its destination in Louisville, Ky., CNET has learned. The phones were on their way to Sprint, which is expected to launch its version of the G2 early next month. Related stories LG reveals specs for G Flex – its curved display smartphone Latest report pins Nexus 5 debut on October 31 LG Electronics’ third quarter hurt by handset competition LG flexible-display smartphone reportedly leaked in new photos Nexus 5 preorder pops up on eBay...

Today in the U.S., about 335 people will die from COVID—a disease for which there are highly effective vaccines, treatments and precautions. Who is still dying, and why? Older people were always especially vulnerable and now make up a higher proportion of COVID fatalities than ever before in the pandemic. While the total number of COVID deaths has fallen, the burden of mortality is shifting even more to people older than age 64....

Chemists Joel Rosenthal and Daniel G. Nocera of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology provide this answer. When molecular hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2) are combined and allowed to react together, energy is released and the molecules of hydrogen and oxygen can combine to form either water or hydrogen peroxide. These two processes are represented by the two chemical equations shown at right. Chemists use redox half-reactions to describe thermodynamic processes like the ones embodied by such equations....

Micronutrient deficiencies afflict more than two billion people worldwide, including 340 million children. This lack of vitamins and minerals can have serious health consequences. But diagnosing deficiencies early enough for effective treatment requires expensive, time-consuming blood draws and laboratory tests. New research provides a more efficient approach. Computer scientist Elizabeth Bondi and her colleagues at Harvard University used publicly available satellite data and artificial intelligence to reliably pinpoint geographical areas where populations are at high risk of micronutrient deficiencies....

Before the decade is out, there may be thousands more eyes in the sky. Unmanned aerial vehicles, commonly known as drones, are already a staple of modern warfare. Now they are set to take on a much larger role in the U.S. Congress has directed the Federal Aviation Administration to set rules by 2015 for how drones may be used in domestic airspace. These rules could open up the skies to unmanned vehicles of all types—from large surveillance drones used by the military to insect-size prototypes being developed in university laboratories....

Dear Earth Talk: How healthy is soy? I heard that, despite its healthy image, most soy is grown using chemicals like other crops and is even being genetically modified.—D. Frinka, Syracuse, N.Y. Food products made with soy have enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. and elsewhere in recent years. Two decades ago, Americans spent $300 million a year on soy food products; today we spend over $4 billion. More and more adults are substituting soy—a great source of protein—for meat, while a quarter of all baby formula contains soy instead of milk....

When Jim Laidler’s oldest son, Benjamin, was diagnosed with autism, he and his wife started looking for help. “The neurologists were saying, ‘We don’t know what causes autism, and we don’t know what the outcome for your son will be,’” Laidler relates. “No one was saying, ‘Here’s what causes it; here’s what treats it.’” But when the Laidlers, who live in Portland, Ore., searched the Web, they found dozens of “biomedical” treatments that promised to improve or even cure Benjamin’s inability to talk, interact socially or control his movements....

Since the great rush for natural gas in the United States, environmentalists have been torn on the fuel’s benefits for alleviating climate change. It produces less carbon dioxide emissions than coal for electricity or gasoline and diesel for fuel, but even a small amount of natural gas release – which is essentially methane – packs a greenhouse gas punch about 30 times more powerful than the same amount of carbon dioxide....