Science News

Mars may look like a quiet, dusty world, but it’s actually buzzing with hidden electrical activity.

A new study shows that gene therapy can significantly improve hearing in people born with congenital deafness or severe hearing loss. Researchers at Karolinska Institutet, working with hospitals and universities in China, treated ten patients and saw hearing improve in every case. "We and other researchers are expanding our work to other, more common genes that cause deafness, such as GJB2 and TMC1.

Fried foods are widely enjoyed, but their high fat content is linked to health issues such as obesity and hypertension. Researchers at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign are studying how microwave frying can improve the way French fries are made. In one study, the team partnered with researchers at Washington State University to use a specially designed microwave fryer.

NPR's science podcast Short Wave brings us stories on food fortification, why some people don't seem to get the flu, and a study on how much vigorous exercise you really need.

This juvenile warty frogfish was raised in captivity at the Shedd Aquarium. Brenna Hernandez/Shedd Aquarium hide.

For years, scientists could only prove that DOGS existed for 10,000 years — until now A new study genetically shows dogs existed almost 5,000 years earlier than scientists could prove. Science For years, scientists could only genetically prove that the first dogs existed about 10,000 years ago, but perhaps they were just barking up the wrong prehistoric tree. ANDERS BERGSTROM: We have confident genetic identification of dogs that lived at least 14,000 years ago in Europe.