Researchers have been experimenting with transplants between HIV-positive donors and HIV-positive recipients, and a new study shows that these can be done with increasingly promising results.

When doctors from Groote Schuur Hospital in South Africa first reported on their work transplanting kidneys between HIV-positive patients back in 2010, the results were so positive that it led the United States to lift a research … Read More → "Organ transplants between HIV-positive patients show promise"

According to a study conducted by international non-profit group Oceana, approximately 30 percent of seafood sold in the US is fraudulently mislabeled. That’s why scientists at the University of South Florida have created a handheld sensor that can determine if what’s being offered is in fact the real thing.

Seafood fraud is particularly common with grouper in Florida. It’s a fish that’s in high commercial demand, yet legally protected by catch limits. … Read More → "Hand-held sensor detects fraudulent fish"

Lior Shamir, a computer scientist at Lawrence Technological University, has taken a series of image analysis algorithms and shown that they can discriminate between real Pollocks and pieces painted in an attempt to mimic his style…

First, the software runs through a variety of processes that identify basic features of the image such as “textures, colors, edges, shapes, fractals, polynomial decomposition of the image, and statistical distribution of the … Read More → "Computer algorithm can accurately identify Jackson Pollock paintings"

An unassuming scrapbook buried inside the archives of Sandwich, England turned out to hold quite a treasure: an original copy of the Magna Carta from 1300, one of just several that have survived all these centuries.

The Magna Carta Project announced the discovery this week, after verifying the tattered page … Read More → "Original copy of the Magna Carta found in forgotten old scrapbook"

A team of MIT acousticians and fluid dynamicists have teamed up with Bostonian violin makers to meticulously analyze hundreds of instruments from the Cremonese period, considered the golden age of violin making. The findings not only reveal key design features, but also shed light on whether the development of the instruments was deliberate, or simply a product of human error…

The study identified the shape and length of a violin’ … Read More → "Researchers use X-ray and CAT scans to reveal the secrets of golden age violins"

The universe may have existed forever, according to a new model that applies quantum correction terms to complement Einstein’s theory of general relativity. The model may also account for dark matter and dark energy, resolving multiple problems at once.

The widely accepted age of the universe, as estimated by general relativity, is 13.8 billion years. In the beginning, everything in existence is thought to have … Read More → "No Big Bang? Quantum equation predicts universe has no beginning"

A group of five Wisconsin men recently built a beautiful ice sculpture of Stonehenge on a frozen lake near the small town of Lake Mills. The sculpture, entitled Icehenge, was built of ice blocks that each weighed about 300 pounds. The group cut the blocks out of the lake with ice saws. It’s not their first attempt atIcehenge–they partially built the sculpture last year … Read More → "Five men build a beautiful ‘Icehenge’ ice sculpture of Stonehenge on a frozen lake in Wisconsin"

The system, called the D-air Ski, is based on an existing airbag system Dainese developed for motorcycle racing. Ski racing’s governing body, the International Ski Federation, approached Dainese in 2012 about adapting the suit for ski racing. The ski … Read More → "The inflatable suit that’s protecting ski racers in 90 mph crashes"

You probably didn’t know it, but you’ve been buying garbage Ethernet cables your entire life. Fortunately, there’s finally a better option and it only costs as much as a used car.

This 12-meter network cable costs a whopping £6899, which converts to about $10,000. On a good note, if you live outside the UK and decide to order one … Read More → "This Ethernet cable costs $10,000"

The wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) is a resilient creature. You can find it as far south as Alabama and as far north as Alaska and northern Canada. It’s the only frog that lives in the wild north of the Arctic Circle.

How does an amphibian survive the harsh winters of those frozen lands? It freezes. Scientists working in Alaska found that local wood frogs can freeze solid for up to 7 months. … Read More → "In Alaska, wood frogs can freeze solid for several months, thaw, and return to life"