Latest Royal Society Stories

Emory University neuroscience study finds that decision-making over 'sacred values' prompts a distinct cognitive process An Emory University neuro-imaging study shows that personal values that people refuse to disavow, even when offered cash to do so, are processed differently in the brain than those values that are willingly sold. "Our experiment found that the realm of the sacred – whether it's a strong religious belief, a national identity or a code of ethics – is a distinct...

Biologists have learned in recent years that wild chilies develop their trademark pungency, or heat, as a defense against a fungus that could destroy their seeds. But that doesn't explain why some chilies are hot and others are not. New research provides an answer: Hot chilies growing in dry areas need more water to produce as many seeds as non-pungent plants, but the Fusarium fungus is less of a threat in dryer environments so chilies in those areas are less likely to turn up the heat. In...

Australian scientists have urged greater consideration for the brilliantly-hued parrot fishes that tend and renew the world’s imperiled coral reefs. “Parrotfishes are the constant gardeners of the reef. They play a crucial role in keeping it healthy, suppressing weed, removing sediment and helping the corals to regrow after a setback,” explains Professor David Bellwood of the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies and James Cook University. In a major new study published...

Medical records contained in a Seventeenth century book are set to go on display in a new exhibition celebrating 350 years of book collecting at the Royal Society. The medical records from John Graunt’s 1679 book, Natural and Political Observations … Upon the Bills of Mortality, contain such information as people dying from lethargy, itch and fright. The book also reveals that more than 30,000 people in London died of consumption between 1647 and 1657. The bills of mortality were...

A team of scientists from the University of Southampton have developed a revolutionary ultrasonic attachment for taps, which massively enhances the ability of water to clean. Currently, industry uses excessive water, power and additives for cleaning. For example, it can take up to 100 tons of water to produce 1 ton of clean wool after shearing. Many industrial processes also generate large quantities of contaminated run-off. The water from hosing down an abattoir represents a real health...

  'Heat-proof' eggs help turtles cope with hot beaches [ Watch the Video ] Sea turtles face an uncertain future as a warming climate threatens to reduce their reproductive viability. However, new research led by the University of Exeter and published this week in Proceedings of the Royal Society B shows that some turtles are naturally heat-tolerant. The study focused on green turtles nesting on Ascension Island, a UK overseas territory in the South Atlantic Ocean. Scientists from...

  Smithsonian scientists and colleagues report that snails successfully crossed Central America, long considered an impenetrable barrier to marine organisms, twice in the past million years—both times probably by flying across Mexico, stuck to the legs or riding on the bellies of shorebirds and introducing new genes that contribute to the marine biodiversity on each coast. "Just as people use airplanes to fly overseas, marine snails may use birds to fly over land," said Mark Torchin,...

  A new study by scientists from the Census of Marine Life has placed the number of species of animals on planet Earth to about 8.7 million, a number based on a validated analytical technique that narrows the range much more than the previous estimate of between 3 million and 100 million. The scientists also noted that only about a quarter of all species on the planet have been discovered, and they say that many could exist in our own backyard. So far, only 1.9 million species have...

Super strong nanometals are beginning to play an important role in making cars even lighter, enabling them to stand collisions without fatal consequences for the passengers. A PhD student at Risø DTU has discovered a new phenomenon that will make nanometals more useful in practice.Today, the body of an ordinary family car consists of 193 different types of steel. The steel for each part of the car has been carefully selected and optimised. It is important, for example, that all parts are...

An Oxford University researcher is developing a pair of eyeglasses that will allow people with poor or limited vision to see again. The glasses, which use technology typically seen in smartphones and gaming consoles, is one of the main attractions of this year's Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition in Britain."We want to be able to enhance vision in those who've lost it or who have little left or almost none,' said Dr. Stephen Hicks of the Department of Clinical Neurology at Oxford...