News in Brief
- Life
Flightless birds’ history upset by ancient DNA
The closest known relatives of New Zealand’s small, flightless kiwis were Madagascar’s elephant birds, so ancestors must have done some flying rather than just drifting with continents.
- Health & Medicine
Parasite protein offers new hope for malaria vaccine
A newly discovered malarial protein triggers the immune system to trap disease-causing parasites in red blood cells. The protein offers scientists a promising target for vaccines.
- Climate
Forest fires may speed demise of Greenland’s ice sheet
Black carbon released by burning woodland darkens Greenland’s ice sheet, quickening its melt.
- Animals
Lizards may scale back head bobbing to avoid predators
Brown anoles may scale back mating signals to avoid being eaten.
- Particle Physics
Proposed experiment would create matter from light
Photon collider would convert light into electrons and positrons.
- Genetics
Qatari people carry genetic trace of early migrants out of Africa
Qatari genomes carry shards of DNA that date back 60,000 years, when humans began to leave Africa.
- Health & Medicine
Blood test predicts if false labor is headed for delivery room
A test for white blood cells and specific genetic markers may offer insights into whether preterm contractions are false labor or the real thing.
- Climate
Antarctic glacier melt is unstoppable
The inevitable collapse of Antarctic’s western glaciers could raise global sea level by more than 4 meters in coming centuries.
- Paleontology
Asteroid strike spurred quick chill that led to dinosaurs’ demise
After an asteroid struck Earth 66 million years ago, ocean temperatures fell 2 degrees Celsius, leading to mass extinction of dinosaurs and other life.
- Astronomy
Milky Way’s magnetic field mapped
The Planck telescope sees the galaxy’s magnetic field in polarized light bouncing off interstellar dust grains.
- Genetics
Organism with artificial DNA alphabet makes its debut
Using DNA molecules other than A, C, G and T, scientists have created the first living organism with an expanded genetic alphabet.
- Animals
Woodpecker beaks divulge shock-absorbing properties
Scales, sutures and porosity help the birds hammer without going stupid.
