News
- Materials Science
Nanotubes get as small as they can
Two research teams have created stable carbon nanotubes with the smallest diameter that scientists believe is physically possible, at just 0.4 nanometer across.
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Mutated gene doubles fruit fly’s life span
The product of the Indy gene resembles transport proteins in mammals that enable intestinal and kidney cells to take in metabolites to produce energy.
- Earth
Wafting pesticides taint far-flung frogs
Agricultural pesticides blowing into California's wilderness areas have played a role in mysterious declines in frog populations.
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Gene implicated in development of autism
A gene involved in fetal-brain development may predispose people to develop autism or several related disorders.
- Physics
Silk and soap settle a century-old flap
The leading explanation for why flags flap in the breeze has run afoul of new experimental findings.
- Health & Medicine
Antibiotics, vitamins stall stomach cancer
A 6-year study shows that vitamin C, beta-carotene, and antibiotics can reverse premalignant conditions that could otherwise lead to stomach cancer.
- Earth
New accord targets long-lived pollutants
Negotiators drafted an agreement to ban or phase out some of the world's most persistent and toxic pollutants.
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First Plant Genome Thrills Biologists
The unveiling of the genetic blueprint of the tiny thale cress ushers in a new era in plant biology.
- Paleontology
Plenty of dinosaurs yet to be found
Despite a dramatic surge in dinosaur discoveries in recent years, paleontologists won't soon run out of interesting new fossils to unearth, a new analysis suggests.
- Paleontology
. . . and the big bird that didn’t
The California condor, one of today's largest and rarest birds, may have survived the last ice age because of its varied diet.
- Paleontology
The big fish that went away . . .
Fossils found near Charleston, S.C., suggest that an extinct species of billfish related to today's swordfish and marlin would easily exceed the lengths documented for world-record specimens of those oft-sought sports fish.
- Health & Medicine
Staph receptor as drug target
A receptor molecule on the surface of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus might present an exploitable weak spot in the microbe's defenses.
