News
- Anthropology
African Legacy: Fossils plug gap in human origins
Scientists who discovered three partial Homo sapiens skulls in Ethiopia that date to nearly 160,000 years ago say that the finds document humanity's evolution in Africa, independently of European Neandertals.
- Earth
More fish survive if plankton bloom early
Data collected by Earth-orbiting satellites and oceangoing trawlers suggest that juvenile haddock of Nova Scotia are more abundant in years when plankton populations peak earlier than normal.
- Materials Science
Convenient hydrogen storage?
A new porous material of metal and organic molecular parts may prove useful for storing hydrogen fuel.
- Astronomy
Lucky shot
To protect its sensitive optics, the Hubble Space Telescope had to turn its back on last November’s Leonid meteor storm, and that fortuitously put the luminous Helix nebula directly in the telescope’s sightline.
- Physics
A new twist on ropes
The centuries-old craft of splicing sturdy ropes for ships and ocean rigs gets mathematical scrutiny, turning up new information about wear and tear.
- Tech
Tiny device brings out the best in sperm
A new device with potential use in fertility treatments separates robust sperm from stragglers by exploiting a phenomenon that occurs when two microscale fluid flows merge.
- Earth
Satellites unravel a spot of mystery
Five satellites that happened to be in the right places at the right time may have confirmed the cause of proton auroral spots, aurora-like phenomena that appear high in Earth's atmosphere.
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Toddlers ride rail to tool use
Toddlers' ability to modify their use of a handrail as they walk across a narrow bridge represents an early example of tool use, according to two psychologists.
- Astronomy
Galactic RAVE
A new study of thousands of Milky Way stars and their motion toward and away from Earth should provide new clues about how our galaxy formed.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer Advance: Treatment combinations stall colorectal cancer
Two experimental drugs can induce remission in colorectal cancer patients and extend their survival.
- Animals
Skin Scam: Parasite’s host provides an insect hideaway
A group of parasitic insects called Strepsiptera can hide inside their victim by making the host form a protective bag of its own skin.
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Babble Rousers: Babies find their voice when given social push
Eight-month-old infants utter more complex, speechlike sounds when their mothers encourage them with well-timed touches and smiles rather than with words offered as models to imitate.
