News
- Animals
Long Horns Win: Selection in action—Attacks favor spike length for lizards
A hunting bird's quirk—a tendency to impale prey on thorns—leaves a record that has allowed scientists to catch a glimpse of an evolutionary force in action.
-
Devil’s Lapdog Gets Its Due: The lab rat bares its DNA to biologists
Scientists announced that they have deciphered the full DNA sequence of the standard lab rat, setting the stage for a new flurry of biomedical research on this rodent and providing insight into mammalian evolution.
- Materials Science
Tiny Trouble: Nanoscale materials damage fish brains
Although nanomaterials could one day lead to more powerful electronics and better medicines, new research shows these tiny materials can also be toxic to fish.
- Earth
Night space images show development
Scientists may have come up with a way to use satellite images taken at night to estimate the rate of population growth in fire-prone areas and thereby better assess fire risk to specific groups of residents.
- Archaeology
Laser scanners map rock art
Researchers have developed a way to use laser-based surveying equipment to quickly and easily create detailed images of ancient rock art.
- Humans
Medieval cure-all may actually have spread disease
Powdered mummies, one of medieval Europe's most popular concoctions for treating disease, might instead have been an agent of widespread germ transmission, new research suggests.
-
Suppressed thoughts rebound in dreams
Thoughts that are consciously suppressed during the day often pop up in dreams, regardless of whether they involve emotionally charged desires, a new study suggests.
- Earth
New U.N. treaty on toxic exports
The United Nations enacted a new treaty to ban exportation of any of a list of toxic chemicals without the prior informed consent of an importing nation.
- Health & Medicine
Phthalate exposure from drugs?
Use of an ingestible prescription drug may explain the highest blood concentration of a chemical plasticizer ever observed.
- Chemistry
Microbes craft unusual crystals
Bacteria dwelling in an abandoned iron mine form unusual crystals that could help scientists look for signs of previous life on Mars.
-
It’s Time! Fetal lungs tell mom when to deliver baby
The maturing lungs of a fetus may signal the mother when it's time for labor.
- Animals
Wolf vs. Raven? Thieving birds may drive canines to form big packs
A previously underappreciated reason why wolf packs get so big could be the relentless food snitching of ravens.
