News
- Paleontology
Fossils of early salamanders found
A recent discovery of fossilized salamanders pushes back a milestone in amphibian evolution by more than 100 million years.
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Sperm show age
The quality of a man's sperm declines as he gets older.
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Sleep debt exacts deceptive cost
Moderate but sustained sleep deficits undermine alertness and other mental faculties to a potentially dangerous extent, although people who experience this level of sleep loss usually don't feel particularly drowsy.
- Health & Medicine
Passive smoking may foster kids’ cavities
Young children exposed to tobacco smoke face a greatly elevated risk of developing cavities in their baby teeth.
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Human RNA genes counted up
People possess about 250 genes that encode short RNA strands rather than DNA.
- Planetary Science
Spacecraft reveal Mars’ molten heart
Tracking the precise motion of a spacecraft orbiting Mars, planetary scientists have deduced that the core of the Red Planet is at least partially liquid.
- Health & Medicine
Prenatal marijuana exposure may pose health risks
Rats that were exposed to a marijuana-related chemical while in the womb show more memory lapses and hyperactivity than unexposed rats do.
- Earth
Ssshhh! South Pole has a new seismic station
Seismometers recently installed near the South Pole reveal that the area is the quietest spot on the planet for eavesdropping on earthquakes.
- Health & Medicine
Morbid Mystery Tour: Epidemic from China is encircling globe
An outbreak of deadly pneumonia that apparently began in southern China spread in March to at least two other continents, including North America.
- Paleontology
Fine Toothcomb: New fossils add to primate-origins debate
The discovery of 40-million-year-old teeth and jaw fragments belonging to ancient forms of lorises and bushbabies doubles the age of the fossil record for a major primate group.
- Materials Science
A Hard Little Lesson: Squeezed nanospheres grow superstrong
A substance not known for its hardness—silicon—becomes one of the hardest of materials when formed into ultrasmall spheres.
- Earth
Dioxin Dumps: Burning exposed trash pollutes soil
The practice of burning refuse in the open in many underdeveloped countries creates prodigious quantities of harmful polychlorinated compounds.
