News
- Earth
Greenland’s ice is thinner at the margins
The central portion of Greenland's ice sheet is, on the whole, not getting any thinner, but most margins of the ice sheet are thinning substantially and contributing to rising sea levels.
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E. coli toxin shows its deadly touch
A toxin from a bacterium that causes food poisoning appears to kill cells by interacting with a protein called Bcl-2.
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Sexual orientation linked to handedness
A metanalysis reveals right-handedness is more common among heterosexuals than homosexuals, suggesting a neurobiological basis for sexual orientation.
- Animals
Flowers, not flirting, make sexes differ
Thanks to lucky circumstances, bird researchers find rare evidence that food, not sex appeal, makes some male and female hummingbirds look different.
- Physics
Device Sees More inside Live Cells
A new type of optical microscope, which can discern objects smaller than a supposedly fundamental limit for visible-light viewing, may make it possible to see finer details of the insides of living cells.
- Earth
Ancient Taint: Likely source of old dioxins identified
Lab experiments show that the burning of peat from coastal areas of Scotland could be responsible for the enigmatic concentrations of dioxins sometimes found in pre-20th-century soils.
- Humans
Jonathan Eberhart (1942–2003)
After chronicling space science and exploration for 3 decades on behalf of Science News, Jonathan Eberhart died last week from complications of multiple sclerosis.
- Ecosystems
After Invasions: Can an ant takeover change the rules?
A rare before-and-after study of a takeover by an invasive ant species shows the interloper quickly disassembling the basic rules of the invaded community.
- Health & Medicine
Mixed Results: AIDS vaccine falters in whites, may help blacks
In its first large test, an AIDS vaccine has failed to shield an at-risk population from acquiring AIDS.
- Materials Science
Waterproof Coats: Materials repel water with simplicity, style
Researchers have produced new types of water-repelling surfaces, including one that's colorful and another made of inexpensive plastic.
- Earth
Sexual Hang-Up: Fish hormones change when oxygen is scarce
Oxygen deprivation—an escalating problem in freshwater ecosystems worldwide—tampers with sex hormones in carp and might underlie the decline in some fish and amphibian species.
- Anthropology
Pieces of a Disputed Past: Fossil finds enter row over humanity’s roots
Two new fossil discoveries have fueled scientific debates about the evolutionary status of a pair of species traditionally considered to have been our direct ancestors, Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
