News
- Math
Spinning to a rolling stop
Air viscosity makes the rolling speed of a spinning, tipping coin go up as its energy goes down until the coin suddenly stops.
- Health & Medicine
A different GI link to colon cancers
Diets rich in sweets and other quickly digested carbohydrates appear to increase an individual's risk of developing colon cancer.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Berry promising anticancer prospects
Cranberry products can retard the growth and spread of breast cancer in rodents.
By Janet Raloff -
Disabled genes dull sense of smell
Mutated genes may explain why humans have a poor sense of smell.
By John Travis -
Genes, genes, and more genes
Scientists have almost finished sequencing the genes of rice and of a man.
By John Travis - Ecosystems
Insects, pollen, seeds travel wildlife corridors
Strips of habitat boost insect movement, plant pollination, and seed dispersal among patches of the same ecosystem.
By Susan Milius - Paleontology
Trackway site shows dinosaur on the go
Scientists say that a sediment-filled, bathtub-shape depression found at one of North America's most significant dinosaur trackway sites is the first recognized evidence of urination in dinosaurs.
By Sid Perkins - Paleontology
Curved claws hint at pterosaur habits
A study of the claws of flying reptiles known as pterosaurs suggests that some of the creatures may have walked like present-day herons and used their wing fingers to hold prey.
By Sid Perkins - Paleontology
Mosasaurs were born at sea, not in safe harbors
Newly discovered fossils of prehistoric aquatic reptiles known as mosasaurs suggest that the creatures gave birth in midocean rather than in near-shore sanctuaries as previously suspected.
By Sid Perkins - Paleontology
Stegosaur tails packed a punch
A mathematical analysis of a fossil stegosaur's bones leaves little doubt that the creature's spike-studded tail was an effective defense against predators.
By Sid Perkins - Chemistry
Dipping deeper into acid
New experiments reveal how a molecule of acid dissolves in water.
- Astronomy
News flash: Earth still has only one moon
An object discovered orbiting Earth in early September isn't a moon but something much more mundane—an upper stage of a rocket that was used in the Apollo 12 mission to the moon.
By Ron Cowen