News
- Paleontology
Dear Mummy: Rare fossil reveals common dinosaur’s soft tissue
A mummified dinosaur unearthed in Montana a year ago is giving scientists a rare peek at what the creature's muscles and other soft tissues may have looked like.
- Health & Medicine
Final Word? Breast surgeries yield same survival rate
Women with breast cancer who undergo partial-breast removal are just as likely to survive for at least 20 years as are women who have their entire breast removed.
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Long live the Y?
Researchers have identified a means by which the Y chromosome may forestall, or at least delay, the gradual degradation that some biologists argue will ultimately delete it from the human genome.
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Bacterial diet quiets worm genes
Genetically engineered bacteria help biologists turn off worm genes.
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Sea squirt’s DNA makes a splash
The DNA sequence of a sea squirt may reveal the origins of vertebrates.
- Plants
Drought-tolerant plant mined for survival genes
A drought-resistant South African plant is revealing its genetic secrets.
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Tests revise image of kangaroo rats
An ecological study of kangaroo rats has revised thinking about how these desert dwellers cope with their stressful home.
- Anthropology
Fossil skull spurs identity dispute
A dispute has broken out over whether a recently discovered, 7-million-year-old fossil skull represents the earliest known member of the human evolutionary family or an ancient ape.
- Earth
Haze clears on sooty climate conditions
The results of a new study suggest that soot plays a bigger role in regional climate changes than scientists had previously realized.
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Chicken Rank: Hen social position shifts egg hormones
A study of leghorn chickens has linked hormone concentrations in a hen's eggs to her rank in the pecking order.
- Health & Medicine
Making Bone: Novel form of vitamin D builds up rat skeleton
A newly synthesized form of Vitamin D induces bone-making cells to capture calcium and fortify bone mass in rats, suggesting it might work against osteoporosis in people.
- Humans
Nobel prizes honor innovative approaches
The 2002 Nobel prizes pay tribute to an international sampling of scientists who developed powerful new techniques for expanding the horizons of research.
