News
- Planetary Science
Mars Odyssey instrument revived
Flight controllers have revived an instrument on the Mars Odyssey spacecraft that measures the amount of radiation bombarding the Martian surface.
- Earth
Rocks in Earth’s mantle could hold five oceans
Analysis of minerals created in the laboratory under conditions that simulate those deep within the planet suggests that the zone of rocks just outside Earth's core could hold enough water to fill the oceans five times.
- Earth
Zooplankton diet of mercury varies
By modeling a lake ecosystem in large tubs of water, researchers have found that zooplankton—an important link in the food chain—consume much less toxic methylmercury when the lake experiences an algal bloom.
- Animals
Cold Hamsters: Wild species boosts immunity for winter
Hamsters that have to survive winter outdoors in Siberia rev up their immune systems, including their response to psychological stress, when days grow short.
- Earth
A Confluence of Contaminants: Streams’ organic mix may pose environmental risk
The combined effects of at least some of several dozen organic contaminants newly identified in U.S. streams may pose risks to aquatic organisms.
- Animals
Leave It to Evolution: Duplicated gene aids odd monkey diet
A duplicated gene that has rapidly evolved helps certain monkey species thrive on a diet of leaves.
- Paleontology
Old Frilly Face: Triceratops’ relative fills fossil-record gap
Fossils of a creature the size of a Texas jackrabbit cast new light on the early evolution of a group of horned dinosaurs that include the 8-meter-long Triceratops.
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Microbes Fire an Oozie: Slime engines may push bacteria along
Some bacteria may propel themselves with slime engines: clusters of nozzles at the ends of the microbes that exude viscous goop.
- Health & Medicine
Brave New Drug: Compound stops cowpox and smallpox viruses
A new drug called HDP-CDV stops smallpox virus from replicating in lab tests and cowpox virus from replicating in mice, suggesting it could work as a treatment for smallpox in people.
- Anthropology
Unified Erectus: Fossil suggests single human ancestor
A newly found fossil skull may clear up an ongoing debate about whether the human ancestor Homo erectus was a single or several species.
- Health & Medicine
Computer sharing tackles anthrax
A drug-discovery effort using more than a million personal computers worldwide has identified thousands of compounds that could form the basis of a cure for anthrax.
- Paleontology
Early hunters are guilty as charged
Scientists find that hunting is the likely cause of New Zealand's prehistoric bird extinctions rather than habitat destruction or pest introduction.
