News
-
Health & Medicine
Antibiotics don’t seem to protect heart
Two large studies find little evidence that antibiotics can protect some people with cardiovascular disease against subsequent heart attacks.
By Ben Harder -
Animals
Maneless lions live one guy per pride
The male lions of Tsavo National Park don't grow manes but they're no wimps—they're the only male lions found so far that rule big prides of females alone, without help from some buddies.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Folate cuts family risk of colon cancer
According to a 16-year study of nearly 90,000 women, the vitamin folate has a protective effect against colon cancer among women whose families have been affected by the disease.
By Ben Harder -
Earth
Motion of ice across Lake Vostok revealed
New measurements of the movement of the Antarctic ice sheet across a lake that harbors microbial life beneath 4 kilometers of ice could help scientists determine where to drill to get the freshest samples of frozen water without contaminating the lake.
By Sid Perkins -
Ecosystems
Climate Upsets: Big model predicts many new neighbors
The biggest effects of climate change during the next 50 years may not be extinctions but major reshuffling of the species in local communities.
By Susan Milius -
Globin Family Grows: Blood-protein relative is in all tissues
Researchers discovered a relative of the blood protein hemoglobin in all the body's tissues.
-
Animals
Toxic Tools: Frogs down under pack their own poison
An Australian frog can synthesize its own protective poison, rather than obtain it from the insects it eats.
-
Physics
Molding Atoms: Using a tiny template to make tinier structures
With the help of a molecular mold composed of exactly 188 atoms, researchers have been able to impose textures at an even smaller atomic scale on a metal surface.
By Peter Weiss -
Materials Science
Steely Glaze: Layered electrolytes control corrosion
Experiments with ultrathin organic coatings applied to steel suggest a new technique for slowing corrosion.
By Ben Harder -
Astronomy
Gamma-Ray Burst: A black hole is born
New evidence supports the notion that gamma-ray bursts, the most violent explosions in the universe, are the primal calling cards of newborn black holes.
By Ron Cowen -
Anthropology
The DNA Divide: Chimps, people differ in brain’s gene activity
The distinctive looks and thinking styles of people and chimpanzees derive from the contrasting productivities of their similar DNA sequences.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & Medicine
Vanquishing a Virus: New drugs attack herpes infections
Scientists have identified a new class of compounds that stop herpes simplex virus from replicating.
By John Travis