News
- Anthropology
Ancient populations were game for growth
Archaeological evidence of a Stone Age shift in dietary preferences, from slow to swift small game, suggests that the human population rose sharply sometime between 100,000 and 50,000 years ago.
- Anthropology
Drowned land holds clue to first Americans
A map of a now-flooded region charts the path that Asians may have taken to first reach the Americas.
- Humans
Treaty Nears on Gene-Altered Exports
In an effort to help preserve biodiversity, negotiators from 130 nations crafted rules of conduct for international trade in living, genetically engineered organisms.
- Animals
Slithering on Air: Flying snakes glide through the treetops
The paradise tree snake flies by flattening its body and slithering through the air.
- Health & Medicine
New Antidote to Botulism: Drug neutralizes toxin in mouse tests
An experimental drug disables deadly botulism toxin much better than current treatment does.
- Earth
Long, Dry Spells: Lengthy droughts tied to long-lived La Niñas
A new study of persistent droughts that occurred in the United States during the past 3 centuries suggests that those dry spells may be associated with prolonged periods when sea-surface temperatures in the central Pacific were cooler than average.
- Animals
Strong Medicine: Over-the-counter remedy snags snakes
Acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—vanquishes brown tree snakes, the bane of Guam.
- Physics
Sunlight Sponge? Energy trackers gauge water vapor’s wild dance
Atmospheric water vapor takes in more solar radiation than has been indicated by measurements and models, but laser probes of highly agitated water molecules suggest that the vapor doesn't absorb enough radiation to explain the discrepancy fully.
- Ecosystems
Pfiesteria’s Bite: Microbe may kill fish by skinning, not poisoning
At least one kind of Pfiesteria—accused of killing fish and threatening human health—does not produce a toxin but kills by eating holes in fish's skin, some researchers say.
- Health & Medicine
Fullness Factor: Gut hormone tells brain the stomach is well fed
A hormone produced by the intestines could be the primary satiety signal sent to the brain.
- Astronomy
Visible Matter: Once lost but now found
New observations confirm that most of the visible matter in the universe lies hidden in vast, hard-to-detect gas clouds between galaxies.
- Plants
Recent tree scourge poses garden threat
Lab tests suggest that a lethal disease of oak trees in California and Oregon could strike some popular garden shrubs in the rhododendron family.
