News
- Earth
New way of gauging reservoir evaporation
Scientists have developed a new way to estimate the evaporation of water from large reservoirs that, if adopted, would replace a labor-intensive procedure based on decades-old technology.
- Health & Medicine
Compound mimics calorie restriction
A new compound, part of a family of proteins that regulate fat transport, lowers the risk of developing heart disease and diabetes in monkeys.
- Humans
Talent Search: Student finalists’ flair for science to be rewarded
A panel of judges announced the 40 finalists in the 61st annual Intel Science Talent Search.
- Plants
Petite pollinators: Tree raises its own crop of couriers
A common tropical tree creates farms in its buds, where it raises its own work force of tiny pollinators.
- Astronomy
Supernova dealt deaths on Earth? Stellar blasts may have killed ancient marine life
The explosion of nearby supernova may have caused the widespread extinction of marine life on Earth 2 million years ago.
- Chemistry
Viral parts: Chemists convert virus into nanoscale tool
Researchers are decorating viruses with a variety of molecules, making the microbes into potential building blocks in electronic circuits and new materials, as well as tools in biomedical therapies.
- Health & Medicine
Ominous signals: Genes may identify the worst breast cancers
By using a technology that reveals patterns of gene activity in tumor cells, researchers can detect breast cancers that are likely to spread and become deadly.
- Health & Medicine
Drink and thrive: Moderate alcohol use reduces dementia risk
Alcohol appears to reduce aging drinkers' risk of developing Alzheimer's disease and other forms of age-related dementia.
- Ecosystems
Genetic lynx: North American lynx make one huge family
A new study of lynx in North America suggests the animals interbreed widely, sometimes with populations thousands of kilometers away.
- Astronomy
Some new stars in the neighborhood
As part of an ongoing survey of faint stars in the southern skies, astronomers have discovered 12 previously unknown stars that lie within a mere 33 light-years of Earth.
- Earth
Biotech-crop laws were big in 2001
Twenty-two state legislatures passed bills in 2001 addressing agricultural biotechnology, which concerns the development of genetically modified crops.
- Physics
Balloon bursts give clue to fast cracks
A casual observation about the edges of popped balloons may have led researchers to previously unknown features of the most common and least understood types of fractures.
