News
- Earth
Large earthquake would ravage Oregon
A magnitude 8.5 earthquake off the coast of Oregon would devastate portions of the state, kill thousands of residents, and wrack the economy there for more than a decade.
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Sitting around? (Chomp!) Back to work!
An analysis of nestmates biting each other in a wasp colony suggests that the nips and outright chomps help organize work flow in the nest.
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Minke whales make Star Wars noises
Researchers have identified the dwarf minke whales of Australia as the source of an odd sound like the firing of a Stars Wars laser gun.
- Anthropology
Human fossils tell a fish tale
Fossil clues indicate that Stone Age humans ate a considerable amount of seafood, giving them a broader and more resilient diet than that of Neandertals.
- Anthropology
Early agriculture flowered in Mexico
Mexico may have served as a center of early plant domestication in the Americas, according to researchers who have excavated a site near Mexico's Gulf Coast.
- Planetary Science
Nearby star may have its own asteroid belt
Observations of warm dust swaddling a young, nearby star suggest that astronomers may have found evidence of a massive asteroid belt outside the solar system.
- Health & Medicine
Soy estrogens: Too much of a good thing?
Two studies of female mice suggest that genistein, an estrogen analog found in soy, could contribute to cancer risk.
- Earth
Memory problems linked to PCBs in fish
Adult exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls, from eating tainted fish, correlate with lower scores on learning and memorization tasks.
- Materials Science
Scientists get a handle on crystal shape
Researchers have discovered how the orientation of amino acid molecules can make a growing crystal take on either a right- or a left-handed form.
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Healthy aging may depend on past habits
A 60-year study indicates that middle-aged men can exert a considerable amount of personal control over their eventual physical and mental health as seniors.
- Earth
New test traces underground forest carbon
An unusual method of studying soil respiration by girdling trees may clear up several vital mysteries in the way carbon cycles through forests.
- Earth
Global Warming Debate Gets Hotter
President Bush gets the global warming report he commissioned just days before he meets with European leaders.
