News
- Oceans
Climate change may boost toxic mercury levels in sea life
Increased runoff to the ocean due to climate change could raise neurotoxic mercury in coastal sea life by disrupting the base of the food web.
- Anthropology
Snooze patterns vary across cultures, opening eyes to evolution of sleep
Sleep plays out differently across cultures, but a consistent cycle of z’s and activity appears crucial.
- Plants
Big genetics study blazes path for bringing back tomato flavor
Combining taste tests with genetics suggests what makes heirloom varieties tastier than mass-market tomatoes.
- Physics
New claim staked for metallic hydrogen
Scientists report transforming hydrogen into a metal at high pressure, but some experts dispute the claim.
- Life
Mouse cells grown in rats cure diabetes in mice
Mixing cells of two species produces pig and cattle embryos with some human cells.
- Physics
Chemists strike gold, solve mystery about precious metal’s properties
A longstanding puzzle about gold’s properties has been solved with more complex theoretical calculations.
- Life
What a mosquito’s immune system can tell us about fighting malaria
Immune system messengers carried in microscopic sacs help mosquitoes fend off malaria, new research suggests.
- Ecosystems
In debate over origin of fairy circles, both sides might be right
Odd bare spots called fairy circles in African grasslands might be caused by both termites and plants.
- Science & Society
Cancer studies get mixed grades on redo tests
Replications of cancer studies fail to reproduce some results.
- Climate
For three years in a row, Earth breaks heat record
Spurred by climate change and heat from a strong El Niño, 2016 was the hottest year on record.
- Earth
Coastal waters were an oxygen oasis 2.3 billion years ago
Coastal waters contained enough oxygen to support complex life-forms including some animals hundreds of millions of years before fossils of such life first appear.
- Climate
Petrified tree rings tell ancient tale of sun’s behavior
The 11-year cycle of solar activity may have been around for at least 290 million years, ancient tree rings suggest.
