News
- Astronomy
Seven Earth-sized planets orbit nearby supercool star
A planetary system called TRAPPIST-1 has seven Earth-sized planets, three in the habitable zone, researchers report.
- Anthropology
Power may have passed via women in ancient Chaco Canyon society
DNA points to a 330-year-long reign of a maternal dynasty centered in New Mexico’s Chaco Canyon.
- Anthropology
Low-status chimps revealed as trendsetters
Outranked chimpanzees trigger spread of useful new behaviors among their comrades.
- Plants
Enzymes aid rice plants’ arsenic defenses
Rice plant roots have natural defenses against arsenic.
- Microbes
Microbes survived inside giant cave crystals for up to 50,000 years
Microbes trapped in crystals in Mexico's Naica mine may represent some of the most distinct life-forms found in Earth so far.
- Planetary Science
Europa lander mission takes another step toward reality
NASA is working on a possible lander mission in which the main science goal would be to search for signs of life on Jupiter’s moon Europa.
- Health & Medicine
Common fungus may raise asthma risk
The presence of a fungus in the infant gut can signal development of asthma by age 5.
- Chemistry
Helium’s inertness defied by high-pressure compound
At pressures over a million atmospheres, helium reacts with sodium.
- Planetary Science
Ceres harbors homegrown organic compounds
NASA’s Dawn spacecraft has detected organic matter — the building blocks of life — on the dwarf planet Ceres, a new study suggests.
- Ecosystems
Seagrasses boost ecosystem health by fighting bad bacteria
Seagrasses might reduce bacteria levels in ocean water.
- Health & Medicine
Gastric bypass controls diabetes long term better than other methods
Bariatric surgery outperforms other weight-loss measures in the longest-term study yet of diabetes outcomes.
- Genetics
Human gene editing therapies are OK in certain cases, panel advises
A panel of experts says clinical gene editing to correct and prevent human disease should move forward, but enhancements should not be allowed.
