News
- Oceans
Earth got first whiff of oxygen 3.2 billion years ago
Photosynthesis by early cyanobacteria pumped oxygen into Earth’s oceans 200 million years earlier than once thought, new geochemical analyses show.
- Environment
Molting seals shed mercury along with fur
Seals spew amassed mercury when they shed, creating hotbeds of pollution in otherwise pristine coastal environments.
- Materials Science
Graphene shows signs of superconductivity
Ultrathin sheets of carbon can conduct electrical current with no resistance at low temperatures.
- Environment
Latest BPA replacement seeps into people’s blood and urine
Replacements for BPA called BPS and BPSIP may raise health risks for cashiers.
- Astronomy
First known exoplanets have few counterparts
The first known exoplanets were discovered around pulsars — probably one of the least likely places to have been found, astronomers now say.
- Animals
Same math describes relationship between diverse predators and prey
From lions to plankton, predators have about the same relationship to the amount of prey, a big-scale ecology study predicts.
- Health & Medicine
How farm life can prevent allergies
Farm dust prevents allergies by turning on an anti-inflammatory enzyme in the cells lining mice’s lungs.
- Anthropology
Ancient pottery maps route to South Pacific
New Guinea pottery points to a key meeting of island natives and seafarers at least 3,000 years ago.
- Life
Unhelpful adaptations can speed up evolution
Unhelpful changes in gene activity stimulate natural selection.
- Materials Science
Nanogenerators harvest body’s energy to power devices
Nanogenerators offer body-harvested energy to fuel bionic future
- Astronomy
Nearby quasar may be home to dynamic duo
A pair of black holes left over from a galaxy collision might live in the nearest quasar to Earth.
- Earth
Volcanic activity convicted in Permian extinction
Precision dating confirms that Siberian volcanic eruptions could have triggered the Permian extinction.
