News
- Animals
Tiger, lion and domestic cat genes not so different
Genomes of big felines provide insight into their evolution.
- Psychology
Poker pros’ arms betray their hands
Top players' arm motions when betting provide clues to whether or not they hold strong cards.
By Bruce Bower - Tech
Bacterial batteries get a solid boost
Using microbes to harvest energy from wastewater now has a silver lining, with the metal making reliable, rechargeable batteries.
By Beth Mole - Earth
Hot spot deep beneath North America could have triggered quakes
Mantle plume might have left trail of hot rock under continental US.
By Erin Wayman - Genetics
Genes for body symmetry may also control handedness
Lefties and righties can thank same genes that put hearts on left side for hand dominance, study of thousands of people’s DNA suggests.
- Psychology
Bad acts spark a ‘cheater’s high’
Committing low-stakes acts of dishonesty enhances perpetrators’ moods.
By Bruce Bower - Earth
Buried Saharan rivers might have been early expressways
Humans might have migrated across the arid region along three once-lush waterways.
By Erin Wayman - Physics
Notorious ‘Big G’ gets a little larger
Gravitational constant is difficult to measure, but physicists calculate with new number.
By Meghan Rosen - Animals
Young insect legs have real meshing gears
Tiny teeth on hiplike structures keep legs in sync, allowing juvenile planthoppers to jump.
By Susan Milius - Astronomy
At last, Voyager 1 slips into interstellar space
Solar blast data provides definitive evidence that Voyager 1 has cruised beyond the heliosphere and into interstellar space.
By Andrew Grant - Health & Medicine
Vaccine stops deadly sand-fly-spread scourge in animal test
A DNA vaccine triggers protection against the sand-fly-borne scourge Leishmania.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Szechuan pepper taps at nerve fibers
The spice makes lips tingle at 50 beats per second, researchers find.