News
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Space
Atom’s core gets pear-shaped
Tapering asymmetry of some nuclei confirms predictions.
By Andrew Grant -
Animals
Tongue bristles help bats lap up nectar
High-speed videos capture stretched-out tongue bumps that stretch out so nectar-feeding bats can slurp up their food.
By Meghan Rosen -
Earth
Toxic waste sites may cause health problems for millions
Exposures to lead and chromium represent particular problems, study finds in India, Indonesia and Philippines.
By Erin Wayman -
Humans
Human ancestors had taste for meat, brains
A mix of hunting and scavenging fed carnivorous cravings of early Homo species.
By Bruce Bower -
Animals
Winged robots may shed light on fly aerobatics
After years of trying, researchers create flapping machines that can hover and perform rudimentary flight maneuvers.
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Health & Medicine
Allergy, asthma less frequent in foreign-born kids in U.S.
But protection from some immune conditions fades after a decade, a study finds.
By Nathan Seppa -
Humans
Cannibalism in Colonial America comes to life
Researchers have found the first skeletal evidence that starving colonists ate their own.
By Bruce Bower -
Physics
Counting cracks in glass gives speed of projectile
There is a simple relationship between an object's velocity and the number of spokes it leaves in a dinged windshield or fractured windowpane.
By Andrew Grant -
Life
Genetic fossils betray hepatitis B’s ancient roots
Modern bird genomes reveal evidence that virus is at least 82 million years old.
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Life
Bees need honey’s natural pharmaceuticals
Ingredients trigger insects' genes for detoxification and immune defenses against bacteria.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Brain measurements predict math progress with tutoring
The size and connections of a brain structure associated with memory formation predicted learning ability in 8- and 9-year-old children.
By Meghan Rosen -
Health & Medicine
Hookah smoking delivers carcinogens and carbon monoxide
Water pipes deliver carcinogens, nicotine and carbon monoxide to the user, a study finds.
By Nathan Seppa