News
- Planetary Science
Life-friendly environment confirmed on Mars
Drill sample from bedrock reveals chemistry that could have supported microbial life.
By Andrew Grant - Humans
Students bring home big prizes for science projects
The 2013 Intel Science Talent Search awards teens for research.
By Meghan Rosen - Tech
Plastic implant replaces three-quarters of man’s skull
The polymer cranium was made using a 3-D printer.
- Life
Tasmanian devil disease reveals its secrets
The contagious cancer evades the animal’s immune system by turning off key genes.
- Tech
Facebook ‘likes’ can reveal users’ politics, sexual orientation, IQ
With data from thousands of volunteers, researchers connect social media activity to personal traits.
- Humans
Ancient people and Neandertals were extreme travelers
Stone Age folk were built for journeying farther than even the most active individuals today.
By Bruce Bower - Neuroscience
Heavy drinkers get extra brain fuel from alcohol
Compared with the brains of light drinkers, the brains of heavy alcohol drinkers burn acetate better.
By Meghan Rosen - Chemistry
Caffeine’s buzz attracts bees to flowers
Nectar of some blooms carries the drug, which improves bee memory.
- Life
Alga borrows genes to beat the heat, acid and toxic metals
Such genetic theft from bacteria and archaea is unusual among eukaryotes.
- Life
Mice get brain boost from transplanted human tissue
An experimental transplant of what have long been considered just support cells shows they may play a role in memory and learning.
- Space
No vacancy around stars
The Milky Way’s planets pack tightly around their stars, according to simulations using data from the Kepler space telescope.
By Andrew Grant - Physics
Vortex gets tied in knots
Physicists use 3-D printing and tiny bubbles to capture twisted-up water.
By Andrew Grant