News
- Math
Egypt wasn’t built in a day, but it did rise quickly
New timeline of ancient civilization’s earliest days finds little time between earliest villages and dominant centralized state.
By Andrew Grant - Humans
Babies perk up to sounds of ancient hazards
Evolution has primed infants to focus on noises linked to longstanding dangers, a new study finds.
By Bruce Bower - Life
Many genes in dolphins and bats evolved in the same way to allow echolocation
Widespread changes scattered across the genomes of distantly related species cooperated to craft the trait.
- Health & Medicine
Device offers promise of no brain tumor left behind
A new technique might allow surgeons to identify with precision where brain cancer ends and healthy tissue begins.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Gut infections keep mice lean
Bacteria can invade one rodent from another, preventing both from getting fat.
By Meghan Rosen - Astronomy
Radio telescope images reveal nebula’s heart of carbon
ALMA takes detailed look at elements surrounding dying star.
- Animals
Rats induced into hibernation-like state
Injection of compound causes animals to slow heartbeat, lower body temperature.
- Health & Medicine
Test could warn of problems for kidney transplant recipients
A urine test for an immune protein might tell doctors whether a patient is headed for trouble.
By Nathan Seppa - Climate
No more Superstorm Sandys expected for a long time
Future conditions less likely to steer hurricanes directly into the East Coast, analysis suggests.
By Erin Wayman - Animals
Traveling with elders helps whooping cranes fly straight
Rare data show birds get more efficient the more they migrate along route between Wisconsin and Florida.
By Susan Milius - Tech
Stretchy, see-through material conducts electricity
Simple new device could find use in loudspeakers, artificial muscles or soft robots.
By Meghan Rosen - Psychology
Poverty may tax thinking abilities
Scarce funds reduce mental abilities of U.S. shoppers and Indian farmers, experiments suggest.
By Bruce Bower