News
- Humans
Oceans set stage for human evolution
Temperature changes off the coast dried out East Africa and allowed grasslands to spread starting around 2 million years ago.
- Humans
Harsh conditions in childhood have long-term effects
Kids from Romanian orphanage also had lower volumes of gray matter.
- Genetics
Crosses make lab mice even more useful
Scientists have bred new strains of lab animals with the goal of making it easier to tease out genetic components of complex diseases.
- Health & Medicine
Osteoporosis drugs delivered wirelessly
Implanted microchip that releases medications on command has been tested in people for the first time.
- Life
All genes aren’t indispensable
Even healthy people may have about 20 genes that are completely inactivated, a new study finds.
- Life
Seeing, feeling have something in common
A protein needed for eye development is also involved in detecting vibrations.
- Earth
Natural gas wells leakier than believed
Measurements at Colorado site show methane releases are twice as high as previously estimated.
By Devin Powell - Physics
Crystals may be possible in time as well as space
A theory proposes that objects in their lowest energy state can loop through the fourth dimension forever, much as atoms arrange themselves periodically in matter.
- Life
Yeast find use for misfolded proteins
Protein bundles may help single-celled organisms adapt to difficult environmental conditions.
- Space
Visible echoes reprise 19th century spectacle
By capturing light that arrived from a stellar eruption more than 150 years ago, astronomers gain clues to its cause.
By Nadia Drake -
- Health & Medicine
Antibiotic fails sinus infection test
Treatment with amoxicillin provided little benefit over placebo, a new study finds.
By Nathan Seppa