News
- Life
DNA to flutter by
The complete genetic instruction book for making monarch butterflies contains information about how the insects manage their long migration to Mexico.
- Earth
Oxygen a bit player in Earth’s outer core
Sulfur and silicon may be more abundant in the planet’s heart than thought.
- Health & Medicine
Getting the picture of how someone died
CT scans can often reveal a clear cause of death, possibly making some autopsies unnecessary, British researchers find.
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- Space
Super Saturnian storm
The Cassini spacecraft captured images of massive tempest in planet’s northern hemisphere.
- Life
Immune cells function beyond battle
Cells lining the intestines take cues from immune cells and gut bacteria when deciding whether self-defense or metabolism is more important.
- Health & Medicine
Coffee delivers jolt deep in the brain
Caffeine strengthens electrical signals in a portion of the hippocampus, a study in rats finds.
- Humans
Two feet or four, software is the same
All walking animals use the same basic nerve patterns to put one leg in front of the other(s).
- Psychology
Babies may benefit from moms’ lasting melancholy
Fetuses pick up on maternal depression and thrive after birth if mothers don’t get better, a new study suggests.
- Chemistry
Plastic isn’t over yet
A tough new form of the 20th century’s signature polymer could extend its usefulness and make it more recyclable.
- Life
How both macho and meek persist
Research in voles demonstrates one way that evolution preserves two divergent strategies in a single population.
- Life
Chromosome glitch tied to separation anxiety
The finding is the latest in a series linking extra or missing gene copies to mental conditions.
