News
- Physics
Rogue waves captured
Re-creating tiny versions of these monster swells in a laboratory tank reveals their mathematical underpinnings.
- Health & Medicine
Don’t share that clarinet
Bacteria can linger on woodwind instruments, particularly those with reeds, for days, a new study finds.
- Space
Milky Way may get an extension
A newly discovered feature at its fringes suggests the galaxy is an uncommon beauty: One half appears to be nearly a mirror image of the other.
- Life
Your gut microbes are what you eat
A mammal's diet strongly influences what kinds of microorganisms live in its intestines.
- Psychology
Eyes take gossip to heart
Reading negative gossip about someone makes that person’s face easier to perceive.
- Life
Numbers flap has minor implications for global extinctions
A statistical technique used to estimate rates of species disappearance is flawed, two ecologists charge — but not enough to invalidate recent dire assessments.
- Humans
Geographic profiling fights disease
Widely used to snare serial criminals, a forensic method finds application in epidemiology.
- Health & Medicine
No pain, healthier brain
When chronic back problems are treated, benefits extend above the neck.
- Life
Daytime bites for zombie ants
The living dead of the insect world show an unexplained sense of timing: a surge of strange activity in the a.m. followed by a final death grip at midday.
-
Microbial mats may have given early animals breathing room
Early animals survived poor marine conditions by inhaling oxygen from bacterial "mines" at the bottom of the ocean.
- Chemistry
Melting icebergs fertilize ocean
Releasing extra iron into the water boosts carbon dioxide uptake by plankton.
- Science & Society
Youthful ingenuity honored at Intel ISEF
Young scientists receive awards for insights applicable to cancer treatment, homeland security, water supplies and more.
