News
- Earth
Atmospheric rollercoaster followed Great Oxidation Event
Analyses of chromium isotopes in banded iron formations suggest oxygen levels fell for a period after the Great Oxidation Event.
By Sid Perkins - Life
One coral alga explodes with temperature increase
A rare species of coral algae exploded in population when ocean temperatures increased, a new study shows.
- Space
Panel reports on human spaceflight
Panel suggests how to get human spaceflight program off the ground.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Dopamine primes kidneys for a new host
Giving dopamine infusions to brain-dead organ donors may make transplanted kidneys more resilient, a new study shows.
By Nathan Seppa - Materials Science
Velcro on steroids
Researchers have designed a steel analog of a well-known fastener.
By Janet Raloff - Chemistry
Blue halos of doom
Under ultraviolet light, rings around the brown spots in aging bananas may signal the transition from ripe to rotten, researchers say.
-
Three genes linked to Alzheimer’s disease risk
Three new genes that raise the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease have been discovered in two large genome-wide searches.
- Health & Medicine
Tetris players are not block heads
Playing the geometry-based computer game can boost the brain’s gray matter.
- Planetary Science
Celestial population boom
Large meteoroids are probably more common than telescopic surveys suggest, new analyses find.
By Sid Perkins - Ecosystems
Google works on a different web
Page ranking system inspires algorithm for predicting food webs’ vulnerability.
By Susan Milius - Chemistry
New bond in the basement
Scientists identify a sulfur-nitrogen link, never before seen in living things, critical to holding the body together.
- Health & Medicine
Mice with mutation feel the burn
Instead of becoming obese, mice with a mutation in an immune gene burn off the fat they eat.