News
- Life
Life on Earth took a licking, kept on ticking
Earth's early organisms may not have had to restart after a long spell of asteroid impacts.
By Sid Perkins -
Characteristics that help coral bounce back
New report outlines features that make a reef able to deal with environmental stress.
- Health & Medicine
How Down syndrome works against cancer
A surplus of cancer-suppressing protein encoded by a gene on an extra copy of chromosome 21 may explain in part why people with Down syndrome seldom get cancer.
By Nathan Seppa - Physics
Europium’s superconductivity demonstrated
A rare earth metal is the 53rd naturally occurring element to possess the property.
- Humans
An unusual budget cycle
The first Obama budget rolled out slowly and in atypical fashion.
By Janet Raloff - Paleontology
Ancient fish with killer bite
Dunkleosteus clamped down on prey with three-quarters-of-a-ton bite force.
By Sid Perkins - Space
Last Hubble rendezvous
During five successful space walks, astronauts repaired and rejuvenated the Hubble Space Telescope.
By Ron Cowen - Archaeology
Stone Age figurine has contentious origins
A new study suggests that an ivory female figurine from Germany dates to at least 35,000 years ago, but that conclusion has sparked debate over the Stone Age origins of figurative art.
By Bruce Bower - Life
It’s not their dirty mouths
Komodo dragons kill prey with venom, not oral bacteria, study suggests.
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Four space walks to Hubble completed
Final repair mission to Hubble launched May 11 enjoys success so far.
By Ron Cowen - Humans
Intel ISEF winners announced
Projects on smarter roundworms, glowing bacteria as pollutant detectors and the shared history of bees and nematodes take three top spots; Seaborg winner also named.
- Health & Medicine
‘Super Size’ diet increases insulin resistance
Scientists study effects of a month-long fast food binge, finding that weight gain and insulin resistance may be related.