News
- Plants
Yo, aphid, I’m red and I’m bad
Apple trees support the idea that red fall colors are a warning signal to insects.
By Susan Milius - Space
Massive solar flares captured in 3-D
Distance between orbiting STEREO craft allows better imaging of coronal mass ejections.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Hypoglycemia linked to dementia
Episodes of low blood sugar that require medical attention seem to increase a person’s risk of developing dementia in old age, a study in people with type 2 diabetes shows.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
An ancient remedy: Bitter herbs and sweet wine
New chemical analyses of wine jars suggest that ancient Egyptians mixed medicinal plants into wine.
- Humans
In teeth, more cracks are better than one
Cracks in tooth enamel, called tufts, distribute force and shield a tooth from fracture, researchers report.
- Life
Early land arthropods sported shells
Ancient ocean-dwelling arthropods may have worn shells to enable their transition to land.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
Oh, he’s such a lab bird
Bold flycatchers may be more likely than shy birds to get trapped for lab studies.
By Susan Milius - Materials Science
Double-laser approach makes one thin line
Erasing and stenciling could refine tiny printing for sculpting nano-sized devices.
- Anthropology
African pygmies may be older than thought
A new DNA analysis indicates that pygmy hunter-gatherers and farming groups in Africa diverged from a common ancestral population around 60,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Touch and sight push each other around
When the fingers feel downward motion, the eyes see upward motion.
- Health & Medicine
The other, friendly fat
Brown fat is active in adult humans and could help keep people lean.
- Health & Medicine
Acid reflux link to asthma now in doubt
Heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors, commonly prescribed for asthma patients, don’t prevent breathing attacks.
By Nathan Seppa