News
- Humans
Jaw breaker
An ancient human relative that lived more than 1 million years ago possessed huge jaws and teeth suited to eating hard foods but actually preferred fruits and other soft items, a new study finds.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Friend or foe? Drunk, the brain can’t tell
Intoxicated brains can’t discern between threatening and safe situations.
- Space
Supermassive black hole says sayonara
Researchers have the first observational hint for the existence of an ejected supermassive black hole, fired by a gravitational rocket from the core of the galaxy in which it formed.
By Ron Cowen - Humans
Bear deadline
Court calls for the already overdue decision on listing polar bears as a threatened species.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Molten salts give biofuels a boost
Making biofuels from the chemical energy locked in plant cell walls has proven difficult, but molten salts may help.
- Astronomy
Massive minis
Astronomers have discovered a puzzling group of galaxies in the early universe that are as tiny as babies but as massive as full-grown adults.
By Ron Cowen - Planetary Science
Hop, skip and a jump
Less gravity on Mars means wind-driven grains of sand travel up to 10 times faster than those blowing along Earth’s surface, new analyses suggest.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Let there be light
Researchers report restoring vision to people with a rare, genetic form of blindness. A different technique helped blind mice see again and could bring back some sight in people with macular degeneration, retinitis pigmentosa or other blinding diseases.
- Psychology
Smarten up
Taxing memory training produces at least short-term increases in a critical type of intelligence.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Tripping up avian flu
Developing an effective vaccine for avian flu has been difficult, but small rings of DNA that hinder virus replication could offer an alternative.
- Earth
Climate fix could deplete polar ozone
Scientists seeking to cool Earth’s climate by injecting sulfuric acid droplets high in the atmosphere might trim rising temperatures but could also destroy much of the ozone in polar regions, a new study suggests.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Pockets of poor health
Life expectancy decreases in some locations
By Nathan Seppa