News
- Tech
Bucky shrink-wrap
Scientists filmed cage-shaped carbon molecules as they shrank to become buckyballs.
- Agriculture
Insects laughing at Bt toxin? Try this
A new countermeasure restores the toxicity of Bt pesticides to insects that have evolved resistance.
By Susan Milius - Anthropology
Wild chimps scale branches of culture
Distinctive behaviors in wild-chimp communities point to a basic cultural capacity in these animals.
By Bruce Bower - Animals
Mr. Not Wrong: Not my species? Not a problem
Female toads that accept mates of another species in tough times may be looking after their own interest.
By Susan Milius -
Ladies First: Genes skew sex ratios in evolutionary struggle
A gene in fruit flies favors the birth of females, until another gene comes along to restore balance between the sexes.
- Earth
Yellowstone Rising: Magma floods into chamber beneath park
Some parts of the terrain in Yellowstone National Park have been rising as much as 7 centimeters per year as molten rock wells up beneath the park.
By Sid Perkins -
Not Like Clockwork: High-fat diet disrupts daily routines of mice
Fatty diets disrupt the sleep and metabolic cycles of mice by changing the activity of genes.
- Agriculture
Silencing Pests: Altered plants make RNA that keeps insects at bay
Engineered plants make genetic material that disables critical genes in insects that eat the plants, offering a possible new strategy for agricultural-pest control.
By Sarah Webb - Astronomy
Ray Tracing: Energetic cosmic rays linked to giant black holes
New observations suggest that ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays originate in the cores of nearby galaxies harboring supermassive black holes.
By Ron Cowen -
Smarty Gene: Breast-fed kids show DNA-aided IQ boost
Breast-feeding substantially boosts children's intelligence, but only if the youngsters possess a specific version of a gene involved in processing mothers' milk.
By Bruce Bower -
Doing the DNA shuffle
DNA near the ends of people's chromosomes shows surprisingly large differences from the corresponding DNA in other great apes.
- Health & Medicine
Nongene DNA boosts AIDS risk
People with a newly discovered genetic variation are more vulnerable to HIV infection.