News
- Paleontology
Meet the old wolves, same as the new wolves
The dire wolf, an extinct species preserved in abundance at the La Brea tar pits, seems to have had a social structure similar to that of its modern-day relatives.
- Paleontology
Dinosaurs matured sexually while still growing
Distinctive bone tissue in fossils of several dinosaur species suggests that the ancient reptiles became sexually mature long before they gained adult size.
- Paleontology
Deinonychus’ claws were hookers, not rippers
The meat-eating dinosaur Deinonychus probably used the large, sicklelike claw on its foot to grip and climb large prey, not disembowel it.
- Paleontology
The first matrushka
A newly found fossil preserves one creature inside another that lies nestled inside yet another, a Paleozoic version of the Russian nesting dolls known as matrushkas.
- Materials Science
Printing scheme could yield 3-D photonic crystals
An innovative printing scheme makes three-dimensional crystal structures that could be used to control the flow of light.
- Anthropology
DNA to Neandertals: Lighten up
DNA analysis indicates that some Neandertals may have had a gene for pale skin and red hair.
- Animals
Smells Funny: Fish schools break up over body odor
Just an hour's swim in slightly contaminated water can give a fish such bad body odor that its schoolmates shun it.
- Anthropology
Not So Clear-Cut: Soil erosion may not have led to Mayan downfall
Hand-planted maize, beans, and squash sustained the Mayans for millennia, until their culture collapsed about 1,100 years ago. Some researchers have suggested that the Mayans’ very success in turning forests into farmland led to soil erosion that made farming increasingly difficult and eventually caused their downfall. But a new study of ancient lake sediments has […]
- Astronomy
Odd Couples: Big black holes challenge star theory
The discovery of a black hole almost 16 times as massive as the sun, and the possible discovery of an even heavier one, challenge theories of how such black holes form.
- Physics
Let There Be Aluminum-42: Experiment creates surprise isotope
In experiments that created the heaviest isotope yet of magnesium, an unexpected isotope of aluminum also showed up.
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Good Buzz: Tiny vibrations may limit fat-cell formation
Mice that spend time on a mildly vibrating platform develop bone or muscle cells in preference to fat cells.
- Tech
Catch a Wave: Carbon nanotubes go wireless
Despite all the hubbub about carbon nanotubes as possible building blocks of superstrong materials or as components of supersmall electronics, few practical applications have yet come to fruition. Integrating nanotubes into functioning electronic devices has proved especially difficult, but researchers have now built a carbon-nanotube component into a simple radio receiver. TINY RADIO. A single […]
