News
- Animals
Hive Scourge? Virus linked to recent honeybee die-off
A poorly understood virus seems to have a connection to the recent widespread demise of honeybees.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Bad Bug: Microbe raises stomach cancer risk
A gene in some strains of the bacterium Helicobacter pylori may greatly increase the risk of stomach cancer.
By Nathan Seppa - Astronomy
Dawn of a Disk: Water vapor pours down on embryonic star
Infrared observations show water vapor pouring down on a planet-forming disk around a young star.
By Ron Cowen -
No-Fight Zones: School programs reduce violence in all grades
A variety of school-based programs succeed in reducing students' violent and disruptive behavior.
By Bruce Bower - Earth
Oxygen Rocks: Volcanoes spurred early atmospheric change
Earth owes its oxygen-rich atmosphere to a change in volcanic activity about 2.5 billion years ago.
- Plants
Cretaceous Corsages? Fossil in amber suggests antiquity of orchids
Orchids appeared on the scene about 80 million years ago, according to evidence from a bee that collected orchid pollen and got trapped in amber.
By Sid Perkins -
Barely Alive: Ancient bacteria survive in the slow lane
Microbes locked in 500,000-year-old permafrost appear to breathe and show other signs of very slow life.
By Brian Vastag -
Share Alike: Genes from bacteria found in animals
Bacteria swap genes all the time, but it now appears that they can give their DNA to some animals as well.
- Humans
Urine tests for cities
Analysis of sewage gauges community-wide use of illegal drugs.
By Brian Vastag - Earth
Tiny tubes, big pollution
Making carbon nanotubes also produces a lot of airborne carcinogens.
By Brian Vastag -
Light switch
A photosensitive molecule makes switching off a gene as simple as flicking on a light.
By Brian Vastag - Tech
Corny collagen
Corn engineered to produce collagen may someday replace slaughterhouse leftovers as a source of gelatin.
By Brian Vastag