News
- Ecosystems
Beetle attack overturns forest carbon regime
Ravaged Canadian region switches from carbon sink to net carbon source.
By Susan Milius - Space
Black hole once glowed brightly
More than 26,000 years ago, the Milky Way's central black hole suddenly but fleetingly increases its X-ray output.
By Ron Cowen - Agriculture
Study decodes papaya genome
Scientists have added another plant to the genome-sequencing roster: the tropical fruit tree papaya.
- Earth
Melt pond falls through ice in Greenland
A lake of meltwater atop Greenland's ice sheet wedged open a crack in the underlying ice that drained the lake dry.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Old drug offers new tricks for fighting cancer
A drug once envisioned as a treatment for cancer might instead prevent the occurrence of colorectal cancer.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Triggering autoimmune assaults
Mouth bacteria unleash inflammation-inducing protein
By Janet Raloff - Life
Elephant kin liked the water
Moeritherium, ancient relatives of modern elephants, may have spent much of their time in lakes, rivers or swamps.
By Sid Perkins - Paleontology
China was an ancient-ape paradise
Fossil dig uncovers the oldest known remains of ancestral gibbons
By Bruce Bower -
- Astronomy
Pioneer 10’s puzzling motion: a lot of hot air
The slow-down of the Pioneer spacecrafts may be caused in part by the way they radiate heat, new data shows.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Micro-strokes mimic Alzheimer’s Disease
Microscopic drops in blood flow to the brain may cause half of all dementia cases, a new study finds.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Shifting priorities at the wheel
Multitasking while driving may exceed brain's capacity, a new study finds.
By Bruce Bower