News
- Planetary Science
A crack at life
New images of ancient cracks on Mars suggest that liquid may have percolated through underground rock on the Red Planet, providing a possible habitat for primitive life.
- Paleontology
Ancient slowpoke
A 1-centimeter-long, 505-million-year-old fossil from British Columbia represents a creature that joins two lineages of marine invertebrates from that era that scientists previously hadn't linked.
- Earth
Equal Opportunity Outcome: Different pollutants show same impact
At concentrations present in the environment, each of three dissimilar toxic agents can seize control of a signaling pathway that regulates developing cells in the central nervous system.
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Natural-Born Addicts: Brain differences may herald drug addiction
Differences in the behavior and the brain receptors of rats seem to predict which of the rodents will become cocaine addicted.
- Planetary Science
Stormy Weather in Space: Craft take panoramic view of solar eruptions
Twin spacecraft have for the first time tracked solar storms, known as coronal mass ejections, from their birth in the lower depths of the sun's atmosphere all the way to Earth's orbit.
- Animals
Snail Highways: By following trails, periwinkles save slime
A snail that follows another snail's slimy path saves energy by not having to secrete so much mucus.
- Materials Science
The New Black: A nanoscale coating reflects almost no light
A "carpet" of microscopic filaments sprayed onto a surface can prevent it from reflecting light, a potentially useful trait for technologies from solar cells to fiber-optic communications.
- Anthropology
Tools for Prey: Female chimps move to fore in hunting
For the first time, researchers have observed wild chimpanzees making and using tools to hunt other animals, a practice adopted mainly by adult females and youngsters.
- Health & Medicine
Nice Shot: Hepatitis E vaccine passes critical test
An experimental vaccine for hepatitis E has proved nearly 96 percent protective in a test in Nepalese soldiers.
- Health & Medicine
Cocoa compound increases brain blood flow
Cocoa that retains compounds usually removed to soften the product's flavor can significantly improve blood flow to the brain.
- Earth
Subglacial lakes may influence ice flow
The flow of water into and out of massive, ice-covered lakes in Antarctica may influence the speed at which the overlying glaciers move toward the sea.
- Health & Medicine
A cornea that’s got some nerve
Researchers have developed a technique to grow corneal tissue that includes nerve cells, an advance that may enable them to test consumer products in lab dishes rather than live animals.
