News
- Health & Medicine
Ingredient Shuffle: A trans fat substitute might have risks too
A controversial trial of a chemically modified fat called an interesterified fat suggests that it is more harmful than is a trans fat–rich, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil.
By Ben Harder - Earth
Why So Dry? Ocean temperatures alone don’t explain droughts
Evidence from ancient dunes points to three periods of prolonged drought in the U.S. Great Plains, but finding their causes may be more complex than previously supposed.
- Health & Medicine
Fatal Flaw? Antibleeding drug faces new safety questions
The drug commonly used to slow bleeding during heart surgery increases a patient's risk of dying during the next 5 years.
By Nathan Seppa - Earth
From Bad to Worse: Earth’s warming to accelerate
Global warming is real and will continue, and there's strong evidence that people are to blame, an international panel of scientists has concluded.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
Do flies eat their sibs before birth?
A tiny fly that parasitizes cicadas could be the first insect species that's recognized to practice prenatal cannibalism.
By Susan Milius -
Food smells reduce diet’s life-extending benefits
The scent of food may decrease the life-extending effects of a low-calorie diet.
- Animals
Glittering male seeks fluorescing female
A tropical jumping spider needs ultraviolet light for courtship.
By Susan Milius - Ecosystems
An unexpected, thriving ecosystem
A diverse group of creatures beneath an Antarctic ice shelf could give pause to researchers who infer past ecological conditions from fossils found in such sediments.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Many babies born short of vitamin D
Even in the womb, babies face a high risk of vitamin D deficiency.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Corn, a new sensor of carbon dioxide
Scientists have developed a way to use corn plants to monitor and map human-generated emissions of carbon dioxide.
By Sid Perkins - Tech
Wrinkle, wrinkle, little polymer
Scientists have developed a cheap and easy way to create specific patterns of tiny wrinkles on the surface of a flexible and commonly used polymer, a technique that could be used to fabricate an assortment of microdevices.
By Sid Perkins - Planetary Science
Solar craft get into position
With the assist of gravitational boosts from the moon, twin spacecraft have completed a series of maneuvers that will enable them to take three-dimensional images of the sun.
By Ron Cowen