News

  1. Earth

    Yellowstone Rising: Magma floods into chamber beneath park

    Some parts of the terrain in Yellowstone National Park have been rising as much as 7 centimeters per year as molten rock wells up beneath the park.

    By Sid Perkins

  2. Not Like Clockwork: High-fat diet disrupts daily routines of mice

    Fatty diets disrupt the sleep and metabolic cycles of mice by changing the activity of genes.

    By Sarah Williams
  3. Agriculture

    Silencing Pests: Altered plants make RNA that keeps insects at bay

    Engineered plants make genetic material that disables critical genes in insects that eat the plants, offering a possible new strategy for agricultural-pest control.

    By Sarah Webb
  4. Astronomy

    Ray Tracing: Energetic cosmic rays linked to giant black holes

    New observations suggest that ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays originate in the cores of nearby galaxies harboring supermassive black holes.

    By Ron Cowen

  5. Smarty Gene: Breast-fed kids show DNA-aided IQ boost

    Breast-feeding substantially boosts children's intelligence, but only if the youngsters possess a specific version of a gene involved in processing mothers' milk.

    By Bruce Bower

  6. Doing the DNA shuffle

    DNA near the ends of people's chromosomes shows surprisingly large differences from the corresponding DNA in other great apes.

    By Patrick Barry
  7. Health & Medicine

    Nongene DNA boosts AIDS risk

    People with a newly discovered genetic variation are more vulnerable to HIV infection.

    By Patrick Barry
  8. Humans

    Burdens of knowledge

    Greater understanding of the role of genetics in human diseases presents scientists with ethical dilemmas.

    By Patrick Barry
  9. Health & Medicine

    Salmonella seeks sweets

    A sugarlike substance in the roots of lettuce may attract food-poisoning bacteria.

    By Janet Raloff
  10. Earth

    Groundwater use adds CO2 to the air

    Pumping out groundwater for crop irrigation or industrial purposes releases planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

    By Sid Perkins
  11. Health & Medicine

    Earache microbe shows resistance

    A strain of bacterium that causes middle ear infection is resistant to all antibiotics currently approved for the ailment.

    By Nathan Seppa
  12. Tech

    Hooking up

    Cleverly designed molecules can self-assemble into networks and stay robustly connected.

    By Davide Castelvecchi