News

Chemistry

Dynamic Duo: Two catalysts build valuable carbon chains

By combining the power of two well-known reactions, chemists have devised a way to alter the length of linear carbon chains.

Earth

Limited Storage: Lack of nutrients will constrain carbon uptake

Even though the carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere acts as a fertilizer for plants, the planet's vegetation won't be able to sequester large amounts of that greenhouse gas in the long term because it will quickly run out of other nutrients.

Animals

Into Hot Water: Lab test shows that worms seek heat

Worms from deep-sea vents prefer water at temperatures near the upper limit of what animals are known to survive.

Health & Medicine

Estrogen Safety: Studies raise cancer, blood clot questions

Two studies provide conflicting findings on estrogen therapy's effect on breast cancer risk, while a third study suggests that the hormone contributes to blood clot formation.

Health & Medicine

Microbe Hunt: Novel bacterium infects immune-deficient people

A newfound bacterium can cause illness in people who have a rare, inherited form of immune deficiency.

Anthropology

Branchless Evolution: Fossils point to single hominid root

Fossils of a 4.1-million-year-old human ancestor in Ethiopia bolster the controversial idea that early members of our evolutionary family arose one species at a time rather than branching out into numerous species.

Animals

Foodfree growth

Rattlesnakes undergo a hibernation-like state to survive long periods of famine, while continuing to grow longer.

Health & Medicine

Alcohol spurs cancer growth

Downing the human equivalent of two to four alcoholic drinks per day dramatically spurs the growth of cancers implanted in lab mice.

Health & Medicine

Breakfast trends

Although breakfasts tend to pack a lot of nutrition per typical calorie consumed, one in five U.S. residents skips this meal.

Planetary Science

Another visitor to Mars

The newest spacecraft from Earth arrived at the Red Planet on March 10.