News
- Earth
Freeze-thaw cycles: How not to mix soil
The repeated cycles of ground freezing and thawing that occur in many places don't do a surprising poor job of churning the soil.
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Kill-save gene combo might fight malaria
A technique that might someday enlist mosquitoes in the fight against malaria has passed an early test.
- Earth
Wave’s-eye view of a hurricane
Strong hurricanes aren't as effective at transmitting their energy to the ocean's surface as weak ones are, a counterintuitive finding that may help researchers estimate the size of storm surges.
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Rare flower needs prickly neighbors
A flowering plant found only in Mauritius makes more fruit if dense stands of pandanus trees grow nearby.
- Earth
Pollution Fallout: Are unattractive males Great-gram’s fault?
Pollutant exposures in rodents can have behavioral repercussions that persist generation after generation.
- Tech
Is Your Phone Out of Juice? Biological fuel cell turns drinks into power
A new type of fuel cell uses natural enzymes to produce small amounts of electricity from sugar.
- Animals
Too Few Jaws: Shark declines let rays overgraze scallops
A shortage of big sharks on the U.S. East Coast is letting their prey flourish, and that prey is going hog wild, demolishing bay scallop populations.
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Family Feud: Genetic arms race between parents benefits male offspring in a surprising way
A gene in mice that benefits the father at the mother's expense appears to help offspring of both sexes.
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Bipolar Surprise: Mood disorder endures antidepressant setback
Severe depression in patients with bipolar disorder responds no better to a combination of antidepressants and mood-stabilizing drugs than to mood stabilizers alone.
- Astronomy
Late Bloomer: Hubble studies once-dormant galaxy
A wispy dwarf galaxy called Leo A has the potential to change the way astronomers build theoretical models of galaxy evolution.
- Health & Medicine
Asthma Zap: Heated scope reduces attacks
A new tool cools asthma by heating lung tissue to kill overgrown smooth muscle in airways, a hallmark of the disease.
- Humans
Chasing money for science
Stagnant funding for the National Institutes of Health is forcing scientists to downsize their labs and abandon some of their most promising work.
