News
- Earth
Gunning for the Gut: Tiny particles might fight invasive zebra mussels
By modifying a technique used to flavor foods, researchers have made a substance that poisons the zebra mussel.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Alzheimer Clue: Busy brain connections may have downside
Brain areas that are chronically activated have excess amyloid beta, the waxy protein associated with Alzheimer's disease.
By Nathan Seppa - Anthropology
Stone Age Footwork: Ancient human prints turn up down under
An ancient, dried-up lakeshore in Australia has yielded the largest known collection of Stone Age footprints, made about 20,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Earth
Estimating a temblor’s strength on the fly
New analyses of ground motions caused by large earthquakes suggest that it may be possible to estimate the full magnitude of such quakes immediately after they start rumbling.
By Sid Perkins - Tech
Facing a hairy electronics problem
Investigating why kinky metal filaments sprout spontaneously on electronic- circuit cards, researchers have found that the way metal films have been electroplated onto the surface in the first place plays a lingering role.
By Peter Weiss - Anthropology
European face-off for early farmers
A new analysis of modern and ancient human skulls supports the idea that early farmers in the Middle East spread into Europe between 11,000 and 6,500 years ago, intermarried with people there, and passed on their agricultural way of life to the native Europeans.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Protein exposes long-term risk from heart problems
Elevated blood concentrations of a certain protein can signal risk of death in people with heart problems.
By Nathan Seppa - Planetary Science
Moon spray
The Cassini spacecraft has found conclusive evidence that the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus spews jets of icy particles into space.
By Ron Cowen - Earth
Beyond the ABC’s: North Atlantic posts record hurricane season
The 2005 hurricane season in the North Atlantic shattered a number of records, including several that were decades old.
By Sid Perkins - Humans
Stem Cell Controversy: Scientist is retracting landmark finding
A South Korean researcher who claimed to have cloned the first human embryonic stem cell is now asking that some of his published work be retracted.
By Nathan Seppa - Chemistry
Mixed Message: Pheromone blend sends signal
The meaning of a chemical message released by male Asian elephants depends on the chemical's total concentration as well as on the balance of the chemical's two forms.
- Animals
Ant Iron Chefs: Larvae fix dinner but don’t sneak snacks
Movies of an ant colony show that larvae are the ones that prepare dinner when meat is on the menu. With Video.
By Susan Milius