News
- 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 - Tech
Narrow Escape: Sharp nanogutters hustle out wetness
Nanochannels with sharply tapered edges can dramatically boost fluid flow rates and potentially play a role in improved microchip cooling, fabrics to wick away perspiration, and other uses.
By Peter Weiss - Health & Medicine
Mixing Vessel: Air pollution helps cholesterol clog arteries
When paired with a diet high in fat, breathing polluted air on a regular basis accelerates the accumulation of dangerous plaques in arteries.
By Ben Harder -
Pumping Out Hope: Stem cells secrete brain-preserving protein
Researchers have turned stem cells into living drug pumps that could eventually treat Parkinson's disease.
- Paleontology
Mammoth Findings: Asian elephant is closest living kin
DNA studies suggest that the woolly mammoth is more closely related to the Asian elephant than to the African elephant.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Satellite makes finest map yet of Antarctica
Using data gathered by a satellite launched almost 3 years ago, scientists have assembled the most comprehensive high-resolution map of Antarctica that's ever been made.
By Sid Perkins -
Counting on technology to count elephants
Researchers now spend large amounts of time in remote areas to count and monitor the movements of large animals such as elephants, but in the future they may use seismic instruments to do the job.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Where steel-belted radials go to die
A new technique for analyzing satellite images may enable researchers to easily identify sites where large numbers of used tires have been dumped.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Ozone hole might not recover until the year 2065
The ozone-free zone that develops high in the atmosphere over Antarctica each summer as the result of the presence of chlorine- and bromine-containing chemicals may not heal until 15 years later than previously projected.
By Sid Perkins