Uncategorized
-
HumansA gene critical for speech
Scientists argue a newly discovered stretch of DNA essential for larynx development may have allowed the evolution of language.
-
LifeHumpback whale alters song if another one sings along
Acoustical study of male songs shows first evidence of the whales responding musically to each other.
By Susan Milius -
Planetary ScienceMercury, As Never Seen Before: MESSENGER visits innermost planet
The first spacecraft to visit Mercury in 33 years imaged 25 percent of the crater-pocked surface that had never before been seen close-up.
By Ron Cowen -
SpacePanel says planned NASA rocket won’t do the job
The Ares 1 set to replace the space shuttle is too expensive and won’t be ready soon enough, the Augustine Committee concludes.
By Ron Cowen -
AnimalsAncient giant beavers did not chow on trees
The now-extinct animals had a hippo-like diet
By Sid Perkins -
ChemistryHow leaves could monitor pollution
Trees near high-traffic areas accumulate tiny particles.
By Sid Perkins -
LifeEstrogen helps ward off belly fat
Hormone is one reason that men and women carry weight differently
-
LifeFossil find sparks debate on primate origins
A 37-million-year-old jaw suggests the famous fossil Darwinius does not, as had been suggested, fill a gap in human evolution.
By Bruce Bower -
AnimalsJunk food turns rats into addicts
Bacon, cheesecake and Ho Hos elicit addictive behavior in rats similar to the behavior of rats addicted to heroin.
-
EarthJohnstown Flood matched volume of Mississippi River
A modern survey of terrain determines flow rate of the 1889 flood that was one of America's deadliest disasters.
By Sid Perkins -
LifePeople can control their Halle Berry neurons
Researchers pinpoint individual brain cells that respond to particular people and objects.
-
Health & MedicineExercise helps brains bounce back
Study of rhesus monkeys shows running protects dopamine neurons from death.