Uncategorized
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Smarty Gene: Breast-fed kids show DNA-aided IQ boost
Breast-feeding substantially boosts children's intelligence, but only if the youngsters possess a specific version of a gene involved in processing mothers' milk.
By Bruce Bower -
Doing the DNA shuffle
DNA near the ends of people's chromosomes shows surprisingly large differences from the corresponding DNA in other great apes.
- Health & Medicine
Nongene DNA boosts AIDS risk
People with a newly discovered genetic variation are more vulnerable to HIV infection.
- Humans
Burdens of knowledge
Greater understanding of the role of genetics in human diseases presents scientists with ethical dilemmas.
- Health & Medicine
Salmonella seeks sweets
A sugarlike substance in the roots of lettuce may attract food-poisoning bacteria.
By Janet Raloff -
19899
Soil water picks up carbon dioxide generated when soil organic matter decomposes, and this then escapes to the atmosphere. This study should give pause to those who insist that man-made materials be biodegradable. When biodegradable materials decompose they add CO2 back into the atmosphere more quickly than otherwise. Nonbiodegradable materials serve to keep organic carbon […]
By Science News - Earth
Groundwater use adds CO2 to the air
Pumping out groundwater for crop irrigation or industrial purposes releases planet-warming carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Earache microbe shows resistance
A strain of bacterium that causes middle ear infection is resistant to all antibiotics currently approved for the ailment.
By Nathan Seppa - Ecosystems
Tortoise Genes and Island Beings
Geneticists and conservation biologists are joining forces to untangle the evolutionary history of giant Galápagos tortoises and to safeguard the animals' future.
By Bryn Nelson -
19898
You refer to Lonesome George, the Galápagos tortoise, as “misanthropic”—meaning a hater of people. He certainly has good reason to dislike humans, but I wonder how the investigators could tell. Or did you mean that George doesn’t like other tortoises, and is therefore antisocial? Roman KozakOmaha, Neb. Lonesome George’s lack of gregariousness extends across species: […]
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Mother Knows All
Fragments of a fetus' genetic material that leak into a pregnant woman's bloodstream reveal details of early fetal development.
- Tech
Hooking up
Cleverly designed molecules can self-assemble into networks and stay robustly connected.