Uncategorized
- Paleontology
Early tetrapod likely ate on shore
The skull structure of Acanthostega, a semiaquatic creature that lived about 365 million years ago, suggests that the animal fed on shore or in the shallows, not in deep water.
- Paleontology
Society sans frills
The discovery of the fossils of several young dinosaurs in one small space suggests that the members of one dinosaur group evolved complex social behaviors millions of years earlier than previously suspected.
- Paleontology
DNA analysis reveals extinct type of wolf
New genetic analyses of the remains of gray wolves found in Alaska indicate that a distinct subpopulation of that species disappeared at the end of the last ice age, possibly because of its dietary habits.
- Paleontology
Rodents tell a geologic tale
The sudden appearance of many new species of rodents in Chile about 18 million years ago may have marked the rise of the southern Andes.
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Dementia warning
A long-term study of people ages 65 and older in England and Wales indicates that the prevalence of brain disorders of memory and thinking, including Alzheimer's disease, increases sharply in aging populations.
- Health & Medicine
Curry may counter cognitive decline
A chemical found in turmeric may prevent cognitive impairment.
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19754
The idea of Pleistocene rewilding in North America is provocative, but it need not be treated only in the abstract. The return of beavers (Castor canadensis) to almost every region of the continent has shown us that the behavior of these creatures was, in many ways, originally responsible for the contours of the landscape and […]
- Ecosystems
Brave Old World
If one group of conservation biologists has its way, lions, cheetahs, elephants, and other animals that went extinct in the western United States up to 13,000 years ago might be coming home.
- Humans
Letters from the November 11, 2006, issue of Science News
The Carolinas to New Jersey “Bad-News Beauties: Poison-spined fish from Asia have invaded U.S. waters” (SN: 9/9/06, p. 168) cites evidence of a severe genetic bottleneck, suggesting that perhaps no more than three pregnant females launched the expanding western Atlantic red lionfish population. How can there be “pregnant females” in an animal with the external […]
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19753
This article reminds me that in preantibiotic days, tuberculosis patients were put on a fresh-air-and-sunshine regimen. Could the vitamin D so acquired account for the cures this system sometimes produced? Nancy AxfordSacramento, Calif. Researcher John J. Cannell points to TB sanitariums as anecdotal evidence that sunlight fights infections. —J. Raloff Does the vitamin D in […]
- Health & Medicine
The Antibiotic Vitamin
Because vitamin D turns on a major germ killer in the body, a deficiency in the nutrient may leave people especially vulnerable to infections.
- Humans
From the October 31, 1936, issue
Ancient Egyptian tombstones, political party preferences, and a new record for starvation.
