Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
- Environment
Low levels of lead linked to lower test scores in children
A large study in grade-school children finds that even low blood levels of lead may be associated with poor school performance.
- Planetary Science
The moon is about as old as we thought it was
Meteorite heat signatures pinpoint the age of the collision that created the moon — confirming many previous lunar age estimates.
- Astronomy
Map pinpoints location of invisible dark matter
A new map shows that dark matter is concentrated in regions that contain a lot of ordinary matter in the form of galaxy clusters.
- Planetary Science
Atmospheric water may be giving Saturn its spots
Planetary scientists think that water in Saturn’s atmosphere could be driving the massive storms that appear every few decades in the ringed planet’s atmosphere.
- Plants
Plants suck in nicotine from nearby smokers
Peppermint plants can build up nicotine from tobacco dropped on their soil or smoked indoors.
- Psychology
Saying ‘I’ and ‘me’ all the time doesn’t make you a narcissist
People who utter lots of first-person singular pronouns such as "I" and "me" score no higher on narcissism questionnaires than peers who engage in little "I"-talk.
- Genetics
Mountain gorilla genome reveals inbreeding
Mountain gorillas are highly inbred, with good and bad consequences.
- Paleontology
Tyrannosaurs fought and ate each other
Evidence from a tyrannosaur skull and jaw fossils add to the argument that the ancient reptiles fought and weren’t above scavenging their own.
- Genetics
Mummies tell tuberculosis tales from the crypt
Hungarian mummies contracted multiple strains of tuberculosis at the same time, researchers find.
- Humans
Natural selection may be growing taller Dutch people
Over the past 200 years, natural selection may have driven the evolution of taller Dutch people, researchers posit.
- Animals
Distinct voices fill the fish soundscape at night
Researchers find that fish sound frequencies overlap more during the day and are more distinct at night.
- Astronomy
Saturday’s lunar eclipse will be total, but brief
A brief total lunar eclipse on April 4 favors observers from western North America to Australia.
