6,745 results
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2011 Science News of the Year: Life
Multicellular life from a test tube In less than two months, yeast in a test tube evolved from single-celled life to bristly multicellular structures. The new, snowflakelike forms act like multicellular organisms, reproducing by splitting when they reach large sizes and evolving further in response to harsh conditions, William Ratcliff of the University of Minnesota, […]
- Health & Medicine
Cartilage Creation
New joint tissue could keep people moving, reducing need for knee or hip replacements.
- Life
Stem cell treatment spurs cartilage growth
A small molecule called kartogenin prompts the manufacture of lost connective tissue in mice.
- Humans
Maya wall calendar discovered
Classic-era structure displays rare calculations of lunar and planetary cycles.
- Earth
Carbonation brings diamonds to surface
Chemical reactions deep inside the Earth fuel magma’s gem-laden upward journey.
- Space
More like Faux-malhaut b
The Spitzer Space Telescope fails to find a visible planet circling where Hubble saw one four years ago.
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The Great White Bear: A Natural and Unnatural History of the Polar Bear by Kieran Mulvaney
Starting with the fact that polar bears have black skin, this book offers surprises and up-to-date information about the Arctic’s iconic top predator. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, 251 p., $26.
- Life
Carnivores can lose sweet genes
A gene involved in taste detection has glitches in some, but not all, highly carnivorous mammals.
- Physics
Plants’ reproductive weaponry unfurled
Botanical tricks include adhesion and bubbles to spread their spores into the environment.
- Health & Medicine
Little Mind Benders
Parasites that sneak into the brain may alter your behavior and health.
- Humans
What’s in your wallet? Another ‘estrogen’
A chemical cousin of bisphenol A, a hormone mimic, has turned up on banknotes from around the world in addition to tainting 14 other types of papery products. Owing to the near ubiquity of BPS in paper, human exposure is likely also “ubiquitous,” conclude the study's authors. Oh, and a second new study shows that BPS behaves like an estrogen.
- Life
Fossil pushes back land-animal debut
Creatures first squished mud through their five toes millions of years earlier than previously believed.
