Humans
- Humans
A head for numbers
The brain shows slightly different, but overlapping patterns when processing digits and dots of the same value.
- Animals
Spider men weave silken tapestry
It took herculean effort, but Madagascar crafters created an extraordinary piece of woven art from spider silk.
By Janet Raloff - Anthropology
DNA points to India’s two-pronged ancestry
Two ancient populations laid the genetic foundation for most people now living in India, a new DNA study suggests.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Trimming rabies shots
A new rabies vaccine might be enough to stave off the virus with fewer injections, a study in monkeys suggests.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Linking obesity with leukemia relapses
Fatty tissue may provide a safe haven for cancerous cells to linger, according to a study of mice with leukemia.
By Nathan Seppa - Physics
Neutrons for military and medical imaging
An accelerator-based neutron-production system is being designed to cull bombs at risk of exploding prematurely — and make the feedstock for a major isotope used in nuclear medicine.
By Janet Raloff - Math
Math mimics hard-to-heal wounds
New model may lead to better treatments for chronic, blood-deprived sores
- Health & Medicine
Peer review: No improvement with practice
To keep the quality of what they publish high, journals may have to frequently recycle the experts asked to evaluate incoming manuscripts.
By Janet Raloff - Ecosystems
Venom attracts decapitating flies
New study may help scientists improve control of invasive fire ants
- Psychology
Rates of common mental disorders double up
New, higher prevalence rates for certain mental disorders fuel a debate over how to revise psychiatric diagnoses.
By Bruce Bower - Earth
Cell phones: Precautions recommended
Scientists make a case for texting and using hand-free technologies with those cell phones to which society has become addicted.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Monkeys get full color vision
Male squirrel monkeys with red-green colorblindness can distinguish the hues after gene therapy, study suggests.