Life
-
Chemistry
Opioids’ molecular magic unmasked
New 3-D structures of opiumlike drugs bound to the body’s proteins will aid the development of better painkillers and the battle against drug abuse.
By Devin Powell -
Life
The yin and yang of male pattern baldness
The discovery of a hormone-like molecule in the scalp may offer new clues for treating baldness.
-
Life
Antibody may explain collagen’s undoing
A newly discovered process could help account for the destruction that rheumatoid arthritis causes.
-
Life
Industrial roar changes nearby plant reproduction
Trees and wildflowers register the effects as animals flee (or not) from grinding engines.
By Susan Milius -
Life
Geneticists go ape for better primate family tree
The first gorilla genome and a more detailed look at chimp genetics provide new clues to evolution of humans and their closest relatives.
-
Life
Size doesn’t matter for crayfish’s one-two crunch
Biological deception may give crustaceans an advantage during a fight.
-
Life
Tracking the viral link to lymphoma
A mutation in an anticancer gene in the Epstein-Barr virus may account for some of its malignant effect, research shows.
By Nathan Seppa -
Life
Mild winters may shift spread of mosquito-borne illness
By pushing insects to start biting mammals earlier in the year, warmer cold months could increase the transmission of a brain virus affecting people and horses.
By Susan Milius -
Life
Carnivores can lose sweet genes
A gene involved in taste detection has glitches in some, but not all, highly carnivorous mammals.
By Susan Milius -
Life
Microraptor’s true blue colors
The birdlike dinosaur had black, iridescent feathers that may have helped it attract mates.
By Devin Powell -
Paleontology
Triceratops reigns alone again
Fossil comparison fends off a challenge that holds the dinosaur is but the immature version of the Torosaurus.
By Devin Powell