Life
- Animals
Classic sooty-moth tale bolstered by new results
A scientist’s six-year backyard experiment strengthens the scenario for evolutionary changes due to industrial pollution.
- Life
Ocean noise is a whale of a stressor
The post-9/11 quiet in Atlantic shipping lanes calmed the biggest marine mammals, hormone measurements suggest.
- Life
How a stomach bug may ward off asthma
An ulcer- and cancer-causing bacterium may protect against the airway disease by influencing key players in inflammation.
- Chemistry
Taste of fructose revs up metabolism
The pancreas pumps more insulin in response to the sugar, potentially throwing the body’s energy-storage machinery out of whack.
- Neuroscience
Demystifying the Mind
A special report on the scientific struggle to explain the conscious self.
- Animals
Chimps lend a hand
The finding suggests nonhuman primates recognize their peers’ intentions and desires.
- Life
Plants swap chloroplasts via grafts
The energy-converting cellular organs can pass through connections, carrying genetic material with them.
- Humans
Arsenic-based life finding fails follow-up
Tests see no evidence to confirm a bold 2010 claim that some microbes can incorporate the normally toxic element into their cellular machinery.
- Life
No sleep, no problem, but keep the grub coming
A naturally occurring strain of fruit fly can thrive without slumber, but succumbs more quickly to starvation.
- Humans
Predatory pythons shift Everglades ecology
As invasive snakes expand territory, some mammal populations drop by more than 90 percent within a decade.
- Life
Long-lived people distinguished by DNA
A controversial study finds genetic signatures that may be able to identify people with the best chance of living to 100 or beyond.
- Neuroscience
Self as Symbol
The loopy nature of consciousness trips up scientists studying themselves.
