Life
We summarize the week's science breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Math
Mathematicians show how beetles can share a niche
New equations help solve decades-old puzzle of why one species doesn’t always outcompete another.
- Life
Rock-climbing fish caught in evolution tug-of-war
Tall is good for dodging danger, but short is better for climbing waterfalls.
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- Neuroscience
It’s written all over your face
To potential mates, your mug may reveal more than you think.
- Microbes
Team spirit
Working together, bacteria and other microbes can accomplish much more than they can alone. Now scientists hope to harness that ability by engineering their own microbial consortia.
- Agriculture
Candy cane strategy sweetens life for goldenrods
Goldenrods temporarily duck their heads during pest season
- Health & Medicine
New embryonic stem cells ratted out
Overcoming obstacles, scientists have created stable embryonic stem cells from rats. Researchers hope their method will prove useful as a general recipe for isolating stem cells from other mammals.
- Health & Medicine
Hot clock key to fruit fly’s global spread
A temperature-sensitive switch in a fruit fly’s biological clock means some species can survive in a wide range of climates while others are stuck on the equator.
- Life
Buzzing bees protect plant leaves
Honeybee air traffic can interrupt caterpillars' relentless munching.
- Earth
Obama administration should lead energy transition
R.K. Pachauri, an engineer and economist by training, is director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, India, and a corecipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his role as chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC periodically issues consensus reports on the science of climate change. Senior editor Janet Raloff spoke with him about changes he hopes to see from the Obama administration.
- Life
Life: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Life. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
