Life
- Ecosystems
Tracing Tahitian vanilla
The discovery of Tahitian vanilla’s heritage could set off a custody battle between nations.
- Life
Hidden in plain view
Looking for unwavering genes rather than standouts could reveal which genes contribute to disease.
- Animals
We all sing like fish
From opera singers to toadfish, vertebrates may use basically similar circuitry for controlling vocal muscles.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
X-ray vision
A new imaging technique could give scientists unprecedented views into cells and other objects at the nanoscale.
- Animals
Brains for a change
Outsized brains may have sped up evolution of body size in birds.
By Susan Milius - Life
HIV after DARC
A gene variant prevalent in people of African descent increases the risk of HIV infection but also helps slow disease progression.
- Life
Young tasmanian devil moms
Tasmanian devils have started mating much earlier in response to an epidemic, called facial tumor disease, that is wiping out much of their population.
By Tia Ghose - Health & Medicine
The two faces of prion proteins
Scientists are learning more about the protein behind mad cow and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, including how to interfere with the protein’s production in the brains of mice.
- Life
Astrocytes are rising stars
Astrocytes, brain cells previously thought to be support cells for neurons, regulate blood flow in the brain and may aid neuron signaling. The regulation of blood flow makes visualizing brain activity with fMRI possible.
- Animals
Not-OK Coral
First big species audit finds coral extinction risks severely under-reported
By Susan Milius - Ecosystems
Aspiring to Save the Planet
The failure of the G-8 Summit to put some teeth in greenhouse-gas limits suggests it may be time for a global climate czar.
By Janet Raloff - Paleontology
A wandering eye
New look at fossils of primitive flatfish reveals how these fish evolved eyes on one side of their head