Life
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- 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.
- Life
Genes & Cells: 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 Genes & Cells. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Life
Dinosaur day care dads
A new study shows some male dinosaurs may have been the primary caretakers of their young.
- Humans
Primates get a neural facial
New brain-imaging studies indicate that similar brain areas coordinate face recognition in people, chimpanzees and macaque monkeys, suggesting that a face-sensitive brain system evolved early in primate evolution.
- Health & Medicine
Bacteria help themselves in damaged lungs
An antibiotic produced by a bacterium acts as a molecular snorkel to help with breathing. The bacterium infects and kills many people with cystic fibrosis, and plugging the snorkel could lead to treatments.
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- Life
Aging gets with the program
A study on yeast organisms reveals checkpoints in the aging process: the buildup of certain lipids and fatty acids, and the health of the cell's powerhouses. Drugs could target these checkpoints.
- Life
Extreme preservation gives fly’s eye view
The cell-by-cell detail of a 45 million-year–old retina is preserved in amber
