All Stories
- Animals
Dazzle camouflage may fool a locust
The bold zig-zag patterns that adorned naval ships during the world wars also appear in nature and may bewilder locusts, a new study suggests.
- Life
H7N9 flu still better adapted to infect birds over humans
The proteins from the avian flu appear better suited for attaching to bird, not human, molecules.
- Neuroscience
Faulty brain wiring may contribute to dyslexia
Adults with the disorder showed difficulty transmitting information among areas that process language.
- Astronomy
Sun’s rotation driven by enormous plasma flows
Long-lasting plasma flows 15 times the diameter of Earth transport heat from the sun’s depths to its surface, helping explain solar rotation.
- Life
Autism may have link to chemicals made by gut microbes
Beneficial bacteria improved abnormal behaviors in mice with altered intestines.
- Life
Targeting single set of nerve cells may block mosquitoes
The insects use the same neurons to detect carbon dioxide from our breath and odors from our skin so blocking those cells could lead to more simplified repellent systems.
- Life
Male contraceptive test targets sperm’s travel route
Most efforts at a male contraceptive have focused on hormones, trying to stop production of sperm. A new study in mice explores leaving the sperm to themselves, and instead stops their transport.
- Health & Medicine
Triplet births decline as IVF practice evolves
The number of U.S. pregnancies resulting in three or more babies has gone down since 1998.
- Neuroscience
Excess activity shrinks blood vessels in baby mouse brains
Newborn mouse pups experience permanent brain changes when repeatedly overstimulated.
- Health & Medicine
Cell counts provide a read on ovarian cancer
New technology might discern which tumors are most dangerous and help guide treatment.
- Anthropology
Ancient hominid bone serves up DNA stunner
Spanish hominid fossil from 400,000 years ago reveals genetic ties to Asia’s mysterious Denisovans.
- Animals
How the ghost shark lost its stomach
The lack of a digestive organ in fish and other animals is linked to genetics.
