All Stories
- Chemistry
Wee work-around lets microbes thrive
Some crafty, salt-loving cells use stolen equipment for processing a key cellular building block.
- Psychology
Kids’ friendships sometimes illusory
A substantial minority of third to sixth graders think they're tight with a classmate who actually dislikes them.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine against cocaine makes headway
Injections gin up antibodies in mice that limit the drug's effects, a new study shows.
- Life
Plastic-lined nests keep rivals at bay
A tangle of shopping bag scraps tells black kites in a Spanish national park that another bird’s home is not to be messed with.
- Humans
Citation-amnesia paper published
Many biomedical researchers fail to put their findings into context by citing related, previously published work. I termed this citation amnesia, when I wrote about it 18 months ago, based on data presented at a meeting on peer review and publishing. Readers who seek more details than my initial blog provided can now pore over the stats from that research for themselves. The Johns Hopkins University team that I encountered at the Vancouver meeting has now formally published its analysis.
- Physics
Tevatron to shut down in September
Citing a lack of funds, the U.S. Department of Energy has essentially pulled out of the race to make the next great discovery in particle physics.
- Life
Old amoebas spawn their farms
Some slime molds use a simple form of agriculture to ensure a steady food supply.
- Health & Medicine
Tallying the caloric cost of an all-nighter
Sleep is energy-saving, and missing even one night sends the body into conservation mode, new measurements show.
- Chemistry
Bitter flavors boost hunger hormone
Experiments in mice may help explain the allure of the aperitif.
- Chemistry
Why olive oil’s quality is in the cough
An anti-inflammatory compound found in the best presses tickles taste sensors in the throat, a study finds.
- Life
Making a worm do more than squirm
A laser used for locomotion control shines light on nematode behavior, one cell at a time.
- Health & Medicine
Tongue piercings worse with metal
Stainless steel or titanium studs collect bacteria more readily than do studs made of plastic or Teflon, a study finds.
