All Stories
- Psychology
Why cell phone talkers are annoys-makers
Overhearing half of a conversation is so aggravating at least in part because it inordinately distracts a listener from tasks at hand.
- Space
An uncomfortable silence
At NASA meeting, answers to questions about cost overruns on the Hubble’s successor prove difficult to come by.
- Earth
Back to the moon’s future
New crater and composition measurements from NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter are helping scientists understand the moon’s history and scout for future landing sites.
- Life
Minimolecule may explain how antidepressants work
Research finds that Prozac increases levels of a microRNA and may explain why the drugs take several weeks to work.
- Environment
Gases dominate Gulf’s subsea plumes
Shipboard experiments in June show that natural gas dominates the Gulf oil plumes and that its components are the favorite choice of microbes.
- Life
Streetlights turn young duds into studs
Nocturnal illumination starts youthful male blue tits chirping earlier in the morning, tempting the mates of their still-snoozing elders.
- Climate
Annual Arctic ice minimum reached
Melt isn’t as bad as 2007, but still reaches number three in the record books.
- Agriculture
A taste of the chocolate genome
Competing teams have announced the impending completion of the cacao DNA sequence.
- Health & Medicine
Scottish kids’ asthma declined after smoking ban
Hospitals report a drop in asthma emergencies among children since a law prohibiting lighting up in public buildings went into effect in 2006.
- Life
Environmental DNA modifications tied to obesity
Chemical changes that affect gene activity could underlie many common conditions, a new study suggests.
- Space
Between the sheets
The detection of layered minerals in a young star’s planet-forming region suggests an origin for Earth’s oceans.
- Life
Cuckoos thrown off by climate change
With earlier springs, the birds are duping a different mix of adoptive parents into raising their young.
