All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Texting and driving don’t mix, just as suspected
Sending or receiving messages proves even worse than cell phone calls for young adults on simulators.
- Life
Lupus not identical in twins
Differences in DNA methylation may account for why one sibling gets the autoimmune disease while the other stays healthy.
- Life
Groovy teeth suggest dinosaur was venomous
Fossils show depression in upper jaw that held venom-producing glands.
- Space
Herschel Space Observatory sees stars being born
A recently launched infrared observatory has discovered about 700 newly forming stars.
- Earth
Mistletoe leaves a big carbon footprint in Yellowstone
Earth sciences reporter Sid Perkins blogs on new research from the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union in San Francisco.
- Chemistry
Climate deal reached, importance debated
“Finally, we sealed the deal. And it is a real deal,” said United Nations Secretary General Ban ki-Moon this morning at an 11:15 press briefing. He was referring to a new climate accord – one aimed at reducing global greenhouse-gas emissions and setting up a green trust fund for mitigation and adaptation programs in the world’s poorest countries, ones that are already being hammered by a changing climate.
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2009 Science News of the Year
Brevity is in. If what you have to say can’t be delivered in 140 characters or less, you should reconsider your message — or so it seems in a world agog with texting and Twitter. Compiling Science News’ annual list of scientific highlights brought home the good and bad of this trend. Indeed, some of […]
- Climate
Climate: Deal or no deal?
We’ve got a climate accord, President Barack Obama said at a parting press conference tonight (at about 11 to 11:30 p.m. local time, before leaving Denmark). Not so fast, argue a number of other negotiating blocs...like the G77.
- Math
2009 Science News of the Year: Numbers
Detroit Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco, a 2009 Gold Glove winner, applies the tag as Chicago White Sox’s Gordon Beckham slides into second. Image credit: Duane Burleson – file The stats on fielding Astute baseball fans know who has the golden glove, but assigning a number to a player’s defensive merits has been tricky. Benjamin […]
- Life
2009 Science News of the Year: Genes & Cells
Cancer-fighting roles Scientists have discovered a new role in cancer protection for an already well-known tumor suppressor protein. The protein, called p53, protects cells from becoming cancerous by sensing stress and either shutting down cell division or triggering cell death. Researchers at the University of Tokyo and colleagues have discovered that p53 also plays a […]
- Chemistry
2009 Science News of the Year: Molecules
Tangles of collagen IV chains link at globules via sulfur-nitrogen bonding (illustrated above). Credit: Courtesy of Science/AAAS New bond in the basementBasements house hidden treasures — including a chemical bond never before seen in living things. Scientists have discovered that collagen fibers in the basement membrane — a tough, structural layer of cells that surrounds […]
- Health & Medicine
2009 Science News of the Year: Nutrition
Natural vanilla extract comes from pods (shown), but most vanillin is synthesized in the lab. Credit: De-Kay/istockphoto That yeast smells good Yeast has long been pressed into service for making beer and bread. Now the fungus has been tapped for a loftier flavor: vanillin, vanilla’s dominant compound (SN: 5/23/09, p. 9). Natural vanilla comes from […]
