All Stories
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SpaceUniverse has more entropy than thought
New calculations suggest that the cosmos is more disorderly than thought and is a bit closer to heat death.
By Ron Cowen -
ChemistryFlowerless plants make fancy amber
A new analysis suggests that ancient seed plants made a version of the fossilized resin credited to more modern relatives
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HumansFlu: Grim stats
Though risk of death from conventional flu strains escalates dramatically, beginning around age 45, a new study finds that masks do a fair job of slowing the infection's transmission.
By Janet Raloff -
LifeMitochondria behind life span extension
Study in flies suggests low-protein diet works through power-producing organelles.
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HumansPartial skeleton gives ancient hominids a new look
African hominid fossils, including a partial skeleton, reveal a surprising mix of features suitable for upright walking and tree climbing 4.4 million years ago.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineExcreted Tamiflu found in rivers
A Japanese study finds that excreted Tamiflu ends up in river water, raising concerns that birds hosting a flu virus will develop drug-resistant strains.
By Janet Raloff -
AstronomyMESSENGER captures new images of Mercury during a third passage
MESSENGER flew past Mercury for a third time on September 29. The spacecraft's mission will continue, with MESSENGER due to settle into a yearlong orbit around Mercury in March 2011.
By Ron Cowen -
EPA’s nanotoxicity research blueprint
A blueprint for federal research on the potential health and environmental impacts of nanomaterials debuted today.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryEarth’s ‘boring billion’ years blamed on sulfur-loving microbes
A new study suggests these organisms could have kept oxygen levels low and waters toxic, stalling the evolution of complex life.
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PaleontologyParasite may have felled a mighty T. rex
An infection known to afflict modern birds may have led to starvation in several dinosaurs.
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PaleontologyFish death, mammal extinction and tiny dino footprints
Paleontologists in Bristol, England, at the annual meeting of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology report on fish fossils in Wyoming, the loss of Australia’s megafauna and the smallest dinosaur tracks.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & MedicineObesity epidemic may threaten mitten industry
Hot fingers: That appears to be one consequence of big bodies.
By Janet Raloff