All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Gestures speak volumes in the brain
A new brain-imaging study suggests that an understanding of spoken language relies on changing sets of brain networks that exploit acoustic and visual cues.
- Ecosystems
Exxon Valdez killed future for some killer whales
An Alaskan oil spill disrupted family structure in killer-whale groups, with lasting and dramatic repercussions.
- Earth
Exxon Valdez 20 Years Later
March 24 marked the 20th anniversary of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. The effects are still obvious today. A series of blogs from senior editor Janet Raloff describes the continuing aftermath.
- Health & Medicine
Male circumcision fends off the most common STDs
Male circumcision prevents some genital herpes and human papillomavirus infections, a study in Ugandan adolescent boys and men shows.
- Space
Asteroid tracked from space to Earth
For the first time, researchers followed an asteroid from space to its crash into Earth, providing the opportunity to study an asteroid in a new way.
- Health & Medicine
Licorice may interfere with certain drugs
Studies in rats suggest that the active compound in licorice root can promote or hinder the availability of certain drugs.
- Humans
Otters and oil: Problems remain
The behavior of Alaska's southern sea otters may unwittingly expose them to toxic oil-spill residues.
- Animals
It’s not just his croak
Male tree frogs with redder vocal sacs prove more popular with females, even at night.
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Birds, bats leave different wakes
The aerodynamic tale left behind a bird is different from that left behind a bat.
- Health & Medicine
Early anesthesia may hinder kids’ learning
Young children who get general anesthesia more than once before age 4 may be at increased risk of developing a learning disability later in childhood, a new study finds.
- Chemistry
Exxon Valdez oil lingers, as does its toxicity
Even 20 years after a major oil spill, barely degraded pockets of the oil persist within some intertidal beaches, research shows.
- Agriculture
Fighting fungal weapons, not fungi
Scientists have engineered several compounds that target an enzyme that blackleg and black spot fungi use to thwart plant defense systems. The selective compounds are designed not to harm beneficial species while still protecting valuable crops.
