All Stories
- Health & Medicine
How trans fats oozed into our diet and out again
Trans fats are no longer “generally recognized as safe” by the FDA. In a world where we want to have our doughnuts and eat them, too, it’s back to the drawing board, and back to butter.
- Health & Medicine
Resveratrol’s anticancer benefits show up in low doses
Small amounts of the compound found in red wine and grapes prove protective against colon cancer in mice fed a high-fat diet.
- Astronomy
Distant star has northern lights–like display
A dim star shows signs of auroral lights, the first detected on a body that’s not a planet or moon.
- Anthropology
Remains of Jamestown leaders discovered
Colonial-era graves reveal leading figures in founding of English America.
- Neuroscience
Brain activity in unconscious patients offers new views of awareness
As more people survive serious brain injury, researchers are using EEG and fMRI to learn who is aware inside an unresponsive body.
- Ecosystems
Encased algae create kaleidoscope of color
The skeletons of diatoms, algae that produce oxygen but also form toxic blooms, can create beautiful microscopic designs.
- Animals
On the importance of elephant poop
Asian elephants are key dispersers for tree seeds. A new study finds that buffalo and cattle can also disperse the seeds, but not nearly as well.
- Animals
Toddler seahorses are bumbling and adorable
Rice-grain-sized youngsters can’t yet get a grasp with their tails.
- Neuroscience
Age affects brain’s response to anesthesia
Anesthesia has different effects on young and old brains.
- Animals
Help ornithologists develop bird photo ID tool
Cornell ornithology lab’s computer identification of common North American avian species needs your photos.
- Life
Antibody that fights MERS found
Scientists have isolated a human immune protein that fights the MERS virus in mice.
- Life
Microbes’ role in truffle scents not trifling
Truffles make their prized aroma with a little help from their microbes, chemists suggest.
