All Stories
- Planetary Science
Rosetta reveals a complex comet
Rosetta finds diverse landscapes on comet 67P, which could provide researchers with clues about how the solar system formed.
- Anthropology
Scans tell gripping tale of possible ancient tool use
South African fossils contain inner signs of humanlike hands, indicating possible tool use nearly 3 million years ago.
- Life
When bacteria-killing viruses take over, it’s bad news for the gut
A rise in some bacteria-killing viruses in the intestines may deplete good bacteria and trigger inflammatory bowel diseases.
- Psychology
Emotions go unnamed for some with eating disorders
A portion of women with eating disorders have a separate problem recognizing their own emotions, a condition called alexithymia.
- Animals
If pursued by a goshawk, make a sharp turn
Scientists put a tiny camera on a northern goshawk and watched it hunt. The bird used several strategies to catch prey, failing only when its targets made a sharp turn.
- Genetics
Scientists find new way to corral genetically engineered bacteria
Engineering E. coli to depend on human-made molecules may keep genetically modified bacteria from escaping into nature.
- Environment
Atrazine’s path to cancer possibly clarified
Scientists have identified a cellular button that the controversial herbicide atrazine presses to promote tumor development.
- Archaeology
Scrolls preserved in Vesuvius eruption read with X-rays
A technique called X-ray phase contrast tomography allowed scientists to read burnt scrolls from a library destroyed by the 79 A.D. eruption of Vesuvius.
- Planetary Science
Young asteroids generated long-lasting magnetism
Pockets of iron and nickel in meteorites suggest that asteroids in the early solar system produced magnetic fields for much longer than once thought.
- Neuroscience
Brain’s protective barrier gets leakier with age
Aging influences the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier, which may contribute to learning and memory problems later in life.
- Animals
Diving marine mammals take deep prey plunges to heart
In spite of their diving prowess, Weddell seals and bottlenosed dolphins experience irregular heart rates when they venture beyond 200 meters under the sea.
- Health & Medicine
Immune system ‘reset’ may give MS patients a new lease on life
With the help of their own stem cells, MS patients can stop the disease in its tracks in many cases.
