All Stories
- Animals
Vulture guts are filled with noxious bacteria
Vultures’ guts are chock-full of bacteria that sicken other creatures.
- Tech
Blu-ray Discs get repurposed to improve solar cells
Polymer solar cells capture more sunlight when they are imprinted with movies’ and TV shows’ Blu-ray Disc etchings.
- Archaeology
Golden Fleece myth was based on real events, geologists contend
Jason’s legend grew out of long-distance trade with people who used sheepskins to collect gold.
- Genetics
Orchid genome may save highly endangered species
The sequenced genome of the orchid Phalaenopsis equestris offers some hints about a different form of photosynthesis and how the flowers of the plant got their specialized shape.
- Humans
Breakfast in the classroom boosts school attendance
Schools that serve breakfast in the classroom have slightly better attendance than schools that only offer the meal in the cafeteria.
- Physics
Material borders support unusually warm electronic superhighways
The interface between a conductive wafer and an iron-containing film is a high-temperature superconductor, which transmits electrons without resistance.
- Oceans
Robotic subs reveal thicker Antarctic sea ice
New measurements by robotic subs suggest that scientists have underestimated Antarctic sea ice thickness.
- Science & Society
Visualizing Earth’s past, finding numbers in nature, and more
Exhibits at science museums around the country showcase the vastness of geologic time, whale evolution, life in ancient Maya civilization, and the mathematics hidden in nature.
- Health & Medicine
Add high-fat diet to the ‘don’t’ list for pregnant moms
There’s always controversy over what to eat while pregnant. Four animal studies at this year’s Society for Neuroscience meeting bring together negative effects of high-fat diets.
- Physics
Negative mass might not defy Einstein
Repulsive matter could have played a role in the early universe, a computational study finds.
- Genetics
Genes linked to feather development predate dinosaurs
The genes for feather development may have existed more than 100 million years before dinosaurs sported hints of the fluffy plumage.
- Science & Society
The medieval mentality of modern science
Today’s scientists grapple with many of the same issues that stumped their medieval predecessors.
