All Stories
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HumansCould the menstrual cycle have shaped the evolution of music?
A new study suggesting that women select better musicians shows how women’s role in evolution is being redefined.
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GeneticsGene therapy with electrical pulses spurs nerve growth
Deaf guinea pigs' hearing improves with electrical pulses from a hearing implant are combined with gene therapy, a new study shows.
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Health & MedicineEnzyme may help aspirin protect against colon cancer
Aspirin may not reduce colon cancer risk in people with low levels of a protective enzyme called 15-PGDH.
By Nathan Seppa -
Quantum PhysicsMajor step taken toward error-free computing
Physicists have achieved nearly perfect control over a bit of quantum information, bringing them a step closer to error-free computation.
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AnimalsSecrets of a sailfish attack
The large, long-nosed sailfish use their rostrums more like a sword than a spear to attack prey.
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AnimalsDolphins use sponges to dine on different grub
The animals can learn to use tools to exploit food sources that would be otherwise unavailable, a study suggests.
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GeneticsRainbow trout genome shows how genetic material evolved
The finding challenges the idea that whole genome duplications are followed by quick, massive reorganization and deletions of genetic material.
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AnimalsSubmariners’ ‘bio-duck’ is probably a whale
First acoustic tags on Antarctic minke whales suggest the marine mammals are the long-sought source of the mysterious bio-duck sound.
By Susan Milius -
MathDoctors flunk quiz on screening-test math
Many doctors, and the news media, don’t understand that because of the statistics of screening tests, a test with 90 percent accuracy can give a wrong diagnosis more than 90 percent of the time.
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NeurosciencePain curbs sex drive in females, but not males
When in pain, female mice’s interest in sex takes a hit but males still want to mate.
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Health & MedicineBabies cry at night to prevent siblings, scientist suggests
Babies who demand to be breastfed in the night might be delaying the birth of a sibling, scientist proposes.
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GeneticsNew antibiotic resistance genes found in cow manure
Identifying these genes offers clues to how antibiotic resistance could move from agricultural ecosystems to other communities of organisms.