Feature
- Earth
Tales of the Undammed
Although destroying dams is often presumed to restore rivers, the results of such action are actually mixed, according to recent studies.
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Quite a Switch
Cells use ribonucleic acids that bind to small molecules such as vitamins to control gene activity.
- Anthropology
Monkey Business
They're pugnacious and clever, and they have complex social lives—but do capuchin monkeys actually exhibit cultural behaviors?
- Health & Medicine
All Roads Lead to RUNX
Genetic mutations that predispose some people to the autoimmune diseases lupus, psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis appear to have a common molecular feature: They derail the work of a protein, called RUNX1, that regulates how active certain genes are.
- Materials Science
Forensics on Trial
A decades-long practice of matching bullets on the basis of their chemical makeup is flawed, and the story behind this forensic technique reveals how science can get distorted in the courtroom.
- Animals
The Social Lives of Snakes
A lot of pit vipers aren't the asocial loners that even snake fans had long assumed.
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Mother and Child Disunion
Data on extensive giveaways of daughters by their mothers in northern Taiwan a century ago may challenge influential theories of innate maternal sentiments.
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The Bad Seed
Researchers are racing to identify tumor-forming stem cells in skin, lung, pancreatic, and many other cancers.
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- Astronomy
Invisible Universe
X-ray astronomy opens a new window on the most energetic cosmic events.
- Planetary Science
A New Flight Plan
President Bush recently unveiled an ambitious plan for a manned mission to Mars, using the moon as a testing area and stepping-stone, but for many planetary scientists the moon is a desirable destination in and of itself.
- Health & Medicine
Born to Heal
The controversial strategy of screening embryos to produce donors for siblings raises hopes and presents new ethical dilemmas.
