News
- Animals
Why does a buddy help another male flirt?
The sidekick male in the two-bird courtship display of lance-tailed manakins has to leave when the mating starts but may reap delayed benefits in real estate and performance practice.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Farmer ant species may have lost all its males
A fungus-growing ant may be the first ant species known to have no power of sexual reproduction.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Jumping spiders buzz, thump when dancing
Some jumping spiders, long considered visually oriented animals, turn out to utilize seismic communication for a successful courtship.
By Susan Milius -
Two-handed protein may protect DNA
An unusually shaped protein may help a bacterium thrive in tough times.
By John Travis - Health & Medicine
Celiac disease affects kids’ minds
Attention deficits and learning disabilities have joined the list of neurological problems associated with the intestinal disorder known as celiac disease.
By Ben Harder -
Neurons take charge to change messages
Neurons in a developing embryo respond to changes in their electrical activity by altering the types of chemical messengers that they produce.
By Bruce Bower - Planetary Science
Cometary encounter
Planetary scientists are feasting on close-up images of Comet Wild 2 as well as on the first information about its composition.
By Ron Cowen - Ecosystems
More on California’s rogue seaweed
Scientists have obtained genetic confirmation of the assumption that a newfound rogue alga in California waters is the same strain that has been smothering seafloor communities in the Mediterranean.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Sprawl’s aquatic pollution
A new study links the traffic associated with urban sprawl to an unexpectedly large rain of air pollutants entering local waters.
By Janet Raloff -
Drug-resistance gene found—again
A mutant gene confers resistance to chloroquine upon parasites that cause malaria.
By John Travis -
Study casts doubt on minibacteria
Results from polymerase chain reaction experiments challenge the existence of ultratiny microbes called nanobacteria.
By John Travis - Planetary Science
NASA postpones plans for Mars samples
Still reeling from the failure of its two most recent missions to Mars, NASA announced late last month that it would delay by nearly a decade plans to bring back samples from the Red Planet.
By Ron Cowen