News
-
Genetic Pickup: Did animals get brain genes from bacteria?
Genes that make brain chemicals may have been acquired from bacteria.
By John Travis -
Setting a Stage for Cancer: Another reason for women not to drink while pregnant
Drinking alcohol during pregnancy can cause a range of birth defects in newborns, and researchers have now shown that, in rats, it also increases the risk of breast tumors in adult offspring.
By Carrie Lock -
A Fetching Lexicon: Language clues come from dog’s vocabulary
A research team finds that a 9-year-old border collie displays a keen facility for learning word meanings, providing new support for the theory that simple types of thinking practiced by some nonhuman animals also make word learning possible in toddlers.
By Bruce Bower - Physics
Corralling the Mass Maker: Hunting ground shifts for elusive particle
Hunters of the most eagerly sought particle in high-energy physics, the Higgs boson, are gleaning fresh clues about where and how to look from a new finding about another fundamental particle called the top quark.
By Science News - Tech
DNA puts its best foot forward
A robot made of DNA has taken its first steps, suggesting that such devices could eventually be used for nanoscale manufacturing.
-
Chimp DNA yields complex surprises
A molecular comparison of chromosome 22 in chimpanzees with its counterpart in people reveals surprisingly complex genetic differences between the two species.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Green tea takes on poison
Green tea contains a broad range of compounds that detoxify dioxin.
By Janet Raloff - Tech
Microwave mirror hits the spot
A technique for rebounding and refocusing sound also works for electromagnetic waves, possibly opening new uses ranging from improving cell phone communication to treating illness.
By Peter Weiss - Health & Medicine
Americans eat faster, and more
More and more people are eating at fast-food restaurants, and they down significantly more calories on the days they do.
By Janet Raloff - Chemistry
Crystal could generate pure hydrogen fuel
An organic crystal's unusual molecular-trapping behavior could help drive a new hydrogen economy.
- Health & Medicine
Statins might fight multiple sclerosis
Cholesterol-lowering statin drugs might work against multiple sclerosis by reducing inflammation, preliminary evidence suggests.
By Nathan Seppa -
Got Milk? Dairy protein provides bone-forming boost
A protein in milk stimulates bone-forming cells.
By John Travis