News
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Brain protein peps up and soothes rodents
A recently identified brain hormone increases wakefulness and appears to suppress fear when it's injected into rodents.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineBright nights kindle cancers in mice
Data from mice subjected to constant illumination suggest that artificial light may increase risks of lung and liver cancers and leukemia.
By Ben Harder -
AnimalsPolicing egg laying in insect colonies
Kinship by itself can't explain the vigilante justice of some ant, bee, and wasp workers.
By Susan Milius -
Planetary ScienceMartian ice could be sculpting surface patterns
Images taken by the Mars Global Surveyor suggest that most areas with geological features known as patterned ground appear at high latitudes.
By Sid Perkins -
Some corals like it hotter
The heat-tolerant algae that live symbiotically within some corals may enable their hosts to adapt to the warmer water temperatures projected to accompany long-term climate change.
By Sid Perkins -
AnimalsHow dingoes got down under
DNA analysis suggests that Australia got its famous dingoes from a very few dogs brought along with people fanning out from East Asia some 5,000 years ago.
By Susan Milius -
TechA new deep-sea submersible
Scientists have announced a 4-year, $21.6-million design-and-construction effort to replace the aging research submersible Alvin.
By Sid Perkins -
Materials ScienceWarm Reflections: Window tint kicks in when it’s hot
A novel window coating automatically transforms into a heat mirror only when warmed above room temperature.
By Peter Weiss -
EarthEarly Shift: North Sea plankton and fish move out of sync
As ocean temperatures in the North Sea have warmed in recent decades, the life cycles of some species low in the food chain have accelerated significantly, sometimes wreaking ecological havoc.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & MedicineFinding a Missing Link: Scientists show a new connection between inflammation and cancer
Scientists studying gastrointestinal cancer in mice have found powerful evidence of a molecular connection between inflammation and cancer.
By Carrie Lock -
Lifting the Mood: Depressed teens benefit from combined therapy
Treatment that includes both an antidepressant drug and talk therapy is especially beneficial for teenagers diagnosed with major depression.
By Bruce Bower -
Rattle and Hum: Molecular machinery makes yeast cells purr
Molecular-motor proteins inside a yeast cell can cause the cell walls to vibrate.