News
- Health & Medicine
Virus might explain respiratory ailments
Human metapneumovirus, first isolated in 2001, is present in many respiratory infections that had previously gone unexplained.
By Nathan Seppa -
Monkeys heed neural calls of the wild
A part of the brain that's involved in sound processing shows pronounced activity when rhesus monkeys hear their comrades vocalizing but not when the same animals hear other sounds.
By Bruce Bower - Astronomy
Poof goes an atmosphere
Blasted by the heat and radiation from its parent star, a planet 150 light-years from Earth is literally blowing off its atmosphere.
By Ron Cowen -
Bacteria do the twist
A newly identified bacterial protein generates the sinuous shapes of some bacteria.
By John Travis - Science & Society
Money Crunch: Tight budget leaves scientists disappointed
In the federal budget for FY 2005, research and development funding for defense and homeland security gets a boost, but overall investment in science and technology is meager by comparison.
- Ecosystems
Mangrove Might: Nearby trees boost reef-fish numbers
Coastal mangroves give an unexpectedly important boost to reef fish.
By Susan Milius -
Gassing Up: Oxygen’s rise may have promoted complex life
The increasing amount of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere may have driven the emergence of complex life.
By John Travis - Health & Medicine
Early Warning? Inflammatory protein is tied to colon cancer risk
C-reactive protein, an inflammatory protein linked to heart disease, might also signal susceptibility to colon cancer.
By Nathan Seppa - Physics
Two New Elements Made: Atom smashups yield 113 and 115
Two new elements—115 and 113—have joined the periodic table.
By Peter Weiss -
The Brain’s Word Act: Reading verbs revs up motor cortex areas
A strip of brain tissue that regulates most voluntary movements also respond vigorously as people do nothing more than silently read active verbs.
By Bruce Bower - Chemistry
Nitrogen Unbound: New reaction breaks strong chemical link
Researchers have developed a new way to turn nitrogen into ammonia that could improve upon an energy-intensive, 90-year-old method used to make fertilizers.
By Sid Perkins - Animals
Fish in the dark still size up mates
Female cave fish still have their ancestral preference for a large male, even though it's too dark to see him.
By Susan Milius