News

  1. Animals

    Techno Crow: Do birds build up better tool designs?

    Researchers surveying tool use by New Caledonian crows propose that the birds may be the first animals besides people shown to ratchet up the sophistication of their technology by sharing design improvements.

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  2. A Tale of the Tapeworm: Parasite ploy suggests drug-delivery tactic

    A chemical used by tapeworms to slow intestinal pulsations may help people absorb drugs more efficiently.

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  3. No Rest for the Waking: Brain cells for alertness fire without cues

    The brain cells that keep people awake fire spontaneously and continuously on their own, suggesting that sleep depends on signals from other brain regions that quiet these neurons.

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  4. Original Kin: Six-legged bugs may have evolved twice

    Insects may have evolved independently from other six-legged land bugs and may be more closely related to crustaceans than to their fellow so-called hexapods.

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  5. Astronomy

    Cosmic Afterglow: Gamma-ray bursts may one-up themselves

    New observations suggest that gamma-ray bursts may be even more energetic than scientists had estimated.

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  6. Genetically Driven: Mutation shows up in binge eaters

    Overweight binge eaters are more likely to harbor a genetic mutation that disrupts brain signals governing satiety than are people of normal weight.

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  7. Physics

    Muon Manna? Particle shower may spotlight loose nukes

    Radiation from space may help border guards spot loose nukes stowed in shipping containers.

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  8. Paleontology

    Was T. rex just a big freeloader?

    A new study suggests that an ecosystem like today’s African savanna could provide sufficient carrion to nourish a scavenger the size of a Tyrannosaurus rex.

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  9. Animals

    Ants lurk for bees, but bees see ambush

    A tropical ant has perfected the un-antlike behavior of hunting by ambush, but its prey, a sweat bee, has developed some tricks of its own.

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  10. Physics

    Squirming through space-time

    In the exotic realm of curved space, the topography of space itself might provide a propulsion assist—albeit a tiny one.

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  11. Earth

    More Arctic clouds may lessen warming

    Nearly 2 decades of satellite observations suggest that an increase in Arctic cloudiness at certain times of the year may partially counteract the effects of global warming in the region.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Plot thickens for blood pressure drugs

    A new study counters a recent report that diuretics taken for high blood pressure protect against heart problems better than newer, more expensive drugs.

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