News
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One-gene change makes mice neurotic
Researchers have engineered a strain of stressed-out mice by knocking out one gene.
By Susan Milius -
Good guys and bad guys share tactics
A microbial odd couple—the brucellosis pathogen and a nitrogen-fixer for plants—need the same gene to settle into their hosts long-term.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
From rabies virus to anti-HIV vaccine
Researchers working with mice are trying to fashion an HIV vaccine by using a weakened rabies virus to bring an HIV glycoprotein to the attention of the immune system.
By Nathan Seppa - Astronomy
Black holes and their galaxies: A closer link
Supermassive black holes and the galaxies they inhabit appear to grow up together.
By Ron Cowen - Planetary Science
Rocks on the ice
Pristine fragments of a meteorite that fell January 18 in the frozen Yukon and that remained frozen until they were delivered to a NASA laboratory may reveal much about the earliest days of the solar system.
By Ron Cowen - Anthropology
Lucy on the ground with knuckles
Some early human ancestors appear to have walked on all fours using their knuckles, much as chimpanzees do.
By Bruce Bower - Anthropology
Goat busters track domestication
People began to manage herds of wild goats at least 10,000 years ago in western Iran.
By Bruce Bower - Tech
Microdevice weds electronics, light fibers
By altering the chemical structures of dyelike molecules called chromophores, researchers have created tiny, low-voltage devices for converting electronic signals into light waves.
By Peter Weiss -
Cooperative strangers turn a mutual profit
In social exchanges, monkeys and people often appear to act according to the principle that "one good turn deserves another."
By Bruce Bower - Tech
Coal: The cool fuel for future jets
To power faster supersonic jets, scientists are developing coal-derived fuels that can absorb heat without breaking down at high temperatures.
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How whales, dolphins, seals dive so deep
The blue whale, bottlenose dolphin, Weddell seal, and elephant seal cut diving energy costs 10 to 50 percent by simply gliding downward.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Gasoline additive’s going, but far from gone
As the federal government proposes phasing out the gasoline additive MTBE, scientists explore ways to remove this potential carcinogen from drinking-water supplies that it has tainted throughout the nation.
By Janet Raloff