News
- Paleontology
Fossil leaves yield extinction clues
Analyses of fossil leaves provide more evidence that the mass extinctions that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago were sudden and probably brought about by an extraterrestrial impact.
- Health & Medicine
Dynamite discovery on nitroglycerin
Scientists have found a long-sought enzyme that may be behind nitroglycerin's dilation of blood vessels.
- Health & Medicine
Ginseng extract halts diabetes in mice
Extracts from the berry of the American ginseng plant counter obesity and insulin resistance in mice.
- Earth
Tomato compound repels mosquitos
New insect repellents based on a compound that contributes to the smell of crushed tomato leaves are under development.
- Materials Science
Molecular template makes nanoscale helix
Using ribbons made of organic molecules as minuscule templates, researchers have coaxed a semiconductor material into tiny helical coils.
- Health & Medicine
Watermelon red means lycopene rich
Watermelon is a far better source of the carotenoid lycopene than tomatoes are and at least as well absorbed by the body.
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Tough Tradeoff: Beetle brains show how sex shortens life
Brain surgery in beetles reveals yet another way that having sex can shorten life.
- Humans
Official Concern: U.N. weighs in on acrylamide toxicity
A United Nations panel concluded that, in fried, grilled, and baked foods, the formation of acrylamide, a carcinogen and nerve poison in rodents, constitutes "a serious problem."
- Paleontology
Into the Gap: Fossil find stands on its own four legs
A fossil originally misidentified as an ancient fish turns out to be the nearly intact remains of a four-limbed creature that lived during an extended period noted for its lack of fossils of land animals.
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The Eyes Have It: Newborns prefer faces with a direct gaze
Only a few days after birth, babies already home in on faces that fix them with a direct gaze and devote less attention to faces with eyes that look to one side.
- Health & Medicine
His-and-Her Hunger Pangs: Gender affects the brain’s response to food
Men's and women's brains react differently to hunger, as well as to satiation.
- Physics
Heightened Resistance: Sharper shaft points to smaller bits
Scientists have exploited a method for detecting the orientations of magnetic fields to achieve a remarkable leap in detector sensitivity.
