News
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Malaria parasite reveals old age
The DNA of a malaria-causing parasite suggests it is at least 100,000 years old.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineResearchers Probe Cell-Phone Effects
Scientists are trying to find out whether biological changes associated with cell-phone use represent health risks.
By Janet Raloff -
Biological clock study challenged
A report disputes the controversial notion that bright light applied to skin can reset a person's biological clock.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineWorm genes take on bacterial foes
Creatures as simple as worms have an effective immune defense.
By John Travis -
ArchaeologyAncient birth brick emerges in Egypt
Investigations at a 3,700-year-old Egyptian town have yielded a painted brick that was used in childbirth rituals.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineNo worry that this secret will leak
The recently discovered protein angiopoietin-1 appears to protect blood vessels from leaking, a finding with implications for research into diseases that involve swelling, such as arthritis and asthma.
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Health & MedicineLung cancer gene has gender bias
The X chromosome's gastrin-releasing peptide receptor gene is turned on by nicotine to produce a protein that promotes lung cancer, a combination of factors that could explain why women are more susceptible to the disease than men are.
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EarthJust how much do U.S. roads matter?
A Harvard researcher calculates that roads directly influence the ecology of a fifth of U.S. land area.
By Susan Milius -
EcosystemsMales live longer with all-year mating
Male butterflies live longer in Madeira, where females are available year-round, than in Sweden, where females mature in one burst.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsWhy tulips can’t dance
An elliptical stem gives daffodils an unusual liveliness in the wind compared with tulips.
By Susan Milius -
Dendrite decline in schizophrenia
Cell connections in a part of the brain's frontal lobe appear to dwindle in people with schizophrenia.
By Bruce Bower -
Keys to expertise in the brain
A brain region linked to face recognition may foster expertise at identifying items in any category a person strives to master.
By Bruce Bower