News
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AnimalsRedder is healthier in squawking birds
When barn swallow nestlings open wide for food, their parents may be looking for the healthiest throats.
By Susan Milius -
Evolution may not be slow or random
Studies of fruit flies taking over the New World and stickleback fish adapting to Canadian lakes suggest that evolution can proceed quickly and take predictable paths.
By Susan Milius -
AstronomyChandra eyes low-temperature black hole
An observatory in space has detected the coolest black hole yet found
By Ron Cowen -
Materials ScienceIn glass, fast crowds boogie to brittle end
New experiments suggest that a coordinated dance involving more and more molecules may help explain the puzzling transformation from liquid to the molecular gridlock of solid glass.
By Peter Weiss -
HumansStudents shine in Science Talent Search
The Intel Science Talent Search announces its 40 finalists
By John Travis -
EarthBackyard burning is recipe for dioxin
A few rural households burning trash may generate more toxic dioxins than a major, properly operated municipal incinerator.
By Janet Raloff -
Planetary ScienceLife on Europa: A possible energy source
New evidence supports the notion that Jupiter's moon Europa contains an ocean beneath its icy surface, and a planetary scientist has proposed a novel way that Europa could be getting the energy required to sustain life within that ocean.
By Ron Cowen -
AnimalsWhy don’t racing horses fry their brains?
Lumpy sacs bulging out of a horse's auditory tubes may solve the mystery of how such an athletic animal keeps its brain from overheating during exercise.
By Susan Milius -
EarthMajor mood swing alters Pacific character
The temperature of the North Pacific Ocean has apparently veered from one extreme to the other—a change that could alter North American weather for the next decade or two.
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Health & MedicineMeaty receptor helps tongue savor flavor
Scientists have identified a receptor protein in taste buds that recognizes the flavor of monosodium glutamate.
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Health & MedicineNew Compounds Inhibit HIV in Lab
Two new compounds uncovered by pharmaceutical scientists block integrase, an enzyme essential to the replication cycle of the virus that causes AIDS.
By Nathan Seppa -
AstronomyX-ray observatory captures a rare supernova
Astronomers have obtained the first portrait of X-ray emission from a rare, so-called Ic supernova.
By Ron Cowen