News
- Earth
Underground Soil Economy: Microbes hidden in the dirt react to UV boost
The community of soil microbes may live hidden in the ground, but it still changes when there's more ultraviolet radiation above.
- Anthropology
DNA Diaspora: Humanity may share tangled genetic roots
A controversial new genetic analysis concludes that Homo sapiens evolved by expanding out of Africa in multiple waves beginning at least 600,000 years ago and then interbreeding, rather than totally replacing close relatives such as the Neandertals.
- Health & Medicine
Genetic Culprit: Mutation increases risk for uterine fibroids
Analysis of DNA from families whose women have been beset by uterine growths reveals a mutation that can predispose women to these so-called fibroids.
- Planetary Science
Odyssey’s First Look: Craft spies signs of ice at the Martian south pole
Astronomers have for the first time found evidence of large amounts of frozen water in the subsurface of Mars.
- Earth
When the Mercury Falls: Autumn leaves taint river with poison
Fall foliage that collects in stagnant waterways could release significant doses of a highly toxic form of mercury, which has the potential to accumulate in fish living far downstream.
- Earth
Space Rocks’ Demo Job: Asteroids, not comets, pummeled early Earth
An analysis of trace elements found in a variety of meteorites suggests that most of the heavenly objects that rained hell on the inner solar system about 3.9 billion years ago were asteroids, not comets.
- Physics
Star in a Jar? Hints of nuclear fusion found—maybe
In a bench-top experiment, atomic nuclei may have fused inside rapidly imploding bubbles of vapor in a liquid bombarded by sound waves, but many scientists find the evidence for bubble fusion unconvincing.
- Astronomy
Martian equator: A watery outpost?
A catastrophic outpouring of water—four times the volume contained in Lake Tahoe—may have gushed from fissures near the equator on Mars as recently as 10 million years ago.
-
A bitter taste in your . . . stomach
The stomach may be able to "taste" bitter substances.
-
Kids’ ADHD tied to snoring, sleepiness
Heavy snoring may contribute to the development of hyperactivity and attention problems in some children, especially boys age 8 and younger.
- Paleontology
Duck-faced croc had a gap-toothed grin
Paleontologists have unearthed fossils of a tiny crocodile that boasted a smile like no other: The animal had no teeth across the entire front of its mouth.
- Health & Medicine
Protein Repair: New compounds may help cells fight off cancer
Researchers have identified a compound that enables even defective p53 proteins to initiate anticancer chain reactions.
