News

Anthropology

Human fossils tell a fish tale

Fossil clues indicate that Stone Age humans ate a considerable amount of seafood, giving them a broader and more resilient diet than that of Neandertals.

Anthropology

Early agriculture flowered in Mexico

Mexico may have served as a center of early plant domestication in the Americas, according to researchers who have excavated a site near Mexico's Gulf Coast.

Planetary Science

Nearby star may have its own asteroid belt

Observations of warm dust swaddling a young, nearby star suggest that astronomers may have found evidence of a massive asteroid belt outside the solar system.

Health & Medicine

Soy estrogens: Too much of a good thing?

Two studies of female mice suggest that genistein, an estrogen analog found in soy, could contribute to cancer risk.

Earth

Memory problems linked to PCBs in fish

Adult exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls, from eating tainted fish, correlate with lower scores on learning and memorization tasks.

Materials Science

Scientists get a handle on crystal shape

Researchers have discovered how the orientation of amino acid molecules can make a growing crystal take on either a right- or a left-handed form.

Earth

New test traces underground forest carbon

An unusual method of studying soil respiration by girdling trees may clear up several vital mysteries in the way carbon cycles through forests.

Earth

Global Warming Debate Gets Hotter

President Bush gets the global warming report he commissioned just days before he meets with European leaders.

Health & Medicine

Immune attack on self halts nerve damage

T cells primed for autoimmune behavior may actually preserve nerves after a damaging blow.

Health & Medicine

Enzyme defends germ against stomach acid

The newly solved structure of a Helicobacter pylori acid-fighting enzyme has scientists divided about how the enzyme works.