News
- Archaeology
Ancient South Americans tasted chocolate 1,500 years before anyone else
Artifacts with traces of cacao push back the known date for when the plant was first domesticated by 1,500 years.
- Chemistry
Zapping substances with electrons can quickly map chemical structures
Speedy molecular identification originally developed for proteins might benefit crime lab researchers and drugmakers.
- Health & Medicine
What the approval of the new flu drug Xofluza means for you
Xofluza, the first flu antiviral to be approved in 20 years, works differently from other flu drugs.
- Paleontology
The first vertebrates on Earth arose in shallow coastal waters
After appearing about 480 million years ago in coastal waters, the earliest vertebrates stayed in the shallows for another 100 million years.
- Plants
Liverwort plants contain a painkiller similar to the one in marijuana
Cannabinoids found in liverwort plants could spell relief for those suffering from chronic pain.
- Archaeology
Ancient Clovis people may have taken tool cues from earlier Americans
Ancient Americans’ spearpoints may have heralded later Clovis weapons.
- Climate
Hurricane Willa breaks an eastern and central Pacific storm season record
The combined might of eastern and central Pacific hurricanes produced a record-breaking year of storm energy.
- Health & Medicine
Teens use Juul e-cigarettes much more often than other vaping products
Such devices are more popular among youth than other e-cigarettes or regular cigarettes, a study finds.
- Agriculture
Plants engineered to always be on alert don’t grow well
Scientists bred a type of weed to lack proteins that help stem the production of bitter chemicals used to ward off insect attacks.
- Genetics
DNA differences are linked to having same-sex sexual partners
Genetic differences are associated with choosing same-sex partners in both men and women.
- Health & Medicine
New therapies pack a triple-drug punch to treat cystic fibrosis
In testing, a triple-drug therapy significantly improved lung function in cystic fibrosis patients with the most common disease-causing mutation.
- Paleontology
In a first, scientists spot what may be lungs in an ancient bird fossil
Possible traces of lungs preserved with a 120-million-year-old bird fossil could represent a respiratory system similar to that of modern birds.
