News
- Life
Some Crohn’s genes make cells deaf to messages from good gut bacteria
Genes linked to Crohn’s disease, an inflammatory bowel disease, might make people’s immune cells miss out on helpful messages sent by friendly gut bacteria.
- Anthropology
Asian primates hit hard by ancient climate change
Chinese fossils suggest primates diverged in Asia and Africa around 34 million years ago.
- Neuroscience
A breakdown product, not ketamine, may ease depression
Ketamine’s breakdown product, not the drug itself, eases depression, a mouse study suggests.
- Earth
Rainwater can help trigger earthquakes
Rainwater plays a major role in the triggering of earthquakes along New Zealand’s Alpine Fault.
- Astronomy
Nearby exoplanet trio new target in search for life
Three nearby exoplanets might be good spots to go looking for signs of alien life.
- Climate
Fizzled 2014 El Niño fired up ongoing monster El Niño
The ongoing El Niño, one of the strongest on record, got a heat boost from a 2014 event that failed due to unfavorable winds.
- Neuroscience
Evidence conflicts on iron’s role in Parkinson’s disease
Experiments yield conflicting results about whether vulnerable nerve cells have too much or too little iron.
- Anthropology
Risky skull surgery done for ritual reasons 6,000 years ago
Some ancient skull surgeries hinged on ritual, not on medical treatment.
- Particle Physics
Theorists perplexed by hints of unexpected new particle
Hints of a potential new particle at the LHC have scientists excited, and theoretical physicists are beginning to converge on explanations.
- Animals
Dragons sleep like mammals and birds
Some lizards may sleep in the same way as mammals and birds, a new brain wave study finds.
- Neuroscience
Ions may be in charge of when you sleep and wake
The recipe for sleep and wake may depend on ions.
- Neuroscience
Words’ meanings mapped in the brain
Language isn’t just confined to one region of the brain: The meaning of words spark activity all over the cerebral cortex.
