News
- Cosmology
Gamma rays offer mixed messages on identity of dark matter
Conflicting results from Fermi telescope puzzle astronomers about dark matter’s true identity.
- Life
Gut microbes less diverse in humans than in apes
An analysis of gut bacteria shows that humans have evolved to possess less diversity in microbe populations.
- Life
Hummingbirds take stab at rivals with dagger-tipped bills
Sharp points on the bills of male long-billed hermit hummingbirds may have evolved as weaponry.
- Planetary Science
Water arrived on Earth earlier than thought
Ancient meteorites from the asteroid Vesta indicate that Earth’s water was available before planet formed.
- Psychology
Rip-off victims prefer compensation to retribution
But those acting on behalf of victims favor a punishment that fits the crime.
- Life
Close look at new fungus reveals origins, spread of salamander killer
A second chytrid fungus described last year targets salamanders and may be spreading in the animal export trade.
- Earth
Early animals couldn’t catch a breath
Low levels of oxygen may have hindered evolution of animal life hundreds of millions of years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Heavy milk drinking may double women’s mortality rates
In a study of 60,000 Swedes, drinking three or more classes of milk a day was associated with higher chances of death, cancer and hip fractures.
- Health & Medicine
Harmless bacterium edges out intestinal germ
Researchers treated C. difficile infections in mice with a closely related bacteria that blocks C. difficile growth.
- Genetics
Men who lose Y chromosome have high risk of cancer
Losing the Y chromosome in blood cells may bring on cancer and shorten men’s lives.
- Plants
How female ferns make younger neighbors male
Precocious female ferns release a partly formed sexual-identity hormone, and nearby laggards finish it and go masculine.
- Genetics
Easter Islanders sailed to Americas, DNA suggests
Genetic ties among present-day populations point to sea crossings centuries before European contact with Easter Island.
