News
- Humans
Man the martial artist
The human hand evolved partly as a tool for fighting, researchers argue.
By Erin Wayman - Chemistry
Repellent slime has material virtues
Threads isolated from hagfishes' defensive goo demonstrate superior strength and flexibility.
- Space
News in brief: Possible planet looks habitable
Astronomers find a body in the habitable zone of a nearby sunlike star by pushing the limits of detection.
- Health & Medicine
Twin towers dust tied to some cancers, not others
9/11 rescue and recovery workers have higher rates of prostate and thyroid cancers and multiple myeloma, a study shows.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Pressure keeps cancer in check
In lab experiments, physically confining malignant cells prevents runaway growth.
- Life
Heart telltale
Engineered cells that flash when they beat may offer a new way to test drugs for cardiac toxicity.
- Space
Moon probes set for smashing end
NASA to guide gravity-seeking spacecraft into the side of a lunar cliff.
- Life
News in brief: Counting project reveals forest’s bug diversity
Some 25,000 species of arthropods live in Panamanian forest.
By Susan Milius - Life
Early life forms may have been terrestrial
A controversial theory suggests that at least some of the earliest widespread complex life forms lived on land.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Zinc may help treat box jellyfish stings
A zinc compound seems to counteract the deadly venom delivered by the sting of the Australian box jellyfish.
By Nathan Seppa - Astronomy
Clutch of distant galaxies reveals the infant universe
The Hubble telescope spies stars lighting up the cosmic dawn.
- Humans
What goes wrong when talks break down
A nonlinear analysis explains how negotiations often turn on seemingly insignificant details.