News
- Life
Woolly rhinos came down from the cold
Ice Age icons were already adapted to harsh climate, new fossils suggest.
By Susan Milius - Humans
Oldest hand axes found
Homo erectus may have made both advanced and simple tools 1.76 million years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Middle school scientists recognized
The first class of 30 finalists in the Broadcom MASTERS will convene in Washington, D.C., this fall to compete in new national science competition geared to younger students.
By Devin Powell - Chemistry
Fighting flames with greener materials
New, nano-thin coatings for fabrics and plastics are relatively nontoxic flame retardants.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Saffron takes on cancer
The yellow spice inhibits liver cancer growth, tests in rats show.
By Nathan Seppa - Astronomy
Star goes boom, telescopes zoom
Astronomers have spotted a supernova in the Pinwheel Galaxy, the nearest such stellar explosion in decades.
By Nadia Drake - Chemistry
Pooping pandas may make better biofuels
Gut microbes break down bamboo efficiently, inspiring new approaches to process raw plant materials for fuel.
- Tech
Mining electronic records yields connections between diseases
Mining patient records, combined with molecular research, may reveal new links among medical conditions.
- Life
Belly bacteria boss the brain
One type of gut microbe sends antianxiety messages through the vagus nerve, changing the behavior of mice.
- Psychology
Men’s spatial superiority takes cultural cues
Some societies may nurture comparable spatial skills in males and females.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Willpower endures
A person's ability to resist temptation stays constant throughout life, study suggests.
- Humans
Recession-sensitive parenting
Economic downturn led to temporarily more severe parenting tactics among genetically predisposed mothers.
By Bruce Bower