News
- Health & Medicine
Food choices matter in weight control
Potatoes and sugary soft drinks add pounds, a long-term analysis shows; fruit, yogurt and nuts help shed them.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
Multicellular life arises in a test tube
A yeast experiment recapitulates a major early milestone in the history of life.
By Susan Milius - Space
NASA spacecraft puts moon in new focus
Images from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter show fine details of the lunar surface.
By Nadia Drake - Physics
Better putting in a few simple steps
A physicist develops a rule of thumb for getting the ball in the hole.
By Devin Powell - Earth
Modern-day sea level rise skyrocketing
A spike that began during the 19th century appears to be linked to rising temperatures and increasing greenhouse gases.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Brain has two slots for working memory
The left and right hemispheres have equal and independent capacity, monkey study finds.
- Physics
Science of friction is a bit rough
In lab experiments, physicists trying to understand earthquakes are bumping up against the limitations of existing theory.
By Devin Powell - Planetary Science
Messages from Mercury
The latest data from a NASA spacecraft give compositional clues and reveal craters that could hold frozen water
By Ron Cowen - Earth
Tsunami lit up the heavens
Camera captures glowing atmospheric ripples triggered by Japan’s deadly quake as they pass over Hawaii.
- Psychology
Some fights vanish in plain sight
People engrossed in a task frequently overlook the seemingly obvious, such as a loud brawl.
By Bruce Bower - Life
Loophole found in genetic traffic laws
In a violation of textbook biology, a modified RNA component can cause the cell's protein-making machinery to run genetic stop signs.
- Chemistry
Dino proteins could have been sheltered
An analysis of collagen structure finds protective pockets, backing up claims of preserved tissue finds.