News
- Environment
Gases dominate Gulf’s subsea plumes
Shipboard experiments in June show that natural gas dominates the Gulf oil plumes and that its components are the favorite choice of microbes.
- Life
Streetlights turn young duds into studs
Nocturnal illumination starts youthful male blue tits chirping earlier in the morning, tempting the mates of their still-snoozing elders.
- Agriculture
A taste of the chocolate genome
Competing teams have announced the impending completion of the cacao DNA sequence.
- Health & Medicine
Scottish kids’ asthma declined after smoking ban
Hospitals report a drop in asthma emergencies among children since a law prohibiting lighting up in public buildings went into effect in 2006.
- Life
Environmental DNA modifications tied to obesity
Chemical changes that affect gene activity could underlie many common conditions, a new study suggests.
- Space
Between the sheets
The detection of layered minerals in a young star’s planet-forming region suggests an origin for Earth’s oceans.
- Life
Cuckoos thrown off by climate change
With earlier springs, the birds are duping a different mix of adoptive parents into raising their young.
- Life
Doing their part by not doing their part
Freeloaders can be good for a community, yeast experiments suggest.
- Health & Medicine
DNA-damaging disinfection by-products found in pool water
A study detects subtle changes in swimmers’ cells after 40 minutes of laps.
- Psychology
Video mayhem enlivens decision making
People who play action-oriented video games show improved ability to make quick decisions based on what they see and hear.
- Space
Asteroids miss with astronomers
Close brushes with small objects like the ones that swept past Earth on Wednesday are actually fairly common.
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Dry air might boost flu transmission
Germs prefer an environment that’s cool, dry and UV-free, experiments suggest.
