News
- Psychology
Cell phone distraction while driving is a two-way street
When operating a car, drivers lose a grip on messages they hear.
By Bruce Bower - Physics
Hot and heavy matter runs a 4 trillion degree fever
Protons and neutrons melted in collisions of gold atoms have created the hottest matter ever made in a lab
- Space
Powerful collider set to smash protons
The Large Hadron Collider will operate at only half its maximum energy for the next 2 years.
By Ron Cowen - Chemistry
Tiny molecules walk the track
Researchers design synthetic “walking” molecules that may one day haul cargo in artificial micromachines.
- Paleontology
Sail-backed dinos had semiaquatic lifestyle
Isotopic analyses of fossils suggest the carnivores had crocodile-like habits.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Sea levels erratic during latest ice age
Mineral crusts deposited 81,000 years ago in a Mediterranean island’s caves suggest an abrupt jump in sea level.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Mutations may underlie some stuttering
Defects in three genes governing basic cell metabolism are found in a portion of cases, researchers find.
By Nathan Seppa - Space
Bouncing sands explain Mars’ rippled surface
A new study finds that dunes and ridges can form without much wind on the Red Planet.
- Anthropology
Ancient DNA points to additional New World migration
Scientists have extracted a nearly complete genome from the hairs of a 4,000-year-old man, suggesting a new scenario for Asian migrations into the New World.
By Bruce Bower - Space
A new VISTA on stellar birthplace
A high-resolution panoramic image of the Orion star-forming region bodes well for the success of a new telescope dedicated to surveying large areas of the cosmos at infrared wavelengths.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Inflammatory bowel disease hikes blood clots
Study finds people with Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis have greatest risk during painful episodes.
By Nathan Seppa - Materials Science
A charge for freezing water at different temperatures
Experiments use positive and negative forces to control ice formation at temperatures well below the normal freezing point.