News
- Ecosystems
Tracing Tahitian vanilla
The discovery of Tahitian vanilla’s heritage could set off a custody battle between nations.
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Good mood gone bad
Feeling happy may lessen children’s ability to perform tasks that require attention to detail, a new study suggests.
By Bruce Bower - Life
Hidden in plain view
Looking for unwavering genes rather than standouts could reveal which genes contribute to disease.
- Space
First triple near-Earth asteroid found
Astronomers have discovered the first known triple near-Earth asteroid.
By Ron Cowen - Climate
Hydrogen economy sustainable in 15 years
Hydrogen fuel cells can eventually replace the combustion engine, but meanwhile a wider range of technologies will be needed to reduce carbon emissions.
- Animals
We all sing like fish
From opera singers to toadfish, vertebrates may use basically similar circuitry for controlling vocal muscles.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
X-ray vision
A new imaging technique could give scientists unprecedented views into cells and other objects at the nanoscale.
- Space
Icy asteroids
New observations are further eroding the difference between asteroids and comets.
By Ron Cowen - Animals
Brains for a change
Outsized brains may have sped up evolution of body size in birds.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Against the grains
People on either a low-carbohydrate or Mediterranean diet fared better over two years than those on a low-fat diet.
By Nathan Seppa -
- Oceans
Death by magma
Widespread extinctions in the world’s oceans millions of years ago may have been triggered by massive underwater volcanic eruptions that created much of the Caribbean seafloor.
By Sid Perkins