News
- Anthropology
Loud and clear
Skulls of Neandertal ancestors show the prehistoric humans had a hearing capacity similar to present-day people, suggesting human speech could have originated much earlier than previously thought.
- Health & Medicine
Shared recipes for longer life
Being female and eating a calorie-restricted diet contribute to long lifespan in animals, and the two traits may share molecular mechanisms.
- Life
Seeing without eyes
Scientists are looking into the cellular pathways that allow an eyeless roundworm to see.
- Math
Strategy to stop a pandemic
A limited supply of vaccine shots, if targeted well, could stop the spread of disease.
- Psychology
Lie defectives
A new analysis challenges the view that a few people with special experience can detect others’ lies with great accuracy.
- Agriculture
Farm life turns male toads female
A detailed inventory of toads in Florida finds that, as land becomes more agricultural, more cane toads resemble females both inside and out.
- Health & Medicine
SIDS and serotonin
Study finds brain chemical deficiency causing sudden death in mice could be linked to SIDS
- Space
Messages from Mercury
Data collected by the MESSENGER spacecraft as it flew past Mercury last January has revealed the origin of the planet’s magnetic field, discovered evidence of early volcanic activity and provided a first look at the planet’s surface composition.
- Life
Fountain of Youth, with caveats
A chemical in red wine thought to mimic the life-extending properties of calorie restriction improves health, but doesn’t necessarily lengthen life; it could also harm the brain.
- Life
Embryos can learn visually
For cuttlefish embryos, what they see is what they'll crave as food later
- Chemistry
HIV knockout
Cutting a gene in immune cells could offer a new way to treat HIV infections.
- Earth
Precious little gems
Ancient microdiamonds embedded inside ancient zircons found in western Australia suggest that life may have existed on Earth up to 4.25 billion years ago.
