News
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Fingerprinting fugitive microbes
A new computational tool can identify engineered bacteria by finding the genetic "fingerprints" that distinguish altered bacteria from natural ones.
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Crustacean shuffle
A twisted joint might have made all the difference to scurrying crabs as they diverged from their clunky lobsterlike brethren.
- Anthropology
A hip stance by an ancient ancestor
By 6 million years ago, upright human ancestors had evolved a hip design that remained stable for perhaps the next 4 million years, until the appearance of hip modifications in Homo erectus.
- Health & Medicine
Strong support for a basic diet
The alkalinity of diets rich in potassium—usually a reflection of heavy fruit and vegetable consumption—helps preserve muscle.
- Plants
Floral Shocker: Blooms shake roots of flowering-plant family
A tiny aquatic plant, once thought to be related to grasses, raises new questions about the evolution of the earliest flowering plants.
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- Earth
New Recipe for Pollution Stew: Another chemical culprit adds to ozone
A reactive chemical in urban air cleans up some pollutants but could introduce another.
- Astronomy
In the Beginning: More early clues for life at home, out there
Astronomers move closer to understanding how life arose on Earth and how it could arise elsewhere.
- Health & Medicine
Long-life Link: Gut protein ties low insulin to longevity
A new link between insulin and aging adds to scientists' understanding of longevity and points to possible targets for life-extending therapies.
- Animals
Finch Concerts: Female bird brain notes male attention
Male zebra finches sing slightly differently when serenading a female as opposed to twittering to themselves, and females react to those differences.
- Animals
Love Code: A twist of light only mantis shrimp can see
Alone in the animal kingdom, these crustaceans signal their presence to potential mates with circularly polarized light.
- Health & Medicine
Bad Blood? Old units might be substandard
Heart patients who get transfusions of donated blood that's kept more than 14 days fare worse than patients who get fresher blood.
