News
- Animals
Purring birds teach their chicks to beg
African birds called pied babblers teach their chicks that certain parental noises mean food is on the way.
- Health & Medicine
Smoking ups risk for type 2 diabetes
Smoking increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 61 percent.
- Health & Medicine
Addiction Alleviator? Hallucinogen’s popularity grows
The unsanctioned use of an obscure hallucinogen, ibogaine, to treat addiction has exploded recently.
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Reading the Repeats: Cells transcribe telomere DNA
Scientists have discovered that human cells make RNA transcripts of telomeres, the repetitive DNA at the ends of chromosomes, a finding that could have implications for understanding aging and cancer.
- Paleontology
Whales started small
The ancestors of whales, some of which are the largest creatures ever to evolve, probably were mammals no larger than a fox.
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Damage Control: Brain injuries fight off PTSD in vets
Damage to either of two brain regions protects combat veterans against developing the severe stress ailment known as post-traumatic stress disorder, a finding with implications for treating this condition.
- Astronomy
Twinkle, Twinkle: Dark matter may have lit up first stars
The earliest stars in the universe might have been fueled by dark matter instead of nuclear fusion.
- Earth
Plowing the Ancient Seas: Iceberg scours found off South Carolina
Recent sonar surveys off the southeastern United States have detected dozens of broad furrows on the seafloor that were carved by icebergs during the last ice age.
- Health & Medicine
New Task: Malaria drug might inhibit some cancers
The antimalarial drug chloroquine may prevent some cancers.
- Humans
Science News wins independent press award
The Editors of the Utne Reader have named Science News magazine a 2007 winner in its science and technology category.
- Humans
Science Service Becomes Society for Science & the Public
Science Service, founded in 1921 to provide better information to the public about scientific discoveries, is changing its name to Society for Science & the Public, reflecting a renewed mission to advance public engagement in science.
- Earth
In 2007, Greenland set a melting record
The duration and extent of ice melt across high-altitude portions of the Greenland ice sheet last year were the highest they've been in recent decades, satellite observations indicate.
