News

  1. Materials Science

    Heal thyself—again and again

    A new self-healing material can repeatedly repair damage at the same spot.

    By Sarah Webb
  2. Earth

    Tree rings tell tale of megadroughts

    Tree rings in ancient timber show that the Colorado Plateau experienced a 60-year drought in the 12th century.

    By Sid Perkins
  3. Animals

    Moths mimic ‘Don’t eat me’ sounds

    Moths that make clicking noises at predatory bats are mimicking a defensive signal made by other moths that click and also taste bad.

    By Susan Milius
  4. Archaeology

    Ancient beads found in northern Africa

    Perforated shells found in a Moroccan cave indicate that northern Africans made symbolic body ornaments 82,000 years ago, long before Europeans did.

    By Bruce Bower
  5. Health & Medicine

    Diabetes drug might hike heart risk

    People who take rosiglitazone, a popular diabetes drug marketed as Avandia, may face an increased risk of heart attack.

    By Nathan Seppa

  6. Borderline Aid: Psychotherapy soothes personality ailment

    Three forms of psychotherapy each provide substantial relief from symptoms of borderline personality disorder.

    By Bruce Bower
  7. Planetary Science

    Shifting Ocean: Tipsy Mars may explain undulating shoreline

    Evidence that Mars once had a vast ocean gains support from a proposal that the planet was tipped halfway over on its side several billion years ago.

    By Ron Cowen
  8. Health & Medicine

    Vaccine Harvest: Cholera fighter could be easy to swallow

    An edible vaccine, made by genetically engineering rice, safeguards mice against the toxin produced by cholera bacteria.

    By Nathan Seppa
  9. Tech

    Improbability Drive: Focus on rare actions speeds chemical simulations

    A new algorithm speeds simulations of chemical reactions by focusing on rare but crucial molecular motions.

    By Davide Castelvecchi
  10. Plants

    Easy There, Bro: A plant can spot and favor close kin

    A little beach plant can recognize its siblings as long as their roots grow in nearby soil.

    By Susan Milius

  11. Breast Cancer Lead: Overactive gene is linked to disease

    A mutated gene that's overly active in breast cancer cells could offer a new target for cancer drugs.

    By Patrick Barry
  12. Paleontology

    Big and Birdlike: Chinese dinosaur was 3.5 meters tall

    Paleontologists have unearthed the remains of a gigantic birdlike dinosaur, 3.5 meters tall, that lived 70 million years ago in what is now China.

    By Sid Perkins