News
- Archaeology
Suburb of Stonehenge: Ritual village found near famed rock site
Excavations at a 4,600-year-old village in southern England indicate that it was occupied by the builders of nearby Stonehenge and hosted feasts where people assembled before transporting the dead to the huge circle of stones, which served as an ancestor memorial.
- Earth
Gas tanks could guzzle half of U.S. corn yields
Strong expansion of the U.S. corn-to-ethanol industry, now under way, stands poised to divert much of the grain from food uses to transportation fuel.
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Plastics ingredient disrupts fetal-egg development
A common estrogen-mimicking chemical can damage eggs while an animal is still in the womb.
- Physics
The mystery of the missing mass
Researchers found that, for one kind of particle at least, being located inside a nucleus slightly reduces its mass.
- Materials Science
Microstructures make a beetle brilliant
Engineers looking to make a variety of surfaces whiter and brighter could learn a few things from a lowly beetle.
- Health & Medicine
Old cure may offer new malaria option
An herbal-tea remedy for malaria contains a component that may form the basis of a novel drug against the disease.
- Health & Medicine
Trade-offs in fibroids treatments
A minimally invasive procedure to cure uterine fibroids is less expensive, but also appears to be less effective, than surgery.
- Chemistry
Magnet makeover
A new family of magnets may be a first step toward organic versions of the familiar metal objects.
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Child abuse heralds adult inflammation
A long-term study in New Zealand indicates that child abuse leads to a disruption of part of the stress response in adulthood that has been linked to heart disease, diabetes, and chronic lung disease.
- Plants
Secret Agent: Hidden helper lets fungus save plants from heat
A fungus that supposedly lets plants live in overheated soil turns out to work only if it's infected with a certain virus.
- Health & Medicine
Good Poison? Carbon monoxide may stifle multiple sclerosis
A study in mice suggests that small amounts of carbon monoxide might alleviate symptoms of multiple sclerosis.
- Paleontology
Ancient Glider: Dinosaur took to the air in biplane style
About 125 million years before the Wright Brothers took to the air with their biplane, a 1-meter-long dinosaur may have been swooping from tree to tree using the same arrangement of wings.
