News
- Earth
Pesticides mimic estrogen in shellfish
Two common water pollutants can function in shellfish as estrogen does, but they have different behavioral effects on two species.
- Astronomy
The magnetic link between star and planet
Astronomers have for the first time directly measured the magnetic field of a star known to host a giant planet.
- Tech
A nano–cheese slicer
Stringing a carbon nanotube between two needles yields a nanoscale cheese knife that could improve slicing of biological samples.
- Earth
Dim Harvest: Asian air pollution has limited rice yields
Thick clouds of air pollution over southern Asia and increased concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere worldwide have reduced rice harvests in India for the past 2 decades.
- Animals
Extreme Tongue: Bat excels at saying ‘Aah’
The new champion among mammals at sticking out its tongue is a small bat from Ecuador.
- Humans
Lunar Outpost: NASA unveils plans for a return to the moon
NASA announced that it would begin in 2020 to assemble a human outpost on the moon.
- Ecosystems
Going Native: Diverse grassland plants edge out crops as biofuel
Biofuels made from mixtures of plants native to prairies can yield more net energy than do biofuels derived from corn and soybeans.
- Earth
Woods to Waters: Wildfires amplify mercury contamination in fish
Forest fires mobilize mercury from the soil and can send the toxic metal into nearby streams and lakes where it accumulates in fish.
- Health & Medicine
Bitter Pill: Costs surge for new schizophrenia drugs
Medications widely prescribed to treat schizophrenia cost hundreds of dollars more each month than does a less popular, older medication that has similar success at alleviating symptoms of the disorder.
- Animals
Ebola Die-Off: Gorilla losses tallied in central Africa
Between 2001 and 2005, Ebola virus killed at least 5,500 lowland gorillas in the Republic of the Congo.
- Chemistry
Together and apart
Chemists report the first chemical reaction that can split apart and recombine the two atoms in molecular hydrogen without using an expensive metal catalyst.
- Agriculture
Wheat gone wild
Researchers have identified a gene responsible for boosting the protein, iron, and zinc content of some varieties of wild wheat by 10 to 15 percent.
