News
- Earth
Ancient hot spell is linked to copious carbon dioxide
A mineral that formed in some lakes during a lengthy and particularly warm period in Earth's past suggests that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide were at that time at least triple those found in today's air.
- Planetary Science
Web Special: Welcome to Mars’ Victoria Crater
With stunningly powerful vision, the HiRISE camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken a remarkable picture that shows the exploration rover Opportunity poised on the rim of Victoria Crater on Mars.
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Wasting Deer: Deer saliva and blood can carry prions
Saliva alone can transmit a brain-destroying disease from one animal to another.
- Humans
Nobel prizes recognize things great and small
The 2006 Nobel prizes in the sciences were announced this week, and all five winners are U.S. scientists.
- Earth
Hot, Hotter, Hot: Climate seesawed during dinosaur age
The climate during the time of the dinosaurs varied far more than scientists had previously thought.
- Astronomy
Jet Set: Astronomers identify the makeup of quasar streams
Astronomers have identified the particles in jets emanating from supermassive black holes as electrons and protons, which carry much more energy than some computer models had suggested.
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Shop Until You Can’t Stop: Compulsive buying affects both men and women
A national telephone survey indicates that nearly 6 percent of adults find themselves unable to resist frequent shopping binges that leave them saddled with debt, anxiety, and depression.
- Health & Medicine
Improving the View: Treatment reverses macular degeneration
People with the eye disease known as macular degeneration now have a better-than-average prospect of recovering some vision, thanks to a new drug that takes a lesson from an anticancer strategy.
- Humans
U.S. population to surpass 300 million
At approximately the middle of October, the population of the United States will hit and then quickly eclipse 300 million, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- Animals
Krill kick up a storm of ocean mixing
Scientists have measured living creatures' contribution to the stirring of ocean water, and they found that little kicking krill legs do a lot.
- Animals
Silky feet
Zebra tarantulas can secrete silk from their feet, a feat that may help them better adhere to surfaces.
- Health & Medicine
Cigarettes and lead linked to attention disorder
Nearly half a million cases of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder among U.S. children are related to exposures to lead or their mothers' smoking while pregnant.
