News
- Archaeology
Stones of Contention: Tiny Homo species tied to ancient tool tradition
Controversial new discoveries suggest that our half-size evolutionary cousins who lived on the Indonesian island of Flores as recently as 12,000 years ago carried on a stone-toolmaking tradition passed down from the island's original colonizers more than 700,000 years ago.
- Earth
Oil Booms: Whales don’t avoid noise of seismic exploration
Field tests in the Gulf of Mexico suggest that sperm whales there don't swim away from boats conducting seismic surveys of the seafloor, but the noise generated by such activity may be subtly affecting the whales' feeding behavior. With video.
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Wrong Impression: Bipolar kids misinterpret facial cues as hostile
Children with bipolar disorder are more likely than other kids to read hostility in bland facial expressions.
- Earth
Lazarus, the amphibian
The painted frog, unseen for more than a decade and feared to be extinct, has resurfaced in a remote desert highland of Colombia.
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Herpes Runs Interference: Researchers discover how virus sticks around
Herpes simplex virus 1, which causes cold sores, uses a short, double-stranded RNA to outwit a cell's defensive measures.
- Earth
Pumped-up Poison Ivy: Carbon dioxide boosts plant’s size, toxicity
Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could make poison ivy grow much faster and become more toxic.
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Evolving genes may not size up brain
Two gene variants previously implicated in the evolution of human brain size apparently don't influence brain volumes in people today.
- Health & Medicine
At iconic Asian temple, monkeys harbor viruses
Temple sites in South and Southeast Asia that offer refuge to monkeys also shelter monkey viruses.
- Health & Medicine
Common drugs offer some hot flash relief
Antidepressants and some other prescription drugs reduce the number of hot flashes that many women experience during menopause.
- Physics
As waters part, polygons appear
When rapidly swirled inside a stationary bucket, liquids can form whirlpools of surprising shapes, such as triangles and hexagons.
- Archaeology
Jarring clues to Tut’s white wine
Chemical analyses of residue from jars found in King Tutankhamen's tomb have yielded the first evidence of white wine in ancient Egypt.
- Materials Science
Gripping Tale: Metal oozes in nanotubes’ grasp
Carbon nanotubes can squeeze substances inside them with such high pressures that even hard metals squish like putty.
