Uncategorized
- Humans
Plague bug not so fierce after all
DNA analysis shows bacterium was fairly ordinary but thrived in pestilent conditions of medieval Europe.
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- Paleontology
Oxygen blew up ancient amoebas
Single-celled creatures' size spiked as oxygen levels rose.
- Health & Medicine
A mind for optimism
When predicting the risk of unfortunate events, people heed positive news better than ill tidings.
- Earth
Trees have a tipping point
Satellite data confirm that the amount of forest cover can shift suddenly in response to relatively small changes in fire frequency and rainfall.
- Humans
Stone Age paint shop unearthed
The discovery of tools for making a substance possibly used in body decoration suggests humans could invent and plan by 100,000 years ago.
- Humans
Columbus’ arrival linked to carbon dioxide drop
The depopulation of the Americas due to introduced European diseases may have spurred Europe's Little Ice Age.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine makes headway against trachoma
An experimental immunization might someday aid public health efforts to counter a blinding disease.
- Chemistry
Cloud seeding by trees could alter precipitation, climate
Some tree pollens shed molecules that can affect precipitation.
- Life
Fossil moth reveals colorful hue
Paleontologists deduce how ridges on the creature’s wings would have reflected light.
- Space
European Planetary Science Conference and AAS Division for Planetary Sciences
News from a joint conference held October 2-7 in Nantes, France.
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Too smart to fail: Why people think they’re so great
A lot of the world’s biggest problems are what you might call crises of overconfidence. Big, powerful nations conquer small, unstable ones expecting that invading troops will be greeted as liberators. On Wall Street, people who should know better buy dubious investments under the assumption that they’ll be able to unload them before the bubble […]
