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Letters
Hairy Ardi issue In the report on Ardi (“Evolution’s bad girl,” SN: 01/16/10, p. 22), the artist’s illustrations show her in fur. The fact that her purported descendants are relatively hairless has been popularized by Desmond Morris (The Naked Ape, 1967) and Elaine Morgan (The Descent of Woman, 1972). What is the paleoanthropologists’ evidence that […]
- Health & Medicine
Existing antibiotic might help keep wraps on AIDS virus
The acne drug minocycline inhibits HIV activation in infected immune cells, lab tests show.
- Paleontology
Tyrannosaurs lived in the Southern Hemisphere, too
Australian fossils suggest the kin of T. rex dispersed globally 110 million years ago.
- Chemistry
Building a cheaper catalyst
Using perovskite instead of platinum in catalytic converters could shave many hundreds of dollars off the cost of a diesel car.
- Humans
Ancient DNA suggests new hominid line
Genetic data unveil a previously unknown Stone Age ancestor in central Asia.
- Earth
Bacteria show new route to making oxygen
New discovery adds to the few known biological pathways for making and metabolically using the gas.
- Chemistry
Better sleuthing through chemistry
New fingerprinting method can pinpoint where, when or how a chemical warfare agent came to be.
- Physics
You really can freeze hot water faster than cold*
Experiments suggest that impurities in the warmer water may explain the “Mpemba effect” in which warm water freezes faster than cold water.
- Health & Medicine
UV radiation, not vitamin D, might limit multiple sclerosis symptoms
The rarity of MS in the tropics may be due to higher ultraviolet light exposure, not necessarily increased vitamin production, new research suggests.
- Life
Hawaiian caterpillars are first known amphibious insects
Developing underwater or above, it’s all good for moths that evolved new lifestyle in the islands
- Anthropology
Ancient footprints yield oldest signs of upright gait
Human ancestors may have been walking with an efficient, extended-leg technique by 3.6 million years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Ingredient of dark roasted coffees may make them easier on the tummy
A compound generated in the roasting process appears to reduce acid production in the stomach.
