Uncategorized
- Climate
Alaskan peatlands expanded rapidly as ice age waned
The rapid growth of Alaskan wetlands before 8,600 years ago was due to hotter summers and colder winters, which could spell trouble in a warmer world, a new study suggests.
- Life
Insulin-producing cells can regenerate in diabetic mice
Animal study finds that the pancreas can spontaneously regenerate beta cells.
- Life
Researchers figure out how flies taste water
A study identifies the cell membrane protein that flies use to detect water’s flavor.
- Math
Million-dollar math prize awarded, but not necessarily accepted
The reclusive mathematician who proved the Poincaré conjecture may or may not claim his prize.
- Life
When two hyenas get the giggles
Laughs of higher-status individuals are more posh, a study in a captive colony suggests.
- Anthropology
Inca cemetery holds brutal glimpses of Spanish violence
Bones from a 500-year-old cemetery have yielded the first direct evidence of Inca death at Spaniards’ hands.
- Health & Medicine
Bees forage with their guts
Researchers show that a gene helps honeybees choose between nectar and pollen.
- Space
Cosmic magnetic field strength measured
Hints of weak magnetism between galaxies narrows options for how the early universe got its fields.
- Humans
For a rare few, driving and cell phones go well together
Some people do well at combining driving with cell phone use, raising questions about the nature of attention.
- Life
First songbird genome arrives with spring
The genome of a songbird has been decoded for the first time. Zebra finches join chickens as the only birds to have detailed maps of their genetic blueprints.
- Health & Medicine
Putting African sleeping sickness to bed
Experiments in mice find a protein that could lead to a safer and more effective treatment for parasitic disease.
- Planetary Science
Warmth in the dark age
Lower reflectivity kept Earth from freezing under a fainter young sun.
