Uncategorized

  1. All in the Family

    Contrary to popular belief, species of salamanders, birds, beetles and fish prefer to mate with close kin.

    By
  2. Humans

    Letters from the April 12, 2008, issue of Science News

    Dark star In “From Dark Matter to Light: New models of galaxy formation show the gastro in physics” (SN: 3/22/08, p. 186), Ron Cowen says that gas is where the action is since dark matter predominantly responds to only gravity. Because dark matter responds to gravity, wouldn’t it, like gas, be pulled into the star-making […]

    By
  3. Earth

    Sense of Wonder Contest

    Rachel Carson aficionados will recognize The Sense of Wonder as the title of one of that environmentalist’s books. The Environmental Protection Agency is using that title to invite people young and old—literally and collaboratively—to explore that sense in poetry, essays, and photography. It’s inviting submissions from intergenerational teams “that best express the ‘Sense of Wonder’ […]

    By
  4. Humans

    From the April 2, 1938, issue

    The science of tall tales, a fluorine-spouting volcano under ice, and viruses show signs of life.

    By
  5. Animals

    Comb jellies take root in a new tree of animal life

    A team of biologists places comb jellies, not sponges, at the base of a new tree of animal life.

    By
  6. Health & Medicine

    Take a Breath: Fatty substance may play role in cystic fibrosis

    A fatty compound called ceramide that accumulates in lung cells may be instrumental in the devastating disease cystic fibrosis.

    By
  7. Health & Medicine

    Traveling Toxin: Botox may hitch a ride on nerve cells

    New evidence suggests that Botox migrates from the injection site, perhaps traveling along nerve cells.

    By
  8. Paleontology

    Salty Old Cellulose: Tiny fibers found in ancient halite deposits

    Researchers have recovered microscopic bits of cellulose from 253-million-year-old salt deposits deep underground.

    By
  9. Health & Medicine

    Curbing Chemo: Fasting cushions drug’s side effects in mice

    Two days of starvation kicks mice's cells into repair mode and helps them endure high doses of chemotherapy.

    By
  10. Math

    Creeping Up on Riemann

    Theorists find the first example of an elusive complex function that just may help them solve the biggest problem in mathematics.

    By
  11. Animals

    Night Flights: Migrating moths may use a nighttime compass

    Silver Y moths choose to fly when wind blows in the same direction that they migrate, and they may even compensate when the wind pushes them off-course.

    By
  12. Planetary Science

    Caught in the Act? Images may reveal planetary birth

    Astronomers, for the first time, have imaged dusty clumps surrounding young stars that could be planets in the making.

    By