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AnimalsDNA trail leads to new spot for dog domestication
A new study suggests that dogs were first domesticated in Central Asia.
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LifeGenetic tweaks manipulate DNA’s loops
Scientists have changed the loops and curls of DNA as it packs into a nucleus.
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Earth4.1-billion-year-old crystal may hold earliest signs of life
New evidence suggests that life on Earth arose before 4.1 billion years ago, 300 million years earlier than previous estimates.
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AnimalsSlow, cold reptiles may breathe like energetic birds
Finding birdlike air patterns in lungs of crocodilians and in more distantly related lizards raises the possibility that one-way airflow evolved far earlier than birds themselves did.
By Susan Milius -
ChemistryZippy videos teach chemistry behind everyday life
The American Chemical Society breaks down complex reactions of everyday life in zippy online video clips.
By Beth Mole -
NeuroscienceSigns of Huntington’s show up in the brain in childhood
Hints of Huntington’s disease show up in the brain long before symptoms do.
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AnimalsMarine biologist chronicles a lifelong love of fishing
In A Naturalist Goes Fishing, a marine biologist takes readers on a round-the-world fishing expedition
By Sid Perkins -
HumansAn amusing romp through word histories
From ak to wid, a new book makes etymology fun.
By Nathan Seppa -
PaleontologyNew evidence weakens case against climate in woolly mammoths’ death
Hunters responsible for woolly mammoths’ extinction, suggests a chemical analysis of juveniles’ tusks.
By Meghan Rosen -
ChemistryNanoparticles in foods raise safety questions
As scientists cook up ways to improve palatability and even make foods healthier, some are considering the potential health risks of tiny additives.
By Susan Gaidos -
AnimalsHow to drink like a bat
Some bats stick out their tongues and throbs carry nectar to their mouths.
By Susan Milius -
PaleontologyDimetrodon’s diet redetermined
The reptilelike Dimetrodon dined mainly on amphibians and sharks, not big herbivores as scientists once believed.
By Meghan Rosen