All Stories by Kate Baggaley
- Astronomy
Remote star clusters discovered on edge of Milky Way
Two newly discovered star clusters are the first ever seen at the remote edges of the Milky Way.
- Plants
Plant growth patterns changing on much of Earth’s surface
More than half of Earth’s land surface has seen major changes in factors such as leaf-on date and how much vegetation grows in a season.
- Plants
Tropical plant knows whose bill is in its flowers
A rainforest plant avoids inbreeding by accepting pollen only from hummingbird species that must travel to reach it.
- Plants
Beetle RNA makes crops a noxious meal
When beetles munch plants bearing their RNA, genes the bugs need to survive are turned off.
- Health & Medicine
Additives that keep foods fresh may sour in the gut
Additives called emulsifiers that are used in ice cream and other foods weaken the intestines’ defenses against bacteria, causing inflammation in mice.
- Ecosystems
Bubonic plague was a serial visitor in European Middle Ages
Outbreaks of Black Death in medieval Europe may have been triggered by faraway weather patterns and hungry gerbils.
- Animals
Ocean animals have bulked up since ancient eras
Marine animals today are much larger on average than they were in the Cambrian Period.
- Neuroscience
Blame pot munchies on nerve cells that normally nix appetite
Pot munchies demystified: Marijuana hijacks fullness nerve cells, making them send hunger signals instead.
- Neuroscience
Bipolar risk boosted by accumulation of rare versions of genes
A buildup of rare versions of genes that control nerve cell activity contributes to the genetic risk of bipolar disorder.
- Health & Medicine
Stoplights are hot spots for airborne pollution
Drivers get a big chunk of their exposure to pollutants from short stops at traffic intersections.
- Animals
Tiger swallowtail genome gives clues to insect’s stinky defense
Clues within the genetic code of the Eastern tiger swallowtail butterfly (Papilio glaucus) explain how it developed a smelly defense against predators.
- Health & Medicine
Fallout from nuclear bomb testing presaged today’s radioactive tracers
Scientists in 1965 measured buildup of radioactive carbon from nuclear bomb testing in people.
