Search Results for:
Skip to resultsCan’t find what you’re looking for? Visit our FAQ page.
113,341+ results for:
-
LifeGenetic effects suggest FOXP2 role in language evolution
Human version of the protein alters activity of 116 genes compared with the chimp version.
-
SpaceChemical fingerprint found for planet hunting
The amount of lithium in the atmosphere of sunlike stars is a powerful indicator of whether such stars have planets, a new study reveals.
By Ron Cowen -
Science & SocietyWhy Cousteau’s granddaughter was at a meeting on public health
Philadelphia — On brainstorming possible keynote speakers for a major public health conference, the granddaughter of ocean giant Jacques Cousteau does not exactly stand out. But in Philadelphia on Sunday, filmmaker and diver Celine Cousteau stood before the 11,000 or so attendees of the American Public Health Association's annual meeting to explain just why exactly she was there to give the opening session's address.
-
PaleontologySmall ancestor of giant sauropods unearthed
Fossils suggest that the bipedal dinosaur occasionally walked on all fours and could open its mouth wide to gather foliage.
By Sid Perkins -
EarthBuried-lakes story wins top award
Some readers may be unaware of our sister publication, Science News for Kids, a weekly online magazine for middle-school readers. This morning, we learned that one of the site’s feature stories — Where Rivers Run Uphill — won this year’s top science journalism award for reporting news for children.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineThe childhood nerve cancer neuroblastoma shows weakness
A compound that unshackles a tumor-suppressing protein called p53 can slow the growth of the malignancy in mice, a new study finds.
By Nathan Seppa -
SpaceThe Milky Way, aglow with activity
Combining infrared and X-ray images from three orbiting observatories, NASA has unveiled a never-before-seen composite portrait of the Milky Way’s bustling center.
By Ron Cowen -
EarthAsteroid impact could have stirred the ocean
Model offers one explanation for sudden change in deep-ocean chemistry almost 2 billion years ago.
By Sid Perkins -
ClimateGuarded optimism on Copenhagen climate talks
Negotiators representing 181 nations completed their final prep work in Barcelona, Spain, last Friday, on a new climate treaty — one that they hope to build a month from now at a major conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. But at least one scientist worries that what comes out of the Copenhagen deliberations may not have sufficient coordination and strength to meet the challenges that Earth’s climate has begun throwing at us.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineVinegar: Label lead-tainting data
Under California’s Proposition 65 law, products containing chemicals that may cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive toxicity must carry a warning label at their point of sale. Among such products: pricy balsamic and red-wine vinegars that contain lead. At least some California groceries apparently have taken a conservative approach and post labels suggesting all such vinegars are dangerously tainted. Although they aren't.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineH1N1: Call to revise flu-mask policy
Three groups of healthcare professionals sent a letter to President Obama yesterday asking that he instruct his administration to revise federal flu-mask guidance. What these groups want: formal recognition that two studies last month showed conventional surgical masks are about as protective as the fancy — but much more expensive — N95 respirators in limiting H1N1 infection.
By Janet Raloff -
AnthropologyMacaws bred far from tropics during pre-Columbian times
Colorful birds possibly raised for ceremonial and trade purposes long before Spanish arrival
By Bruce Bower