More Stories from the June 30, 2012 issue
- Health & Medicine
Coffee gives jolt to life span
Unlike wine's, coffee's benefits apparently keep increasing well beyond the first two servings.
- Animals
Better bird nesting also good for giant manta rays
Disrupting tree canopies on a Pacific atoll discourages big fish off shore through a long chain of ecological consequences.
- Health & Medicine
Severe sleep apnea tied to cancer risk
A chronic lack of oxygen caused by disrupted rest may explain the association, researchers say.
- Life
Climate change miscues may shrink species’ outer limits
Ecological partnerships are getting out of sync especially at high latitudes, a study of hummingbirds suggests.
- Tech
DNA used as rewritable data storage in cells
Genetically encoded memory could track cell division inside the body.
- Health & Medicine
Thou can’t not covet
Wanting what others have may be hardwired in the brain, experiments suggest.
- Space
Evening star goes black in rare celestial event
Astronomers position themselves to capture crucial measurements as the planet passes across the face of the sun.
- Health & Medicine
Long-acting contraceptives best by far
Implants and IUDs outperform the pill, vaginal ring and patch as birth control options, a study finds.
- Tech
Bacterial trick keeps robots in sync
Communicating information about the environment allows a stumbling machine to rejoin its group.
- Genetics
Poppies make more than opium
A 10-gene cluster controls the flowers’ production of a valuable cough suppressant and antitumor compound.
- Chemistry
Youngsters can sniff out old people’s scent
Body odor changes detectably with age, becoming mellower in men and not at all offensive in either sex — even to young people.
- Earth
Supervolcanoes evolve superquickly
Huge underground chambers of magma appear and erupt within just several centuries, a study of California rocks suggests.
- Life
Treatment helps paralyzed rats walk
A combination of drugs, electrical stimulation and therapy can restore lost connections between lower limbs and brain.
- Physics
Quantum teleportation leaps forward
Two teams report beaming information about particles over long distances, a step toward creating satellite quantum communication networks.
- Humans
Stone Age art gets animated
Cave paintings and decorated disks provided moving experiences in ancient Europe.
- Chemistry
Flerovium and livermorium debut on periodic table
New element names honor the contributions of Russian and American laboratories.
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- Ecosystems
Changing seasons inspire science
Researchers are tapping into the wealth of observations being made by citizen scientists nationwide. One of the largest repositories of such data is maintained by the USA National Phenology Network.
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- Health & Medicine
Internal Time
Chronotypes, Social Jet Lag, and Why You're So Tired by Till Roenneberg.
- Plants
The Man Who Planted Trees
Lost Groves, Champion Trees, and an Urgent Plan to Save the Planet by Jim Robbins
- Health & Medicine
Why Calories Count
From Science to Politics (California Studies in Food and Culture) by Marion Nestle and Malden Nesheim.
- Animals
Mr. Hornaday’s War
How a Peculiar Victorian Zookeeper Waged a Lonely Crusade for Wildlife That Changed the World by Stefan Bechtel.
- Health & Medicine
Experiment Eleven
Dark Secrets Behind the Discovery of a Wonder Drug by Peter Pringle
- Animals
Animals on the Move
Worldwide — on land, in the sea and in rivers, streams and lakes — wildlife is responding to rising temperatures.
- Neuroscience
Hurt Blocker
The next big pain drug may soothe sensory firestorms without side effects.
- Math
A Mind from Math
Alan Turing, often considered the father of computer science, was born a century ago, in June of 1912. He foresaw machines’ potential to mimic brains.
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