Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Tsunamis could telegraph their imminent arrival
Telecommunication cables could give early warnings of giant waves.
- Math
Slime mold is master network engineer
Single-cell organism develops food distribution system that is as efficient as the Tokyo rail system; inspires new math model for designing dynamic systems.
- Life
MRSA bacterial strain mutates quickly as it spreads
Antibiotic-resistant microbe's detailed family tree reveals roots of the global infection.
- Life
Protein may be new target for obesity, diabetes therapies
Molecule regulates flip of a metabolic switch, helps determine how the body uses glucose.
- Earth
Feds propose banning giant snakes
Today, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced plans to ban the importation and interstate transport of nine species of giant snakes. It’s a good idea, but a little like closing the barn door after the horse — or in this case, the pythons and anacondas — got loose.
- Humans
Minor air traffic delays add up to big costs
On average, the economic impact of late flights exceeds that of hurricanes
- Climate
IPCC admits Himalayan glacier error
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change acknowledged today that it had erred in projecting the rate and impacts of retreating Himalayan glaciers in a 2007 report.
- Humans
Children grasp time with distance in mind
A study of Greek school children indicates that spatial knowledge lies at the root of how youngsters conceptualize time.
- Earth
BPA is regulated . . . sort of
Food and Drug Administration officials “say they are powerless to regulate BPA” because of a quirk in their rules, according to a story that ran Sunday in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It comes from a reporter who has made an award-winning habit of documenting the politics that have helped make the hormone-mimicking bisphenol-A a chemical of choice for many manufacturers.
- Health & Medicine
Benefits of omega-3 fatty acids tally up
A study of patients with sepsis and a second in people with heart disease suggest the fish oil compound may aid health.
- Climate
IPCC relied on unvetted Himalaya melt figure
British newspapers have uncovered what appears to be an embarrassing fact-checking omission by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. It regards the degree of glacial melting in the Himalayas — information that said parts of the area could be icefree a quarter century from now.
- Anthropology
‘Modern’ humans get an ancient, nonhuman twist
Two new reports suggest that hominids other than Homo sapiens made complex stone tools and fancy necklaces.
