Life

  1. Ecosystems

    On Whales’ Appetites: What a Waste

    An advocacy group and renowned scientist floundered in an attempt to compel opinion shapers with the science showing that industrial fleets, not whales, pose a serious threat to fish stocks.

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  2. Life

    Nearly immortal sea creature spreads

    Hydrozoan with reversible life cycle now found worldwide.

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  3. Humans

    Whaling back to the future

    International commission meets after soul-searching on years of dispute.

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  4. Life

    When cells go quiet

    Connections between nerve cells may be lost when communication between the cells lapses.

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  5. Plants

    Forest invades tundra

    The Arctic tundra is under assault from trees, with serious implications for global climate change.

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  6. Chemistry

    Catching your breath

    Scientists are investigating how to use the human breath to diagnose diseases and environmental ills.

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  7. Animals

    Peril of play

    A new study shows that playful 2-year-old chimpanzees may be particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases — some caught from humans.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Stomaching diabetes

    A new way to treat diabetes could recruit cells in the gut to make insulin when the pancreas can’t.

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  9. Agriculture

    A vanilla Vanilla

    The orchid that gives us vanilla beans has startlingly low genetic diversity, suggesting crops might be susceptible to pathogens, researchers report.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Where funny faces come from

    Making a face might have helped human ancestors survive.

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  11. Animals

    Squeaky chimp sex, or not

    Female chimps tend toward silent sex when the other girls could overhear.

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  12. Life

    Wine find

    Cell tests suggest that resveratrol, the substance that seems to account for the healthful effects of red wine, might have antiobesity effects, too.

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