Saharan Dust Brings Bacterial Blooms to the Caribbean
Dust clouds from the Sahara reach the Caribbean—and fertilize waters there when they arrive. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Stories by Christopher Intagliata
Microbe Breaks the Powerhouse Rules
A single-celled organism discovered in chinchilla droppings is the only known eukaryotic organism that lacks mitochondria-like organelles. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Farm Fields Release Carbon Mist during Rainstorms
Raindrops eject carbon-based blobs of soil material from wet fields, creating a mist of organic compounds above the soil. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Dragonflies Outmigrate Butterflies
Globe skimmer dragonflies migrate more than 15,000 kilometers, breeding with the locals as they travel and creating an interrelated global population. A dragonfly from Japan may have more in common with Guyanese dragonflies, genetically speaking, than its own Japanese cousins...
Feed Additive Squelches Ruminants' Methane Belches
A chemical compound can cut a cow's methane emissions by 30 percent—and help the animal get more energy from its food. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Photos Tagged as Art Linked to Rising Property Prices
Researchers found that neighborhoods with a higher proportion of Flickr photos tagged "art" saw a higher spike in property prices. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Traces of Pharmaceuticals Dwell in Wastewater-Grown Veggies
Volunteers who ate veggies grown in wastewater had higher (but still safe) levels of an epilepsy drug in their urine, compared with subjects who ate freshwater-grown veggies. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Lower Your Voice Pitch to Persuade
Study volunteers whose voices deepened during a group debate tended to be more influential and convincing. Christopher Intagliata reports.
This Primate's Calls Obey a Linguistic Law
The vocalizations of the gelada, a baboon relative, appear to follow a linguistic rule called Menzerath's law. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Microbots Get the Lead Out--of Wastewater
Millions of tiny graphene robots can propel themselves through wastewater and scavenge heavy metals. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Transforming Stem Cells into Diabetes Beaters
Pancreatic type beta cells produced from stem cells can sense glucose, release insulin and treat a mouse model of diabetes. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Choir Practice Could Lower Stress in Cancer Patients
A cancer center in the U.K. found that patients had significantly lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol after harmonizing for an hour. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Crater Bottoms Could Be Cradles of Martian Life
Four billion years ago asteroids and comets could have melted the Martian cryosphere, and started up hydrothermal springs—a potential hotspot for ancient microbial life. Christopher Intagliata reports...
Cellular Circuit Computes with DNA
Researchers have created what they call the first "programming language" for cells, which compiles code into a genetic circuit. Christopher Intagliata reports.
City Birds Outwit Country Counterparts
Birds that live in urban environments are brasher than rural birds, solve problems better and even have more robust immune systems. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Quasar Winds Clock In at a Fifth of Light Speed
Quasars can shape the evolution of their galaxies, by blasting 135-million-mph winds. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Smart Glass Goes from Clear to Cloudy in a Jolt
Researchers say their prototype is cheaper and easier to make than other smart glass, and since it's flexible and foldable, could be used for camouflage. Christopher Intagliata reports.
How to Count Bats without Looking at Them
Scientists found that counting bat sounds could be an accurate way to count them.
Bring a Musician to Untangle Cocktail Party Din
Musicians are better at separating out one meaningful audio stream from a combination, a skill that could help decipher a single conversation in a crowd. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Eavesdrop on Echolocation to Count Bats
Researchers created a model that can accurately predict a cave's bat populations using audio alone. Christopher Intagliata reports.
