Evolution
Climate Change Likely Caused Polar Bear to Evolve Quickly
The sequencing of the oldest mammalian genome from an ancient polar bear jawbone provides clues about these animals' fraught relationship with climate change
News9553 articles archived since 1845
Space & Physics
Mars's Environment Shown to Be Hostile, but Not Untenable for Earthly Microbes
A test of bacterial survivability points to possible avenues for microbial survival on Mars, assuming life--and specifically Earth-like life--ever developed there
Technology
Could Mini Labs and Plant-Based Vaccines Stop the Next Pandemic?
Texas researchers are planning to use a combination of tobacco plants and podlike laboratories to speed the production of new vaccines
Evolution
Early Humans Used Brain Power, Innovation and Teamwork to Dominate the Planet
Scholars gathered to discuss how a unique combination of human traits helped our species survive to colonize the globe
Mind & Brain
Why Does Schizophrenia Appear in Young Adults?
Recent research explores the effects of a schizophrenia risk factor (DISC1) and its influence over the onset of the disease
Evolution
Cross-discipline Effort Tracks Evolution of Human Uniqueness and Modern Behavior
A panel of scientists challenges what it is to be distinctly human and retraces the evolutionary steps that bipedal apes made to attain human traits
Space & Physics
Wild Ride: Comet Sample May Help Constrain the Early Evolution of the Solar System
A particle from Comet Wild 2, returned to Earth by the Stardust spacecraft, appears to have led a long and migratory life
Policy
Internet Ideology War: Google's Spat with China Could Reshape Traditional Online Freedoms
How the Internet giant could use its might in closed societies
The Sciences
Wired Waters: Bacterial Electric Circuits Facilitate Chemistry in Marine Sediments
Biological nanowires link electrochemical processes more than a centimeter apart
Biology
Test-Tube Babies May Face Greater Health Risks Than Naturally Conceived Children
Research shows that children born with the help of reproductive technology might be at a higher risk for genetic defects leading to chronic disorders
The Sciences
Making Scents of Sounds: Noises May Alter How We Perceive Odors
The neural basis for "smound" may have been uncovered
Environment
Waiting to Inhale: Deep-Ocean Low-Oxygen Zones Spreading to Shallower Coastal Waters
Oxygen-deprived areas in the world's oceans usually found in deeper water are moving up to offshore areas and threatening coastal marine ecosystems by spurring the die-off of some species and overpopulation of others...
Evolution
Same Species, Polar Opposites: The Mystery of Identical Creatures Found in both Arctic and Antarctic Waters [Slide Show]
How exactly did identical marine species come to inhabit both the north and south polar regions?
Biology
No Sex Needed: All-Female Lizard Species Cross Their Chromosomes to Make Babies
These southwestern lizards' asexual reproduction is no longer a secret
Space & Physics
Kepler Spacecraft May Be Able to Spot Elusive Oort Cloud Objects
A reservoir of comets deep in the outer reaches of the solar system has so far escaped direct detection
Technology
Germany Floats New Plans to Keep Hydrogen-Powered Cars in the World's Transportation Mix
The German government has big goals for vehicles running on hydrogen fuel cells. But can their model translate to the U.S. market?
Technology
In a Hurry? New Battery Recharging System Promises Quicker Turnaround for Plug-In Hybrid Vehicles
Oak Ridge National Lab researchers have come up with a fast-charging prototype drive system. But is the technology ahead of its time?
Evolution
Archbishop Tutu Gets Sequenced--And Finds a Surprise in His Ancestry
The richness of the African gene pool is demonstrated by decoding DNA from the anti-apartheid activist and several Bushmen hunter-gatherers
Space & Physics
Blast Off: Unsettled Mechanism of Supernova Detonation Gets a New Twist
Type Ia supernovae, often used to calibrate cosmological measurements, may arise from merging white dwarfs, after all
The Sciences
Tutankhamen's Familial DNA Tells Tale of Boy Pharaoh's Disease and Incest
New insight into the fragile pharaoh's family tree shows intrafamilial marriage, and royal lives cursed by malarial infections and bodily defects
