The Sciences
Not Just for Fuel Anymore: Hydrocarbons Can Superconduct, Too
Potassium atoms interspersed into crystals of the organic compound picene yields superconductivity at relatively high temperatures
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Technology
Next-Gen Scientists Honored for Evolving Medicine and Renewables [Slide Show]
Artificial antibodies, 3-D genome imaging, inexpensive prosthetics, a liner for hydrogen-car fuel tanks--winning ideas from the Lemelson-M.I.T. awards for students
The Sciences
A Common Herbicide Turns Some Male Frogs into Females
One of the mostly widely used weed killers, atrazine, may be disrupting male frogs' sexual development--even reversing it
Mind & Brain
No Implants Needed: Movement-Generating Brain Waves Detected and Decoded Outside the Head
New research holds promise for a noninvasive brain-computer interface that allows mental control over computers and prosthetics
The Sciences
Down the Hatch(ling): Nest-Raiding Snake Gulped Newborn Titanosaurs
A rare set of fossils suggests that snakes preyed on the largest animals to have ever walked the Earth when they were at their most vulnerable
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
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
