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Castaway Lizards Offer New Look At Evolutionary Processes
From Today's Issue
Biologists who released lizards on tiny uninhabited islands in the Bahamas have uncovered a seldom-observed interaction between evolutionary processes. They found that the lizards' genetic and morphological (form and structural) traits were determined by both natural selection and a phenomenon called the founder effect.
New Species Of Ancient Crocodile Discovered
From the 02.02.12 Issue
Researchers have identified a new species of prehistoric crocodile. The extinct creature, nicknamed "Shieldcroc" due to a thick-skinned shield on its head, is an ancestor of today's crocodiles. Its discovery provides scientists with additional information about the evolution of crocodiles and how scientists can gain insight into ways to protect the species' environment and help prevent extinction.
Addicts' Cravings Have Different Roots In Men And Women
From the 02.01.12 Issue
A new brain imaging study suggests stress robustly activates areas of the brain associated with craving in cocaine-dependent women, while drug cues activate similar brain regions in cocaine-dependent men. The study suggests men and women with cocaine dependence might benefit more from different treatment options.
Astronomers Solve Mystery Of Vanishing Electrons
From the 01.31.12 Issue
Researchers have explained the puzzling disappearing act of energetic electrons in Earth's outer radiation belt, using data collected from a fleet of orbiting spacecraft. The study shows that the missing electrons are swept away from the planet by a tide of solar wind particles during periods of heightened solar activity.
Researchers Show How New Viruses Evolve, And In Some Cases, Become Deadly
From the 01.30.12 Issue
Researchers have demonstrated how a new virus evolves, shedding light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations. The scientists showed for the first time how the virus called "Lambda" evolved to find a new way to attack host cells, an innovation that took four mutations to accomplish. This virus infects bacteria, in particular the common E. coli bacterium.
Overgrazed Grasslands Tied To Locust Outbreaks
From the 01.27.12 Issue
Scientists find insect nutrition and agricultural land management practices may partially explain modern day locust outbreaks.During an outbreak year, locusts can populate over 20 percent of the Earth's land surface, negatively affecting more than 60 countries and the livelihood of one out of every 10 people.
Scientists Discover New Clue To The Chemical Origins Of Life
From the 01.26.12 Issue
Organic chemists have made a significant advance toward establishing the origin of the sugars that form the building blocks of life (Sugars are carbohydrates, but not all carbohydrates are sugars.)
Ancient Dinosaur Nursery Oldest Nesting Site Yet Found
From the 01.25.12 Issue
An excavation at a site in South Africa has unearthed a 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus--revealing significant clues about the evolution of complex reproductive behavior in early dinosaurs.
Physicists Use Ion Beams To Detect Art Forgery
From the 01.24.12 Issue
Nuclear physicists are using accelerated ion beams to pinpoint the age and origin of material used in pottery, painting, metalwork and other art. The results of their tests can serve as powerful forensic tools to reveal counterfeit art work, without the destruction of any sample as required in some chemical analysis.
Research Finds That 2011 Is The Ninth-Warmest Year On Record
From the 01.23.12 Issue
The global average surface temperature in 2011 was the ninth warmest since 1880, according to scientists. The finding continues a trend in which nine of the 10 warmest years in the modern meteorological record have occurred since the year 2000.
Ancient Popcorn Discovered In Peru
From the 01.20.12 Issue
New research uncovers that people living along the coast of Peru were eating popcorn 1,000 years earlier than previously reported and before ceramic pottery was used there. Some of the oldest known corncobs, husks, stalks and tassels, dating from 6,700 to 3,000 years ago were found at Paredones and Huaca Prieta, two mound sites on Peru's arid northern coast.
Evidence Of Past Southern Hemisphere Rainfall Cycles Related To Antarctic Temperatures
From the 01.19.12 Issue
Geoscientists find the first evidence that warm-cold climate oscillations well known in the Northern Hemisphere over the most recent glacial period also appear as tropical rainfall variations in the Amazon Basin of South America. It is the first clear expression of these cycles in the Southern Hemisphere.
Biologists Replicate Key Evolutionary Step In Life On Earth
From the 01.18.12 Issue
More than 500 million years ago, single-celled organisms on Earth's surface began forming multi-cellular clusters that ultimately became plants and animals. Just how that happened is a question that has eluded evolutionary biologists.
Researchers Discover Particle Which Could 'Cool The Planet'
From the 01.17.12 Issue
Scientists have shown that a newly detected molecule in the earth's atmosphere has the potential to play a significant role in off-setting global warming by cooling the planet. The researchers report that these highly reactive chemical species--called Criegee intermediates--could potentially have revolutionary effects on Earth's climate.
Evolution Is Written All Over Your Face
From the 01.13.12 Issue
Biologists working as "evolutionary detectives" studied the faces of 129 adult male primates from Central and South America, and found that the faces they studied evolved over at least 24 million years.
Researcher Discovers World's Tiniest Vertebrate
From the 01.12.12 Issue
Two new species of frogs were recently discovered in New Guinea, one of which is now the world's tiniest known vertebrate, averaging only 7.7 millimeters in size--less than one-third of an inch. It ousts Paedocypris progenetica, an Indonesian fish averaging more than 8 millimeters, from the record.
Researchers Team Up to Pinpoint Black Hole's Outburst
From the 01.11.12 Issue
Astronomers have gained an important clue about a ubiquitous cosmic process by pinpointing the exact moment when gigantic "bullets" of fast-moving material were launched from the region surrounding a black hole.
Global Warming Caused By Greenhouse Gases Delays Natural Patterns Of Glaciation
From the 01.10.12 Issue
A recent study found that unprecedented levels of greenhouse gases in the Earth's atmosphere are disrupting normal patterns of glaciations. Current levels of carbon dioxide are trapping too much heat in the atmosphere to allow the Earth to cool as it has in its prehistoric past in response to changes in Earth's orbital pattern. The research team said their data indicate that the next ice age will likely be delayed by tens of thousands of years.
Graphene Rips Follow Rules
From the 01.09.12 Issue
Research may give science and industry a new way to manipulate graphene, the wonder material expected to play a role in advanced electronic, mechanical and thermal applications.
Prehistoric Predators With Supersized Teeth Had Beefier Arm Bones
From the 01.06.12 Issue
A combination of colossal canines and forceful forelimbs arose in different saber-toothed predators repeatedly over time. This killer combination gave them an advantage when catching and killing prey.
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