Chronic asthma could be caused by cell overcrowding in the airways
Despite a wealth of available treatments to control the symptoms of chronic asthma, the lung disease has no cure. The…
50 years ago, phantom pain was blamed on misfiring nerves
Physiology of the phantom limb — Science News, May 11, 1974 Nearly everybody who has had a leg or arm…
A weaker magnetic field may have paved the way for marine life to go big
Earth’s magnetic field protects life from harmful cosmic radiation. But sometime between about 590 million and 565 million years ago,…
Getting wild mosquitoes back to the lab alive takes a custom backpack
This backpack isn’t typical hiking gear. Look inside and instead of water and snacks, you’ll see swarms of mosquitoes. Molecular…
NASA’s budget woes put ambitious space research at risk
Dreams of exploring the cosmos have crashed up against the harsh reality of budget cuts in the United States. Congressional…
This snake goes to extremes to play dead — and it appears to pay off
To avoid becoming a meal, some animals simply fake it until they make it. And fake deaths with several unappealing…
Lampreys have ‘fight or flight’ cells, challenging ideas about nervous system evolution
With terrifyingly sharp teeth arranged around a circular mouth, lampreys look about as primitive a vertebrate as you could imagine.…
As the Arctic tundra warms, soil microbes likely will ramp up CO2 production
Climate change is warming the Arctic tundra about four times faster than the rest of the planet. Now, a study…
Online spaces may intensify teens’ uncertainty in social interactions
Deciphering other people’s thoughts and feelings tends to generate considerable uncertainty. In a conversation, for instance, how does one know…
Want to see butterflies in your backyard? Try doing less yardwork
Making the world safer for butterflies can be as easy as doing a bit of nothing. Letting some part of…
