This week, a presidential bioethics commission took up a burning new issue in science:…
Continue reading about Bioethics Council Hears Pleas for More Oversight of Synthetic Biology
Listen to a roundup of some of our favorite stories from the week
Underwater noise could help researchers “see” temperature and ecological changes
In a fascinating example of vocal mimicry, researchers have documented a wild cat species imitating the call of its intended victim: a small, squirrel-sized monkey known as a pied tamarin. This is the first recorded instance of a wild cat species in the Americas mimicking the calls of its prey.
Scientists in Germany have demonstrated how the brain’s own stem cells and precursor cells control the growth of glioblastomas. Of all brain tumors, glioblastomas are among the most common and most aggressive. They have now shown in cell culture and mouse model experiments just how the body’s own protective mechanism they identified in an earlier [...]
Continue reading about Neural stem cells attack glioblastoma cells
A sophisticated new analysis of team tactics predicts a Spanish win in Sunday’s FIFA World Cup final and also shows why England were beaten by Germany.
Continue reading about Mathematical formula predicts clear favorite for the FIFA World Cup
Patients with a certain type of scleroderma may get cancer and scleroderma simultaneously, researchers have found, suggesting that in some diseases, autoimmunity and cancer may be linked.
Continue reading about Study suggests link between scleroderma, cancer in certain patients
California’s San Andreas fault is notorious for repeatedly generating major earthquakes and for being on the brink of producing the next “big one” in a heavily populated area. But the famously violent fault also has quieter sections, where rocks easily slide against each other without giving rise to damaging quakes.
New research in Names: A Journal of Onomastics has found that people’s names can influence the type of career they take.
Continue reading about What do you want to be when you grow up, Mr. Doctor?
One of the most pivotal steps in evolution — the transition from unicellular to multicellular organisms — may not have required as much retooling as commonly believed, scientists have found. A comparison of the genomes of the multicellular algae Volvox carteri and its closest unicellular relative Chlamydomonas reinhardtii revealed that multicellular organisms may have been [...]
Continue reading about Origins of multicellularity: All in the family