Why do people and animals naturally favor one side over the other?
Most left-handers can rattle off a list of their eminent comrades-in-arms: Oprah Winfrey, Albert Einstein, and Barack Obama, just to name three, but they...
Proteins may prevent dysfunction and disease by relaxing
For many years, we thought that all proteins must fold into complicated shapes to fulfill their functions, looking like thousands of sets of custom-tailored...
Signs of life on Mars? Look for the element vanadium
The search for biology on neighbor planet Mars won't play out like a Hollywood movie starring little green men.
Rather, many scientists agree if there...
Ancient Easter Island inhabitants had early contact with Native Americans?
Maybe not.
Rapa Nui (Easter Island, Chile) has long been a source of intrigue and mystery.
How did such a small community of people build so...
Watching plant photosynthesis…from space
Researchers have developed a revolutionary new technique to image plant photosynthesis using satellite-based remote-sensing, with potential applications in climate change monitoring.
The uptake of carbon...
How yellow and blue make green in parrots
When it comes to spectacular displays of color, birds are obvious standouts in the natural world.
Many brightly colored birds get their pigments from the...
New target for treating “undruggable” lung cancer
Mutations in the KEAP1 gene could point the way to treating an aggressive form of lung cancer that is driven by “undruggable” mutations in...
Biologists identify possible new strategy for halting brain tumors
MIT biologists have discovered a fundamental mechanism that helps brain tumors called glioblastomas grow aggressively.
After blocking this mechanism in mice, the researchers were able...
Meditation and yoga can ‘reverse’ DNA reactions which cause stress
Mind-body interventions (MBIs) such as meditation, yoga and Tai Chi don't simply relax us.
They can 'reverse' the molecular reactions in our DNA which cause...
Life on Earth started after meteorites splashed into warm little ponds
Life on Earth began somewhere between 3.7 and 4.5 billion years ago, after meteorites splashed down and leached essential elements into warm little ponds,...