=
EXCLUSIVES =
CONTENTS
-
Brain
study explores why yawning is contagious
-
Studies
back tale that banished children founded tribe
-
Possible
dinosaur-bird missing link found
-
Wired
for war?
-
Celebrity
obsession may have evolutionary roots
-
Strangers'
pain hurts us, researchers find
-
Newly
studied form of racism seems incurable
-
Telescope
could pick up alien TV
-
Evolution's
tricky shortcuts
-
Obesity
genes spreading?
-
Foods'
nutritional value may be dropping
-
Why
babies are abandoned
-
A
new
look
at
the
evolution
of
spite
-
Universe
may
be
revealing
its
shape
-
World's
first
villagers
suffered
a
"garbage
crisis"?
-
Common
heart
defect
may
create
slight
risk
of
stroke
during
sex
-
"Mass
hysteria"
alive
and
well,
researchers
say
-
In
USA,
"the
longer
you
stay,
the
bigger
you
get"
-
Did
fossils
inspire
ancient
flood
myths?
-
Monkeys
may
make
"comments"
-
Secrets
of
"wannabe
eunuchs"
-
Brain flexibility, not size, gave us our intelligence, researchers say
-
More than a month after smoking pot, users
have abnormal brain
patterns
-
Want
sex?
Take
a
number
-
"Indirect
aggression"
in
media
may
harm
us
-
"Virus" vaccines may create new,
worse
diseases: researchers
-
In
new
solar
system
theories,
little
room
for
other
"Earths"
-
In
insect
societies,
order
through
discipline
|
|
|
Why
is yawning contagious?
A new brain-scanning study has heightened the mystery, turning up
intriguing clues but no
answer.
|
|
Studies
back
tale that banished children founded tribe
Banished children survived in a southeast Asian jungle, it is said, to
found the area’s only hunter- gatherer tribe.
|
|
Possible dinosaur-bird missing link found
It’s not the first bird-like dinosaur fossil ever unearthed — but it is the closest yet
found to the actual dinosaur ancestor of birds, researchers say.
|
|
Of
monkeys, stargazing and autism
Obsession with celebrities may have
a distinguished evolutionary pedigree, and investigating it could
shed light on autism, a study suggests.
|
|
Wired for war?
Mounting reports of gang-style killings among our closest ape relatives are fueling
a controversial theory that war is rooted in our biology.
|
|
Telescope could
eavesdrop on alien TV
An enormous new telescope should be able to pick up TV
and radar signals from far-off worlds, scientists say.
|
|
Newly
studied form of racism seems incurable
Many or most people are willing to
give up blatant racism. But a subtle form of it seems impossible
to renounce.
|
|
The
pain of strangers hurts us, study finds
The finding could enliven an old
debate—is altruism real or a self-indulgent fiction?—and
lead to future studies to learn whether animals feel empathy.
|
|
Evolution’s
tricky shortcuts
Organisms may sometimes tame
“invader” genes and redirect
them to their own uses.
|
~
Spotlight on FOOD ~
|
Are
“obesity genes” spreading?
Eating too much might not be the only reason we’re getting
fatter, researchers say.
|
Not
the broccoli your mom told you to eat
Many important foods may have been
losing nutritional value thanks to modern farming practices,
researchers say.
|
Why
babies are abandoned
By studying animals,
scientists are trying to understand the roots of a horrifying
practice. A key factor may be mothers’
inexperience, they find.
|
The
evolution
of
spite
Researchers
are
taking
a
new
look
at
how
one
of
our
most
seemingly
irrational
tendencies
evolved.
Surprise:
it
might
not
be
that
irrational.
|
Is
the
universe
revealing
its
shape?
New
evidence
suggests
the
shape
may
be
a
bizarre
form
of
a
dodecahedron,
a
12-sided
object.
|
“Garbage
crisis”
may
have
afflicted
world’s
first
villagers
The
first
people
to
settle
in
villages
apparently
gave
little
thought
to
what
to
do
with
their
trash.
So
they
lived
in
it.
|
Common
heart
defect
may
create
slight
risk
of
stroke
during
sex
About
one
in
five
people
have
the
defect.
For
an
unlucky
few
of
them,
an
orgasm
might
be
a
prelude
to
a
hospital
stay.
|
“Mass
hysteria”
is
alive
and
well,
researchers
say
In
medieval
times,
when
whole
groups
of
people
started
acting
oddly,
someone
would
end
up
at
the
stake.
Today
the
phenomenon
meets
with
more
compassion,
but
the
same
befuddlement. |
In
U.S.A.,
“the
longer
you
stay,
the
bigger
you
get”
Researchers
have
found
it
doesn’t
take
long
for
immigrants
in
the
country
to
start
putting
on
weight,
like
other
Americans. |
Monkeys
may
make
“comments,”
researchers
say
Their
communication
abilities
turn
out
to
be
unexpectedly
complex. |
Did
fossils
inspire
ancient
flood
myths?
Many
ancient
and
modern
cultures
have
creation
myths
involving
a
great
flood.
A
physicist
has
proposed
a
new
explanation
of
why. |
The
secrets
of
“wannabe
eunuchs”
A
surprising
number
of
men
want
to
be
castrated.
The
body-piercing
fad
may
be
influencing
some
of
them,
say
researchers
studying
the
phenomenon.
|
Brain
flexibility,
not
size,
gave
us
our
intelligence,
researchers
say
Good
genes
may
have
enabled
humans
to
develop
a
“complex
symbolic
culture,”
which
in
turn
pressured
us
to
develop
better
genes. |
More
than
a
month
after
smoking
pot,
users
may
have
abnormal
brain
patterns
The
study
may
come
as
a
relief
to
marijuana
opponents,
who
previously
had
been
faced
with
a
series
of
studies
suggesting
the
drug
is
relatively
harmless. |
Want
sex?
Take
a
number Animals
such
as
clownfish, in seeming violation of every
normal
instinct, patiently
wait
to
become
leaders
of
their
group
before
breeding.
Researchers are learning why this might be. |
"Indirect
aggression"
in
media
may
harm
us,
researchers
say We
all
know
that
watching
people
killing
each
other
on
TV
is
supposed
to
be
bad
for
us.
But
what
about
people
being
just
plain
mean
on
TV? |
New theories
on
solar
systems
may have little room for other
"Earths" New theories may be needed to explain how
the
known
solar systems beyond our own formed, and
the
theories may
dampen hopes for
“Earth-like”
planets
there,
researchers
say. |
"Virus"
vaccines
may
create
new
and
worse
diseases,
researchers
warn Some
vaccines, intended to prevent disease, may
create new and more dangerous
ones. |
In
insect
societies,
order
through
discipline Wasps
seem
to
“discipline”
each
other
for
not
working
hard
enough. |
|