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Drug-resistant mutant bacteria produce compounds called indoles that can protect large numbers of nonresistant colony mates. New treatment strategies should follow. Steve Mirsky reports
The remains of what may be the earliest known group feast have been identified in northern Israel. Cynthia Graber reports
Artificial lighting, despite huge efficiency improvements, has cost a constant percentage of GDP for three centuries. Christopher Intagliata reports.
Recent hearing tests on teens show an increase in hearing loss over the last generation, possibly as a result of increased earbud use
A study concludes that including actual statin drugs with high-fat restaurant meals is a justifiable public health effort. Karen Hopkin reports
Mice were trained to identify feces from bird flu-infected ducks by smell. Cynthia Graber reports
Drinking 16 ounces of water before meals helped a group of dieters lose more weight than other dieters who didn't consume water first
Solar panels that can shake off their dust off via a self-generated electric pulse keep soaking in maximal rays. Cynthia Graber reports
People laugh at situations involving a moral violation, if the situation is minor or unconnected to the listener. Molly Webster reports
Study subjects who thought most people were basically honest were better at spotting liars than were subjects who had a dimmer view of their fellow man. Karen Hopkin reports
A new medical atlas, called This Wormy World, will document the best knowledge of the locations and varieties of parasitic worm infections, which should lead to better treatment allocation. Cynthia Graber reports
A survey finds that most people think cutting back on activities is better for energy savings than efficiency improvements. They're wrong. Karen Hopkin reports
In a case of what's called "apparent competition," invasive beach grass is indirectly hurting a native lupine species in California by providing cover for mice that eat the lupine's seeds. Steve Mirsky reports
Pouring champagne down the side of a tilted glass, beer style, reduces carbon dioxide loss and retains more flavor, compared with a pour straight down to the glass bottom. Christopher Intagliata reports
People who can sleep through loud noises have more short bursts of fast brain waves, which may block the external sounds. Karen Hopkin reports
Fossilized bones that show evidence of human ancestor stone tool use and meat-eating push the earliest dates for those activities from about 2.5 million to 3.4 million years ago. Steve Mirsky reports
By "playing" with her tongue stud for years, a woman slowly forced open a gap between two front teeth. Cynthia Graber reports
Male blue whales off California produce the same note, four octaves below middle C, perhaps as a mating beacon to females. Christopher Intagliata reports
Transgenic canola plants in North Dakota found a way to leave the farm and apparently reproduce off-site, leading to individuals with multiple transgenes. Molly Webster reports
Frog census volunteers misinterpreted recorded frog sounds in the field, leading researchers to suspect that frog populations may be even lower than thought. Cynthia Graber reports
Rats with high blood pressure benefited from a long-term diet rich in capsaicin, which gives the heat to hot peppers and starts a chemical sequence that relaxes blood vessels. Adam Hinterthuer reports
Male and female actors gave physics lectures to college students. All students thought the males were more knowledgeable. And whereas female students gave a a slight nod to women teachers, male students thought male teachers were vastly better. Cynthia Graber reports
The Mars rover Spirit has long surpassed its planned three-month mission, and appears to be virtually powerless. Researchers still hope that once the Martian days lengthen, the rover's batteries may charge up to the point where communication again becomes possible
High-end goods with recognizable logos may signal to the less affluent that you have some money, but also to the wealthy that you're not one of them. Karen Hopkin reports
The evolutionary development of the neck allowed more freely moving forelimbs, which allowed further evolution of the head and hands. Karen Hopkin reports
People with a particular variant of a dopamine receptor were more likely to drink more after watching other people drink heavily. Karen Hopkin reports
People initially expect to learn a new skill easily, then become overly pessimistic when reality sets in. Cynthia Graber reports
Frogs from an ancient lineage reveal that the amphibians developed the ability to jump before they had mastered landing. Cynthia Graber reports.
A hypervelocity star appears to be the remains of a three-star system, one star of which was digested by the Milky Way's black hole, with the other two being combined and hurled away. Cynthia Graber reports
A caterpillar's guts move forward first, followed by its outer body, according to x-ray studies of the insects walking on a treadmill. Molly Webster reports
The higher temperatures of the tropics may be less of a factor in promoting biodiversity than is the constancy of those temperatures. Steve Mirsky reports
Two studies of perception: the retinas of depressed people are far worse at responding to contrast; people doubt statements more when the speaker has a foreign accent. Steve Mirsky reports.
A study of all injuries resulting in Major League Baseball players being put on the disabled list finds that most injuries occur before the All-Star break, and that pitchers are more at risk than non-pitchers. Steve Mirsky reports
A planet called HD 209458 b, aka Osiris, orbits its star so closely that it is losing some of its atmosphere to the stellar wind. It may thus have a cometary tail. Steve Mirsky reports
M.I.T. researchers have developed a piezoelectric fiber that would react to electric currents and have the potential to record or produce audio. Cynthia Graber reports
A survey of 2,000 physicians finds a third don't report fellow docs who do a bad job. Cynthia Graber reports
Pathogens with added genes from Arctic bacteria could serve as vaccines that elicit an immune response before getting cooked in our warm bodies. Cynthia Graber reports
A study in Israel found that politicians who were rated as having good looks got more television coverage than plainer Jameses. Karen Hopkin reports
Residents tended to stay thinner when a commuter train was added to their region, because of increased exercise walking to and from stops. Cynthia Graber reports
Fish raised in the more acidic seawater that would result from higher carbon dioxide levels forget to flee predators. Christopher Intagliata reports
Local college football wins before elections upped incumbents' vote totals, and college basketball wins influenced presidential ratings. Karen Hopkin reports
Mathematical modeling shows viability of a motorcycle that could run on compressed air. Karen Hopkin reports
A half-hour delay in school start time led 201 Rhode Island high school students to be better behaved and happier. Cynthia Graber reports
Ostrich wings, in addition to use in display and thermoregulation, let the giant birds make subtle, quick movements. Which could help researchers better understand the behavior of bipedal dinosaurs. Cynthia Graber reports
In a correlational study lower average regional intelligence was found to be linked with higher infectious disease rates. Perhaps because the metabolic demands of the brain are great and resources are diverted to fight disease. Karen Hopkin reports
Computer simulations show that stars of the Milky Way's halo originated in older galaxies torn apart by collisions. Cynthia Graber reports
Soccer penalty kickers wearing motion sensors revealed that subtle body cues can give away which side of the net they're shooting for. Karen Hopkin reports
A CDC study of 4,000 adults found that more than 90 percent ate more sodium than recommended levels. Cynthia Graber reports.
Portions of the San Andreas fault seem to self-lubricate with a clay layer that's deposited by fluid seeping through cracks opened by fault movement. Christopher Intagliata reports
Mice with a genetic predisposition to get a Crohn's-like disease were kept healthy until exposed to a virus that apparently triggers the condition. Karen Hopkin reports
Astrophysicists put the upper limit of the mass of the neutrino at 0.28 electron volt, based on the distribution of galaxies according to the 3-D Mega Z map. Steve Mirsky reports
A small study finds that C-section babies pick up different microbial starter communities than do babies delivered vaginally. Karen Hopkin reports
An average-looking man's chances of getting women's phone numbers after flirting doubled when the women had just heard romantic music. Cynthia Graber reports
A 4 percent decrease in forest was associated with a nearly 50 percent rise in malaria cases in western Brazil. Christopher Intagliata reports
Soccer generates fewer performance statistics than does a sport such as baseball. A network analysis approach enables researchers to gauge the value of individual players. Cynthia Graber reports
Study subjects were able to accurately assess men's physical strength based only on listening to them speak. Karen Hopkin reports
A reanalysis of samples brought back from the moon makes researchers think the magma that gave rise to moon rocks may have contained water, and that water may still exist under the moon's surface. Karen Hopkin reports
Subjects consistently misjudge the dimensions of their own hidden hand, with the less sensitive hand regions being the site of the largest errors. Karen Hopkin reports
Players in the World Cup soccer tournament, now underway in South Africa, will have to contend with low oxygen levels at high altitude--and with a new ball, which its scientist creators say is the roundest one ever. Steve Mirsky reports
Spectroscopic analysis of vodkas finds that brands differ in the clustering of ethanol molecules in cages of water molecules, which could account in part for customer preferences. Karen Hopkin reports
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