Podcast
Space Research Update: the 11-year solar storm cycle returns, the MESSENGER spacecraft reports back from Mercury, and the search for intelligent life in the universe continues with the help of your computer. Also: Unique animal and plant adaptations.
This week's web links:
Space Weather Network: www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN;
Latest MESSENGER photographs of Mercury: messenger.jhuapl.edu;
Sign up for SETI@Home: setiathome.berkeley.edu
Animal Grandparents
Researchers scientifically document grandparenting behavior in animals for the first time.
Blind Cave Fish
Breeding blind cave fish from different populations results in offspring that can see.
Podcast
Brain Pathways: Why we shiver, blind people who still sense light, and brain chemicals and intelligence.
Behind Shivering
Shivering is triggered through a separate pathway from conscious cold perception, according to new research.
Animal Roundup
Squirrels foil their predators by making themselves smell less like squirrels and more like their predators.
Virtual Surgery
Digitally simulated patients may take some of the guesswork out of surgery.
Wavering Warblers
Scientists have discovered surprising geographical variation in what some female songbirds find attractive in a mate.
Sexy Fruit Flies
In a species of fruit fly, a male's attractiveness to the opposite sex gets passed from one generation to the next.
Podcast
Genes and the Brain: What mice can tell us about cocaine addiction and our ability to tell hot from cold. Plus: could a gene contribute to poor judgment?
Cocaine-resistant Mice
Mice lacking a single receptor in the brain don't become dependent on cocaine.
Learning from Mistakes
A genetic variation may impair one's ability to avoid dangerous choices.
Animal Storm Detection
A listener asks: Can animals sense natural disasters before they happen?
Podcast
Evolution Special: The history of dogs, butterflies vs. cabbages and the world's largest scorpion. Plus: Could there be life two miles beneath Antarctica?
Butterfly Co-Evolution
Plants of the cabbage family evolved a toxic herbicide to ward off pests. But some insects evolved a way around it.
Vostok Ice
Million-year-old ice samples from Antarctica contain genetically fascinating microorganisms.
Podcast
Science or Nonsense? Science confronts alternative medicine and vaccine myths. Also: Can we learn anything from violent video games?
Protein Pathways Roundup
Scientists identify a protein that blocks nerve regeneration.
Podcast
Future Survival: A vaccine for antibacterial-resistant staph infections, future crops use space-age technology, and growing green roofs
Staphylococcus Vaccine
A new vaccine for staph infections could reduce the problem of antibiotic resistance.
DNA Music Roundup
DNA is more than just an instruction manual for life. In fact, genes may actually function more like a well-orchested symphony.