SSS 2009-11-10

What you eat affects more than physical health. Two new studies have added to the growing evidence linking the stomach and the brain. In a report in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers studied how junk food can trigger ad

SSS 2009-11-11

This book stinks! is really a bad review. But even a classic work can start to smell when it gets old enough. Now chemists have developed a technique that identifies what kind of degradation process an old book or historical document is going through

SSS 2009-11-12

We all love getting something new. But then we have to move around our current clutter to find a place for it. Well, looks like things work the same way in the brain. Because according to a study published in the journal Cell, newborn neurons in the

SSS 2009-11-13

Algae seem harmless enough. These precursors to plants thrive throughout the world's waters. But these single-celled plants have global consequences. We can thank them for oxygen in the atmosphere, oil in the lithosphere as well as dead zones in the

SSS 2009-11-16

It seemed like a good ideabecause rivers and ponds in Bangladesh were contaminated with bacteria, Bangladeshis switched to wells. But soon after, in the early 80s, researchers realized those wells were harming Bangladeshis with a new poisonarsenic. T

SSS 2009-11-17

November 24th marks the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's Origin of Species. On November 19th, a guy named Ray Comfort, who does not accept evolution, will celebrate the fact that when copyrights expire and works enter the public domai

SSS 2009-11-18

You've probably heard the expression a heart attack on a plate. Maybe its fettuccini alfredo. Or maybe its a bacon cheeseburger, covered in batter and deep fried to artery-clogging perfection. Either way, it's clear that our modern diet is not always

SSS 2009-12-01

Most psychotherapists would agree that depression is anger and sadness that has been repressed. And it can lead to a state where the afflicted feel there is nothing they can do to change their own situation. A hopelessness emerges. Well, another key

SSS 2008-04-07

This is scientific Americans 60-Second Science, I am Karen Hopkin, this will just take a minute. Time for another episode of those amazing alligators. On March 14th, we told you how gators use their lungs to steer through the water. Now, Louisiana bi

SSS 2009-12-03

Which came first, black holes or galaxies? Its been a bit of a conundrum for astrophysicists. Black holes are known to devour matter, but did they arise before or after, the galaxies in which they exist? Now, scientists say it looks like the black ho

SSS 2009-12-04

We usually think of evolution as something that happens over eons, in remote places where people rarely venture. Not something that happens around the backyard birdfeeder in just a few decades. But a study in the journal Current Biology suggests that

SSS 2009-12-07

Its like the publishing version of one of those scenes from a sci-fi movie where an alien invasion impels traditional adversaries to join together to face their larger, common threat. Today 56 newspapers, in Pakistan and India, in Israel and Lebanon,

SSS 2009-12-08

Cup of coffee after a night on the town to sober up? Well, a mouse study finds that caffeine does not counter the intoxicating effects of alcohol. It merely masks the inebriation, which could lead to poor decisions. Because drinkers might think theyv

SSS 2008-01-14

This is Scientific Americans' 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin . This'll just take a minute. If I ask you to picture someone who recycles, you might come up with an image of an idealistic young nature lover, someone who has the time and energy to

SSS 2008-01-15

This is Scientific Americans' 60-Second Science. I'm Cynthia Graber . This'll just take a minute. You think we enjoy something based on its intrinsic qualities. Food should taste good because its molecules tickle our tongues. But it's much more compl

SSS 2008-01-18

This is Scientific Americans' 60-Second Science. I'm Steve Mirsky. Got a minute? Gonna watch the NFL Conference Championship games on Sunday? Youll see evidence for a new finding: aggression is rewarding. In what scientists from Vanderbilt University

SSS 2008-02-01

This is Scientific Americans' 60-Second Science. I am Cynthia Graber. This'll just take a minute. Air pollution is bad for our health, but scientists say we don't know much about the long-term effects. So researchers in Canada and the Netherlands dec

SSS 2008-02-04

This is Scientific Americans' 60-Second Science. I'm Chelsea Wald. Got a minute? Vinaigrette dressing: when you shake it little vinegar droplets scatter through the oil, but when you put it down, the droplets merge and the dressing separates. That's

SSS 2008-02-05

This is Scientific Americans' 60-Second Science. Im Cynthia Graber. Thisll just take a minute. When is an ant like a piece of fruit? When its infected by a parasite. Researchers affiliated with the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute discovered t

SSS 2008-02-06

This is Scientific Americans' 60-second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin. This will just take a minute. When you have an itch nothing feels better than a good scratch. Now scientists from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center think they know why. Th