SSS 2009-09-04

Some things are hard to remember. Others are hard to forgetespecially things that are traumatic. But kids, it turns out, are better than adults at forgetting the bad stuff. Now scientists think they know why. According to an animal study in the Septe

SSS 2009-09-08

When we lie, our brains work hard to make sure we get the story right and come off as truthful. Law enforcement officials try to tap into that effort, for example with polygraphs, to find out if a suspect is telling the truth. But such stress tests a

SSS 2009-09-09

To do a job right, you need the right tools. Even a chimp knows that. According to a study in the American Journal of Primatology, chimps in the Congo use multiple tools to capture army ants. Youve probably seen footage of chimps using sticks to harv

SSS 2009-09-10

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration [NOAA], spends most of its time trying to understand and predict changes in the environment, along with conserving and managing coastal and marine resources. But its scientific expertise also just made

SSS 2009-09-11

We humans love to decorate things. We wear flashy clothes, tie ribbons to suitcases and personalize the cases for our iPhones. And apparently weve had this tendency for a long, long time. More than thirty-four thousand years, to be exact. Harvard res

SSS 2009-09-14

If scientists have their way, we may someday be tapping maplesnot for pancake fixins, but for power. Because researchers from the University of Washington in Seattle have found theres enough electricity flowing in trees to run an electronic circuit.

SSS 2009-09-15

If youve ever been to a hairdresser, chances are youve found yourself scrambling for things to talk about as your locks are expertly coiffed. One common topic of discussion, at least for older Americans, is their health. Which leads social scientists

SSS 2009-09-16

Now, heres something you dont see every day: scientists cure color-blind monkeys. According to a report published online in the journal Nature, researchers have used gene therapy to allow color-blind squirrel monkeys to look at their fruit in a whole

SSS 2009-09-17

The early Earths oceans were home to a lot of interesting chemistry. Now scientists have found that amino acids thought to be present way back when could have been cooked into other compounds vital for lifean idea you should take with a grain of salt

SSS 2009-09-18

Species of plants, animals and other categories of living things are disappearing. And millions of people still live in extreme poverty. But is there a connection? For example, is the ongoing destruction of the Indonesian rainforest driven by the eco

SSS 2009-09-07

Can you hear the end of the daytime insect? Thats the cicada. But Im hearing crickets in the background too. And just listen for a second, listen to how many different sounds you can hear. Thats Allison Beall of the Marshlands Conservancy, a wildlife

SSS 2009-09-01

It sounds paradoxical, but in wealthy countries, there's nothing like a recession to boost the population's health. According to a report in the September 1st Canadian Medical Association Journal, when our paychecks get lighter, we do more than tight

SSS 2009-09-02

Music is known to make us happy, or calm, or sad. But do other animals respond to dulcet tones, as well? In studies, our primate cousins prefer silence to our music. But maybe we were playing the wrong tune. Psychologist Charles Snowdon and musician

SSS 2009-09-03

When crested pigeons spot a predator, they give a little whistle. But the sound doesnt come from their beaks. And according to a study published by The Royal Society, that whistle warns the rest of the flock to flee. Theres safety in numbers, and a f

SSS 2009-09-21

Youve heard of waterboarding used as a means to get suspected terrorists to talk. Some people object to such methods on the grounds that they amount to torture. But in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences, psychologist Shane OMara of Trinity Coll

SSS 2009-09-22

Scary music plays a key role in ramping up the fear factor in movies. The soundtrack has such an effect that I put my hands over my ears during the most frightening moments. Now researchers at Tel Aviv University report that scary music is even scari

SSS 2009-09-23

We all know that drinking can cloud judgment. Thats why you should never e-mail an ex after youve had a few. But for teenagers, doing dumb things now because of alcohol may be just the start. Because research with animals suggests that drinking durin

SSS 2009-09-24

For all you space buffs who like to keep track of where the water is, it looks like you can add our very own moon to your list. Because according to a trio of papers appearing in the journal Science, the lunar surface is wetter than we realized. Fort

SSS 2009-09-25

Every year, millions of monarch butterflies fly thousands of miles to alight in one specific forest in Mexico. How do they know what direction to flutter? Scientists had thought that an insect GPS system in their brains steered them in the right dire

SSS 2009-09-28

Ever get a ringing in your ears after a loud blast of music on your iPod? Thats one example of the usually temporary condition called tinnitus, the sensation of sound even when no sound is being produced. But a new inventioncreated by high school stu