The Power of Nothing
Could studying the placebo effect change the way we think about medicine?
The Power of Nothing
Could studying the placebo effect change the way we think about medicine?
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What ever happened to the Goldilocks planet? It was big news back in September 2010 when a group led by Steven S. Vogt of the University of California, Santa Cruz, and R. Paul Butler of the Carnegie Institution for Science said they had discovered a small planet circling a small red star in the constellation…
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The common sundew drosera rotundifolia grows in rain-fed bogs across much of northern Europe. These habitats have few nutrients, so the plant needs to boost its nitrogen intake by trapping midges and other insects with its sticky leaves. But human activities involving burning fossil fuels for transport and industry have greatly increased levels of nitrogen…
Cracked Wheat: Scientists Make Inroads Into Wheat Genome
A consortium of scientists announced they had made major progress in deciphering the genome of bread wheat, a vital crop whose DNA is notoriously complex. Publishing in the journal Nature, they said they had analysed between 94,000 and 96,000 genes in bread wheat (Triticum aestivum). The plant’s genome is nearly five times as big as…
Of Mice and Melodies
Singing mice (Scotinomys teguina) are not your average lab rats. Their fur is tawny brown instead of the common white albino strain; they hail from the tropical cloud forests in the mountains of Costa Rica; and, as their name hints, they use song to communicate. University of Texas at Austin researcher Steven Phelps is examining…
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New Brain Gene Gives Us Edge Over Apes
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