All Stories by Carolyn Gramling
- Earth
Uncharted Territory
Ultraslow-spreading undersea ridges are giving oceanographers fresh insights into how Earth's crust forms.
- Earth
Still Standing: Tsunamis won’t wash away Maldives atolls
The December 2004 tsunami had little geological impact on the seemingly fragile coral-reef islands of the Maldives archipelago.
- Materials Science
The art of the fold
With DNA origami, researchers can make complex nanostructures.
- Earth
Vesuvius’ Shadow: A major volcanic blast could threaten Naples
When Italy's Mount Vesuvius begins to rumble again, nearby Naples may be in danger.
- Health & Medicine
Low-protein diet boosts treatment
A diet low in protein can improve the effectiveness of drug therapy and reduce the periods of the most debilitating symptoms suffered by Parkinson's disease patients.
- Health & Medicine
Gender Gap: Male-only gene affects men’s dopamine levels
A gene found only in men affects the brain's production of dopamine, a finding that may help explain why men are more likely than women to develop Parkinson's disease and other dopamine-related illnesses.
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Degrading a Defense: Bacteria use enzyme to escape trap
Some bacteria have evolved an enzyme that enables them to escape the body's defenses.
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Chimps creep closer yet
Humans evolved most slowly of all primates, with chimps a close second.
- Animals
Poor Devils: Critters’ fights transmit cancer
Tasmanian devils transmit cancer cells when they bite each other during routine squabbles, producing lesions that are often fatal.
- Earth
Sinking Mercury: Light-based reactions destroy toxic chemical in Arctic lakes
Sunlight triggers the entry of poisonous mercury into polar lakes, but it also removes most of the toxic compound before fish can consume it.
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The Fat Track: Signals between cells keep creatures lean
An ancient cellular pathway that determines cells' fates also inhibits fat formation in insects and mammals.
