04/06/2009

New proxy reveals how humans have disrupted the nitrogen cycle

More and more, scientists are getting a better grip on the nitrogen cycle. They are learning about sources of nitrogen and how this element changes as it loops from the nonliving, such as the atmosphere, soil or water, to ...

At Long Last, How Plants Make Eggs

(PhysOrg.com) -- A long-standing mystery surrounding a fundamental process in plant biology has been solved by a team of scientists at the University of California, Davis.

Birds use social learning to enhance nest defense

Reed warblers live with the threat that a cuckoo bird will infiltrate their nest, remove one of their eggs, and replace it with the cuckoo's own. This 'parasitism' enables the cuckoo to have its young raised by unsuspecting ...

Nanoscale zipper cavity responds to single photons of light

Physicists at the California Institute of Technology have developed a nanoscale device that can be used for force detection, optical communication, and more. The device exploits the mechanical properties of light to create ...

'Pelvis Has Left the Building'

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research shows that when two species of stickleback fish evolved and lost their pelvises and body armor, the changes were caused by different genes in each species. That surprised researchers, who expected ...

Boy or girl? In lizards, egg size matters

Whether baby lizards will turn out to be male or female is a more complicated question than scientists would have ever guessed, according to a new report published online on June 4th in Current Biology. The study shows that ...

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