A new study suggests that material in part of the lower mantle has unusual electronic characteristics that make sound propagate more slowly, suggesting that the material there is softer than previously thought. The results call into question the traditional techniques for understanding this region of the planet.

  Babies conceived during a period of famine are at risk of developing addictions later in life, according to new research. Researchers studied men and women born in Rotterdam during the Dutch "hunger winter." Those whose mothers had suffered severe food shortages and starvation during their early pregnancy were significantly more likely to be receiving treatment for addictive disorders.

  A tiny, implantable device has pulled adult stem cells out of a living rat with a far greater purity than any present technique. This is a new field; manipulating stem cells, white blood cells, and even cancer cells by exploiting the mechanics of the cells' movement with great precision. Researchers are even having success capturing and reprogramming several cell types as they pass through the device.

  The French Nobel laureate Jacques Monod famously said, "What's true for E.coli is true for an elephant." With this in mind, researchers at Rockefeller University set out to determine the function of Tel2, a protein originally found in yeast where it maintains the length of chromosome tips called telomeres. But one experiment after another informed the group that Tel2 in humans plays an altogether different role.

  A plant pathologist known for his investigation of microbial life in the lower atmosphere is using unmanned aerial vehicles in a new, three-year study to detect, monitor, and forecast the spread of a fungus-like organism responsible for the Irish Potato Famine in the 1840s and 1850s. This famine resulted in the deaths of more than 1 million people in Ireland and caused at least 1.5 million more to flee the country.

  Could the pursuit of happiness go too far? Most self-help books on the subject offer tips on how to maximize one's bliss, but a new study suggests that moderate happiness may be preferable to full-fledged elation.

  Mars has an ethereal, tenuous atmosphere with less than one-percent the surface pressure of Earth, which challenges scientists to explain complex, wind-sculpted landforms seen with unprecedented detail in images from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. One of the main questions has been if winds on present-day Mars are strong enough to form and change geological features, or if wind-constructed formations were made in the past, perhaps when winds speeds and atmospheric pressures were higher.

  Scientists are advocating additional research into the little understood links between environmental pollution and type 2 diabetes. Some recent research has demonstrated a very strong relationship between the levels of POPs in blood, particularly organochlorine compounds, and the risk of type 2 diabetes.

  The Greek traveler, Pausanias, living in the second century, CE, would probably recognize the spectacular site of the Sanctuary of Zeus at Mt. Lykaion, and particularly the altar of Zeus. At 4,500 feet above sea level, atop the altar provides a breathtaking, panoramic vista of Arcadia.

  The nation's first major "cocoon strategy" vaccination program to protect newborn infants from the life-threatening infection pertussis, more commonly known as whooping cough, is underway.

  Environmental engineers are plying new techniques to produce a biofuel superior to ethanol. The fuel is butanol; it can be derived from lignocellulosic materials, which are plant biomass parts that range from woody stems and straw to agricultural residues, corn fiber and husks, all containing in large part cellulose and some lignin.

  The Internet is not the font of all knowledge, despite the plethora of information available at your fingertips. Researchers have found that while Internet searches do bring up a variety of useful materials, people pay more attention to information that matches their pre-existing beliefs.

  The dirt under our feet is being so changed by humans that it is now appropriate to call this the "Anthropocene (or man-made) Age," says a new worldwide overview by a soil scientist.

  Like mobsters, cells keep their friends close and their enemies -- at least some of them -- closer. According to new results from HIV researchers, one way that human cells prevent certain viruses from raging out of control is by blocking new viral particles from ever leaving an infected cell's surface. And, they believe, HIV thrives in part because it has evolved the ability to get around this obstacle. Viruses can only reproduce using the mechanisms and material of their hosts. Some of them -- the so-called "enveloped" viruses, which are encapsulated inside a lipid membrane -- assemble at the host cell's outer membrane and then bud off during their release.