Secrets of a mastodon graveyard
Pleistocene mammals found preserved in the Colorado mountains may have starved to death after an earthquake transformed a lake bed into a deadly trap.
DEET scrambles insects’ sense of smell
Analysis of a DEET-resistant strain of fruitfly shows the repellent confuses smell-sensing neurons in insect antennae.
Bush’s science advisor John Marburger dies, aged 70
John H. Marburger, who died on Thursday aged 70, will be remembered as the man who staunchly defended Bush’s policies in the face of angry criticism from researchers.
Counting corpses underestimates Deepwater Horizon whale toll

A paper published today in Conservation Letters suggests that the number of whales and dolphins killed during the Deepwater Horizon oil spill could be as much as 50 times that originally reported.
Research trip to the Antarctic: Antarctic goes viral
Science journalist Jane Qiu has now reached the Palmer ecological research station on the Antarctic Peninsula, joining researchers investigating how climate change has affected the region in recent decades. Please check back for her dispatches from the bottom of the world. Read more
Research trip to the Antarctic: Arriving in Palmer
Science journalist Jane Qiu is travelling to the Palmer ecological research station on the Antarctic Peninsula, joining researchers investigating how climate change has affected the region in recent decades. Please check back for her dispatches from the bottom of the world. The R/V LM Gould sailed through a stormy blizzard for most of the night. Today, 30 November, the decks and anchor chains are covered in snow. We are well into the Gerlache Strait, the stretch of 160-kilometre long water that separates the Palmer Archipelago from the Antarctic Peninsula. The entire landscape – the placid sea, occasional icebergs and ice-draped … Read more
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Experiments reveal that crabs and lobsters feel pain
US research ethics agency upholds decision on informed consent
Chemistry credit disputes under the spotlight
Chemistry credit disputes under the spotlight
Contamination created controversial ‘acid-induced’ stem cells