To potential mates, your mug may reveal more than you think

Working together, bacteria and other microbes can accomplish much more than they can alone. Now scientists hope to harness that ability by engineering their own microbial consortia.

Were the Earth a crystal ball, you might gaze 2,900 kilometers down to its outer core with a telescope. The Earth, though, is frustratingly opaque — to light. Most knowledge of the planet’s internal structure comes from studying seismic waves, which give a kind of ultrasound image. Inferences about Earth’s internal chemistry rely on the elements found in near-surface rocks, meteorites and the sun. Recently, geoscientists have developed a new tool for probing the Earth’s innards. Borrowing a page from astrophysics, they are using the curious subatomic particles known as neutr...

Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Body & Brain. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.

Science News editors and writers survey the top news from the world of science in 2008. The selected stories are featured in this year-end issue, with links to the original, longer stories.

Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Molecules. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.

Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Environment. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.