December 2009

The 13,000-year old tree that survives by cloning itself

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In California's Jurupa Mountains, there is a very unusual group of tree - a Palmer's oak, which first sprouted from an acorn around 13,000 years ago.

Humans Ate Grains During the Middle Stone Age

“Starch granules” on surfaces of stone tools dating back to 105,000 years ago suggest that humans were eating grains much earlier than was previously thought.

Is the DNA in our cells always the same?

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The BAK1 gene, associated with apoptosis, exists in multiple variants in our bodies.

predatory dinosaurs, now with venom?

Comparisons with modern venomous animals suggest that a species of dinosaurs may have been venomous.

One gene stops ovaries from turning into testes

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It turns out that ovaries can only remain ovaries by constantly suppressing their ability to become male. Silence a single gene, and adult ovaries turn into testes.

The return of sunspots! Maybe!

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More sunspots appear on the Sun, a possible indication that it might finally be moving out of solar minimum.

"A Tantalizing Hint of Dark Matter?" No.

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The Cryogenic Dark Matter Search has so far been unable to convincingly detect dark matter particles.

Octopus carries around coconut shells as suits of armour

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The veined octopus dons a suit of armour made of coconut shells.

Saturn moon mutated by red matter

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Melting and migrating water ice may be the reason for the different colors of the hemispheres of Iapetus, a moon of Saturn.

Step away from the cookie jar! Over-confidence in self-control leads us to temptation

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Apparently when we're satiated, we overestimate our ability to resist temptation - a phenomenon researchers have dubbed the "restraint bias".