Science News

Despite decades of entreaties from the World Health Organization (WHO) and mothers alike to eat more fruits and vegetables , a new study has found that these dietary additions appear to do little to decrease the overall likelihood of getting cancer . [More]

Editor's Note: Journalist and crew member Kathryn Eident is traveling on board the RV Atlantis on a monthlong voyage to explore undersea volcanism in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, among other research projects. This is the third blog post detailing this voyage of discovery for ScientificAmerican.com

For geologist Tracy Gregg, exploring submarine volcanoes is a lot like being a CSI detective, just without the bodies. While a CSI team gathers evidence to find the killer, Gregg explores the aftermath of a volcanic eruption so she can understand what's happening beneath the Earth's surface. [More]

By Janet Fang

Living exclusively oxygen-free was thought to be a lifestyle open only to viruses and single-celled microorganisms. [More]

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Quality truffles can sell for more than a $1,000 a pound. They’re also valuable in environmental research, work that’s discussed in an article called "The Hidden Life of Truffles" in the April issue of Scientific American magazine, by Oregon State University’s James Trappe and Andrew Claridge, visiting fellow at the University of New South Wales in Australia. [See http://bit.ly/9IDzGF ]

Claridge is getting better estimates of Australian endangered species populations, thanks to truffles. Some marsupials are as crazy for truffles as some humans are. Claridge soaked foam pads with olive oil infused with the scent of European black Perigord truffles, and left the pads near motion-sensing cameras. The animals came in droves, with 50 times as many individuals counted as with other techniques. Claridge used the European truffle product because it was easy to get--his team will next see the reaction of native animals to native truffles.

When a report on climate change hit the U.S. president's desk, the suggestion was not to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Rather, scientific advisors counseled intervention via technology in the climate system itself--a practice now known as geoengineering. And the president was not Barack Obama, George W. Bush or even Bill Clinton--it was Lyndon Johnson in 1965. [More]

By Laura Thompson Osuri

Global steps to battle climate change might have faltered, but philanthropic institutions in the United States have swung into action, more than tripling their support for climate-related causes in 2008. [More]

By Laura Thompson Osuri

Global steps to battle climate change might have faltered, but philanthropic institutions in the United States have swung into action, more than tripling their support for climate-related causes in 2008. [More]