Science News

In ancient Mesozoic seas, the biggest predators might not have been entirely cold-blooded killers. Rather, a new study suggests some of these rapacious reptiles might have been able to regulate their own body temperature , thereby expanding their hunting ranges.  [More]

As the World Cup launches in South Africa this week, conservationists fear that gamblers looking for a little extra luck will turn to a source those of us in the West might not expect: the practice of smoking vulture brains .

The custom stems from the traditional medicine known in South Africa as muti . The vulture brains are dried, ground up and then smoked in cigarettes which supposedly give the users visions of the future. In addition to dreams of winning lotto numbers or sports teams, practitioners say the practice can give users an edge on taking tests or help their business attract more clients. A tiny vial of vulture brains sells for around $6.50, according to an article from AFP.

Declaring that endosulfan is unsafe, the Environmental Protection Agency announced Wednesday that it is about to ban one of the last organochlorine pesticides still used in the United States.

Endosulfan--used largely on vegetables, apples, melons and cotton--"poses unacceptable risks" to farm workers and wildlife, EPA officials said. In response, the agency is moving to cancel the pesticide's registration.

By Janet Fang

To follow the scent trail left by their prey across the ocean, sharks swim in the direction of the nostril that sniffed the odor first, scientists have found. [More]

Comets are usually thought of as icy, dusty emissaries from the deepest reaches of the solar system . But according to a new simulation, many of them could have originated somewhere even more exotic--in budding planetary systems around other stars. [More]

At least half of adults in developed countries have deficient levels of vitamin D , and low levels of this vitamin have been linked to bone fragility, cancer , heart disease and immune system problems . Variable levels of vitamin D, which is a by-product of a chemical reaction that occurs when UV light hits the skin and can be found in some fatty fish, across populations has largely been thought to be a simple matter of exposure: failure to get enough sun, eat fatty fish or take supplements would result in deficiency. [More]