Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences – News Stories About Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - Page 1

Air Pollution May Make Ants
Turn on Each Other

new study

Feb 7, 2026 11:10 AM CST

Air Pollution May Make Ants Turn on Each Other

Study suggests they attack nest mates and even abandon their young

(Newser) - Ants living in smoggy air may be turning on their own, and even abandoning their young, because pollution is scrambling their social signals, new research suggests. In lab tests described this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences , scientists exposed individual workers from six ant species to...

Why Are Men Taller? This Gene Plays a Role

'Definitely Cool' Study Digs
Into Male-Female Height Gap

new study

May 20, 2025 4:51 PM CDT

'Definitely Cool' Study Digs Into Male-Female Height Gap

Study finds SHOX gene accounts for a fifth of the height gap

(Newser) - Why are men, on average, taller than women? A massive new genetic study reveals how a single gene may account for a slice of the difference. The SHOX gene has been thought to influence height—but since it's present on both X and Y chromosomes, researchers could only...

Maybe Neanderthals Weren't Such ... Neanderthals

STUDY SAYS

Aug 13, 2013 8:45 AM CDT

Maybe Neanderthals Weren't Such ... Neanderthals

Scientists find they were making bone tools long before humans arrived

(Newser) - Researchers have found what they say are specialized bone tools made by Neanderthals in Europe thousands of years before modern humans are thought to have arrived to share such skills, a discovery that suggests modern man's distant cousins were more advanced than we thought. In a paper published yesterday...

Safe Strain Will Spur Ebola Work

Jan 22, 2008 10:21 AM CST

Safe Strain Will Spur Ebola Work

Scientist develops less dangerous virus for research

(Newser) - One of the world's deadliest viruses has been made safe for researchers, speeding up the process of finding drugs and a vaccine, the Wisconsin State Journal reports. University of Wisconsin scientists developed a safe strain of the Ebola virus by removing one of its eight genes. "Now we have...

Breastfeeding Boosts Baby IQs

Nov 6, 2007 4:27 AM CST

Breastfeeding Boosts Baby IQs

Common gene helps turn fatty acids in breast milk into brain nutrients

(Newser) - A gene found in 90% of the human race helps explain why breast-fed babies are more intelligent than infants raised on bottled milk, scientists have discovered. Researchers found that the IQs of children who had been breast fed were 6 to 7 points higher than bottle-fed babies—but only if...