Articles By Roxanne Palmer

venus cat

Two-Faced Cats And Piebald Peacocks: The Genetics Behind Chimeras And Mosaics

Chimeric and mosaic animals have starkly different kinds of cells in their bodies, sometimes resulting in breathtaking displays.

South Africa's Oscar Pistorius

Fastest Man On Earth An Amputee? The Remarkable Promise Of Next-Generation Prosthetics

We're on the cusp of an era where technological advances could allow Paralympians with souped-up joints and carefully engineered limbs to easily blow past the merely human Olympians - and help ordinary amputees to live extraordinarily normal lives.

hyena squat

Hyenas Pick Up Social Cues By Sniffing Bacteria-Laden Secretions

A new study describes how distinct populations of bacteria thriving in the substance secreted by hyenas to mark their territory may be what allows them to recognize one another.

sino

Feathery Dinosaur Hunted Birds, Velociraptor Relatives

Paleontologists examined two skeletons of the extinct wolf-sized predator Sinocalliopteryx gigas and found traces of the dionsaurs' last meals.

Heinz Ketchup

New MIT-Developed Non-Stick Coating Could Tame Uncooperative Ketchup

MIT scientists think they can help cut down on food waste and frustration with a new non-stick coating that allows ketchup to slide out of the bottle with ease.

rho ophiuchi

Sugar In Space: Astronomers Find Sweet Spot In Ophiuchus Constellation

In the stellar nursery near the star Rho Ophiuchi, located in the constellation Ophiuchus, researchers from the Niels Bohr Institute detected signatures of the simplest possible sugar in nature, glycolaldehyde.

sausages

Stuffing Sausage With Antibiotics Helps Harmful Bacteria Thrive: Study

In a new study, scientists found that antibiotics commonly given to livestock inhibit the activity of helpful, pathogen-killing bacteria used in sausage making.

arctic ice record

Arctic Sea Ice Coverage Sets Record Low; Scientist Predicts 'Inevitable Death For The Ice Cover'

A new world record has been set near the North Pole - but scientists aren't celebrating.

Baby

Circumcision Gets Blessing From Prominent U.S. Pediatric Group

A prominent pediatric organization points to circumcision's health benefits, but stops short of decreeing that all male infants should go under the knife.

collins

Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Crewmate Of Armstrong And Aldrin, Quietly Carries The Fire

Michael Collins, sometimes called the "forgotten astronaut," flew with Buzz Aldrin and the late Neil Armstrong in Apollo 11, but never set foot on the moon.