DURHAM, N.C. -- Duke University researchers have figured out how a developmental disease called microcephaly produces a much smaller brain than normal: Some cells are simply too slow as they proceed through the neuron production process.

Published online Jan. 7 in the journal Neuron, the findings provide not only a new mechanistic explanation for microcephaly, but they could also aid understanding of autism or other neurodevelopmental disorders that are thought to arise from disruptions in the proper balance of neurons in the brain.

If you are allergic, you might need to thank a Neanderthal. 

When modern humans began interbreeding with Neanderthals tens of thousands of years ago, the exchange left humans with gene variations that increased our ability to ward off infection and left some people more prone to allergies.

So if you like your immune system, you might need to thank a Neanderthal for that also.

Take any religion that claims to be about peace and it will have a violent history. And while Islam is the most violent religion claiming to be peaceful today, Christians commit plenty of hateful acts - and Buddhists have extremists in their ranks as well.

Forests can store as much as 45 percent of the world's terrestrial carbon, making them a critical part of the process of regulating climate change.

As global temperatures rise, though, the organic matter in forests appears to break down more quickly, accelerating the release of carbon into the atmosphere.

This surprising conclusion comes out of a long-term study that was intended to find means to mitigate global warming, not exacerbate it.

How more than 1,000 tree species may occur in a small area of forest in Amazonia or Borneo is an unsolved mystery. Their ability to co-exist may depend on how trees get along with their neighbors. A new study based, in part, on data from the Smithsonian's Forest Global Earth Observatory (ForestGEO) network shows that trees worldwide compete in some of the same ways, making simpler models of forest response to climate change possible.

DENVER (January 7, 2016) Dinosaurs engaged in mating behavior similar to modern birds, leaving the fossil evidence behind in 100 million year old rocks, according to new research by Martin Lockley, professor of geology at the University of Colorado Denver.

Lockley, a paleontologist, led an international research team that discovered large 'scrapes' in the prehistoric Dakota sandstone of western Colorado. These ancient scrapes are similar to a behavior known as 'nest scrape display' or 'scrape ceremonies' among modern birds, where males show off their ability to provide by excavating pseudo nests for potential mates.