Feature
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Night of the Crusher
Sleep paralysis, a kind of waking nightmare experienced by people in all cultures, sometimes plays a key role in post-traumatic stress disorder and panic attacks and contributes to widespread beliefs in various spirits and supernatural beings.
- Earth
Volcanic Hot Spots
Many geophysical studies, including analyses of deep-traveling seismic waves and computer simulations of flowing molten rock deep beneath Earth's crust, are providing evidence that mantle plumes actually exist.
- Astronomy
Panning Distant Dust
Astronomers are using hundreds of newly detected debris disks found around a variety of nearby stars to hunt for planets and learn about the evolution of our solar system.
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Sound Off
By using bits of RNA to eliminate the effects of selected genes, scientists are developing new ways to study gene function and treat diseases.
- Chemistry
Energy on Ice
Recent efforts to unlock a frozen source of natural gas deep under the permafrost and ocean floor have energized prospects for a methane-hydrate industry.
- Health & Medicine
A Matter of Time
Some patients are diagnosed with severe heart attacks in or near hospitals that can't offer them the best treatment, but is emergency transport to a better-equipped facility worth the delay?
- Health & Medicine
Striking a Better Bargain with HIV
Because a drug frequently used to block the transmission of HIV from mother to infant may have negative consequences for the mothers, researchers are looking for inexpensive treatments that will benefit both mother and child.
- Math
Pieces of Numbers
A long-sought proof has forged an intriguing link between numbers expressed as sums and as products.
- Anthropology
Faithful Ancestors
A controversial fossil analysis supports the view that, more than 3 million years ago, human ancestors living in eastern Africa favored long-term mating partnerships.
- Animals
Comeback Bird
Looking for a long-lost woodpecker had its special challenges, including anticipating what would happen if the hunt actually succeeded.
- Tech
Morphing Memory
A promising memory technology for future portable gadgets exploits the same atom-shuffling materials that have already led to rewritable CDs and DVDs.
- Ecosystems
Empty Nets
New research has begun challenging long-held assumptions about the consequences for fish stocks of harvesting the biggest fish first.
