Feature
- Planetary Science
The Huygens Chronicles
After several months of painstaking work analyzing data from the Huygens probe, planetary scientists are able to see the surface of Saturn's moon Titan in greater detail than ever before.
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Read All about It
Brain studies and cross-cultural investigations indicate that the neural path to becoming a good reader varies, depending on a person's inherent capacity for assessing print and on the design principles of his or her native writing system.
- Tech
Special Treatment
Researchers are developing nanosize metallic particles that can break down soil and groundwater contaminants faster and more cheaply than any other existing technology.
- Astronomy
Dark Influence
A study of galaxy clusters tests whether dark matter particles can collide with each other, while other observations show that dark matter doesn't behave as expected near the centers of galaxies.
- Math
Navigating Celestial Currents
Mathematicians are creating an atlas of solar system highways along which spacecraft can coast using no fuel.
- Health & Medicine
The Race to Prescribe
Race-based medicine could be a stepping-stone to the higher goal of targeting medicines toward the genetics of individual patients, but some researchers are troubled by the implications of practicing medicine according to patients' racial identities.
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Code of Many Colors
Researchers have yet to find markers for race in the genome, but understanding the biology underlying perceptions of race could have dramatic social and personal consequences.
- Math
Manuscripts as Fossils
A new mathematical model estimates how many medieval manuscripts have survived to the present.
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Full Stem Ahead
Before stem cells can fulfill the promise of treating deadly diseases, problems with the cells' biology and government regulations limiting their use must be solved.
- Health & Medicine
Still Hungry?
New research indicates that diet and lifestyle can affect the body's production of a hunger hormone in ways that might unwittingly foster overeating.
- Astronomy
Too Darn Hot
A new theory of planet formation suggests that sizzling-hot Earths may be abundant throughout the galaxy and could soon be detected.
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Possible Worlds
A growing number of reports highlight imagination's pervasive influence on thinking, one example of which is the surprisingly large proportion of well-adjusted preschoolers who play with make-believe companions.
