News in Brief
- Health & Medicine
Gene links smoking, multiple sclerosis
Smokers with genetic variant face tripled risk of MS.
- Chemistry
Water squishes into stable shapes, no container required
Nanoparticles lock together to hold water in place for more than a month.
- Materials Science
Radar distinguishes electronics from other metals
Using two pulses of radio waves, method could locate survivors trapped in rubble.
- Plants
Single-sex flowers release his, hers fragrances
Growing on the same tree, male blooms smell different from female blooms in certain tropical plant species.
- Earth
Trees mark the spot of buried gold
Tiny bits of the precious metal in eucalyptus leaves indicate treasure lurks belowground.
- Health & Medicine
Infant digestive problem more likely with formula
Hypertrophic pyloric stenosis, which causes forceful vomiting, is more common in babies not breast-fed.
- Agriculture
Fertilizer has staying power
Nitrogen-based fertilizer may remain in the soil for eight decades, complicating efforts to reduce pollution from runoff into rivers.
- Neuroscience
NFL players’ brains take a hit
Brain scans reveal hidden abnormalities in retired football pros.
- Astronomy
Galaxy’s gas molecules reveal its structure
Astronomers have tracked carbon monoxide flowing both toward and away from NGC 1433’s central supermassive black hole.
- Life
Scorpion genome decoded
An analysis of an arachnid’s DNA reveals how the animal survives its own venom.
- Health & Medicine
Audio therapy may avert chemo-induced hearing loss
Mice exposed to loud sound before getting chemotherapy preserve valuable cells in the inner ear, a new study shows.
- Astronomy
Galaxy’s petal-like structures came from collision
A cosmic crash of two huge masses of stars, gas and dust probably gave way to a new galactic structure with both young and old star clusters.
