News in Brief
- Astronomy
Water seen in rubble around star
Hubble sees debris that was part of an asteroid with the ingredients for habitable planets.
- Health & Medicine
Highlights from annual meeting of infectious disease specialists
Heartburn pills increase risk of pneumonia, a better catheter and more were presented October 2-6, 2013 at ID Week in San Francisco.
- Health & Medicine
Old drug may have new trick
Parkinson’s medication helps mice with condition that mimics MS.
- Climate
Tropics to launch into uncharted climate territory by 2038
Global temperatures will take a permanent leap above historical bounds by 2047 if greenhouse gas emissions continue unabated, a simulation suggests.
- Animals
Hibernating turtles don’t slip into a coma
Winterized red-eared sliders shut down their lungs but spring into action when they see light.
- Animals
Legless geckos slither using skin ridges
The animal's belly has flat rows of ripples that may help them wriggle.
- Animals
Alpine swifts fly nonstop for more than six months
During a journey of 200 days, the birds eat, rest and migrate without touching the ground.
- Life
3-D printing builds bacterial metropolises
By simulating biofilms, new 3-D printing technique may help researchers study antibiotic resistance.
- Psychology
Reading high-brow literature may aid in reading minds
Think of it as the bookworm’s bonus: People who read first-rate fiction become more socially literate, at least briefly, a new study suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Altered wine chemical helps kill cancer
Molecule brings its parent, resveratrol, into cells.
- Planetary Science
Supervolcanoes once erupted on Mars
Giant eruptions billions of years ago left behind huge craters
- Plants
Tiny fossils set record for oldest flowerlike pollen
Oldest flowerlike pollen might have come from an ancient relative of today’s flowering plants.
