News
- Planetary Science
Spying Saturn’s Light Show: Anomalous aurora dazzles scientists
The dancing lights that paint Saturn's sky stands out from all other auroras observed in the solar system.
- Archaeology
In the Buff: Stone Age tools may have derived luster from diamond
Ancient Chinese people may have used diamonds to polish their stone axes to mirrorlike finishes.
- Earth
Sky High: Gamma-ray bursts are common in Earth’s upper atmosphere
Enigmatic bursts of high-energy gamma rays produced Earth's atmosphere are stronger and more frequent than previously thought.
-
Hearing Repaired: Gene therapy restores guinea pigs’ hearing
By turning on a gene that's normally active only during embryonic development, researchers have restored hearing in deaf guinea pigs.
- Chemistry
Molecular surgery traps hydrogen inside carbon cage
In a feat of precision chemistry, scientists have locked a pair of hydrogen atoms inside a soccer ball–shaped carbon molecule known as a buckyball.
- Health & Medicine
Southern blacks face excess risk of stroke
Blacks living in southern U.S. states have a greater risk of dying of stroke than do blacks living in northern states.
- Health & Medicine
Stroke patients show dearth of vitamin D
People recovering from a stroke have less vitamin D in their systems than do healthy peers, which could explain why stroke patients often have low bone density and risk breaking bones.
- Health & Medicine
High salt intake hikes stroke risk
People who consume a lot of salt are nearly twice as likely to have a stroke as are people who consume less salt, even when their blood pressures are equivalent.
- Health & Medicine
Vampire spit gives strokes a licking
A drug derived from a component of vampire bat saliva can clear blood clots in the brains of people who have had strokes.
-
Lefties, righties take neural sides in perceiving parts
A brain-imaging study indicates that right-handers and left-handers use different, corresponding neural regions to perceive parts of an object while ignoring the larger entity.
- Humans
High costs of CT screening
Whole-body computed tomography scans for asymptomatic disease do not appear cost-effective at this time.
- Earth
Subway air does extra damage
Airborne particles in subterranean transit stations may be more damaging to human cells than are particles from street-level air.
