News
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DNA’s Moody Temperament: Gene variant linked to depression-ready brain
A common version of a gene involved in regulating the neurotransmitter serotonin creates a brain that responds sensitively to stress and is therefore more likely to become depressed.
- Astronomy
Fleeting Flash: Pinpointing a short gamma-ray burst
An invisible, highly energetic flash detected by a spacecraft early this week may have given astronomers their first glimpse of two neutron stars colliding to forge a black hole.
- Animals
Built for Blurs: Jellyfish have great eyes that can’t focus
Eight of a box jellyfish's eyes have superb lenses, but their structure prevents them from focusing sharply.
- Health & Medicine
Proteins’ Promise: New test could reveal early ovarian cancer
A screening test for ovarian cancer shows promise in preliminary trials.
- Physics
Galactic data shore up a constant
Alpha, a constant of nature found to vary in some astrophysical studies, actually holds steady, according to the first survey of galaxies used to evaluate alpha's constancy.
- Physics
Scales tilt against five-quark particles
Studies that fail to find purported five-quark particles, or pentaquarks, are stacking up quicker than studies that claim to have found such particles, suggesting that they might not really exist.
- Physics
Test puts pedal to heavy metal
Stellar explosions forge heavy elements such as gold more quickly than scientists had predicted, as indicated by the first measurement of the half-life of a rare form of nickel that's a key link in the chain of element formation.
- Chemistry
Crystal clear
Growing drug crystals on different polymer surfaces could improve a critical step in the development of pharmaceuticals.
- Earth
Air pollution linked to wheat diseases
The abundance of the air pollutant sulfur dioxide appears to influence which of two fungal pathogens plague more wheat plants.
- Health & Medicine
Waking up that lazy eye
Wearing an eye patch can improve vision in children with amblyopia, or lazy eye, up to age 17.
- Archaeology
Ancient Mariners: Caves harbor view of early Egyptian sailors
Archaeologists working near the Red Sea have discovered remains of an Egyptian port that emerged around 4,000 years ago, including two caves used by mariners for storage and for religious ceremonies.
- Health & Medicine
Microwavable Cancers: Heat plus radiation shrinks some tumors
Heat along with radiation treatment shrinks some tumors faster than does radiation alone.
