News
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Health & MedicineDisease Detector: Chemical test may spot Alzheimer’s
A new test that detects very low levels of protein clumps associated with Alzheimer's may provide an early warning for the disease.
By David Shiga -
TechDetecting life on Mars
A new device could look for life on Mars by analyzing the geometric traits of amino acids in soil.
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Drugs lengthen worm’s life span
A class of antiseizure drugs significantly extends the life span of roundworms, a finding that could lead to better understanding of factors that influence aging in people.
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EarthIce age hit Missouri 2.4 million years ago
Analyses of a soil sample from central Missouri suggest the date of onset of North America's most recent spate of ice ages.
By Sid Perkins -
EarthOzone saps toads’ immune systems
In amphibians, ozone damages immune function in the lungs, suggesting a possible new contributor to worldwide amphibian declines.
By Janet Raloff -
MathHospitals motivated to skimp on infection control
A new mathematical model suggests that the presence of nearby hospitals may give a hospital an economic incentive to relax its infection-control efforts.
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A new test for Alzheimer’s risk?
Failure in visual short-term memory of objects, called iconic memory, could be a warning sign of Alzheimer's disease.
By Nathan Seppa -
AstronomyHubble views bar in galaxy
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a strikingly detailed image of the starlit arms, glowing gas, and dark dust clouds of a barred spiral galaxy called NGC 1300, which lies 69 million light-years from Earth.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineA drink a day might keep fuzzy thinking away
One alcoholic drink per day can stave off mental decline in elderly women.
By Nathan Seppa -
HumansThe Heights of School Science: Select student research rises to the top
Forty high school students have each earned a slot in the final round of the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search.
By Ben Harder -
ChemistryHungry for Hydrogen: Microbes in hot springs feed on unlikely source
Microbes dwelling in Yellowstone National Park's hot springs draw their energy not from sulfur but from hydrogen.
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PlantsIn a Snap: Leaf geometry drives Venus flytrap’s bite
Behind a Venus flytrap's rapid snap lies an extraordinary shape-changing mechanism.
By Peter Weiss