News
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Sexing Brains Down and Up: Early aspirin dose hits male rats below the belt
Prenatal exposure to a certain class of drugs, which includes aspirin and acetaminophen, leads to adult sexual difficulties in male rats, raising concerns about the use of such drugs by pregnant women.
By Bruce Bower -
Tech
Groovy Pictures: Extracting sound from images of old audio recordings
To preserve songs and words on antique vinyl records and wax cylinders, a new scanning technique maps their grooves, then simulates a stylus moving along those contours to extract high-quality sound.
By Peter Weiss -
Astronomy
Cosmic Push: X-ray study confirms universe’s dark side
Culling clues from X rays emitted by distant clusters of galaxies, astronomers report new evidence that some mysterious force overcame gravity's tug about 6 billion years ago and ever since has been pushing galaxies apart at an accelerating rate.
By Ron Cowen -
Earth
Big Thaw Coming: Climate change may slam Arctic
If the changes in climate predicted for this century come to pass, the people and creatures of the Arctic will face some of the largest challenges.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & Medicine
Cutting blood supply to kill off fat
Killing the blood vessels that sustain fat tissue causes obese mice to lose weight.
By John Travis -
Chemistry
Strange brew brings inorganic chemicals to life
A mixture of inorganic chemicals spontaneously forms cell-like structures that behave like tiny chemical reactors.
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Health & Medicine
Estrogen loss induces lung disease in mice
Estrogen loss hampers lung function in mice by sabotaging the alveoli, the tiny sacs that deliver oxygen-rich air to the bloodstream.
By Nathan Seppa -
Astronomy
Live! Venus’ transit on the Web
On June 8, astronomers in Europe plan to Webcast observations of the transit of Venus, the first time the planet has passed across the face of the sun as seen from Earth in 122 years.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & Medicine
Folate enrichment pays baby dividends
The federally mandated fortification of grain-based foods with folic acid has led to a 25 percent drop in the rate of potentially life-threatening neural tube birth defects.
By Janet Raloff -
Worm life span set by chromosome tips
For worms, longer chromosome tips mean longer lives.
By John Travis -
Humans
Young Talent on Display: Tomorrow’s scientists and engineers win recognition, rewards
The three top winners of the 2004 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair hail from high schools on different continents.
By Ben Harder -
Earth
A Portrait of Pollution: Nation’s fresh water gets a checkup
Virtually all of America's fresh water is tainted with low concentrations of chemical contaminants, according to a new nationwide study.
By Carrie Lock