News
- Astronomy
Disks of Dust: Planet-stuff surrounds other sunlike stars
Two orbiting observatories for the first time are homing in on planetary debris circling sunlike stars.
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Cloning Milestone: Monkey embryos urged to stem cell stage
Researchers have coaxed cloned rhesus macaque embryos to grow to the blastocyst stage, the furthest point yet reached in cloning a nonhuman primate.
- Archaeology
China’s Fermented Past: Pottery yields signs of oldest known wine
Analyses of ancient pottery have yielded evidence the people living in northern China 9,000 years ago concocted a fermented, winelike drink from rice, honey, and fruit.
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Mice smell a mate’s immune system
By sniffing molecules present in urine, mice gain insight into each other's immune systems.
- Health & Medicine
TB vaccine gets a needed boost
An experimental vaccine against tuberculosis imparts significant immunity, but only in people who have previously received the existing bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccine for TB.
- Astronomy
Gamma view of a big blast
Astronomers have for the first time used extremely high-energy gamma rays to image a celestial body.
- Health & Medicine
Sleeve worn on heart fights failure
A new mesh wrap can be placed around an expanded and weakened heart to restore the organ to an efficient, elliptical form.
- Health & Medicine
Up and down make different workouts
An unusual study conducted on an Alpine mountainside suggests that climbing a steep slope improves the body's ability to process certain fats, while descending such a slope enhances metabolism of a key sugar.
- Health & Medicine
Antioxidant Booster: Protein curbs lung damage caused by smoke
A protein called Nrf2 defends against emphysema by activating dozens of genes that combat free radicals and toxic pollutants, a study in mice suggests.
- Health & Medicine
Stones-Be-Gone: Gene-targeting drug restores chemical balance protecting the gallbladder
A drug tested in mice prevents gallstones by stimulating a gene that controls levels of different chemicals in the gallbladder.
- Anthropology
South American Surprise: Ancient farmers settled in Uruguay’s wetlands
The discovery of a 4,200-year-old farming settlement in Uruguay challenges traditional notions of where early South American societies took root.
- Animals
Grow-Slow Potion: Pheromone keeps bee youngsters youthful
Researchers have identified a compound made by the senior workers in a honeybee colony that prolongs the time that teenage bees stay home babysitting.
