News
- Astronomy
Crashing Genesis
Scientists are trying to salvage the fragile samples of the solar wind collected by the Genesis spacecraft, which crashed to Earth on Sept. 8 after its parachutes failed to open.
- Anthropology
Human ancestor gets leg up on walking
A new analysis of a 6-million-year-old leg fossil from a member of the human evolutionary family indicates that this individual walked upright with nearly the same deftness as people today do.
- Health & Medicine
Liver transplants succeed in many hepatitis C patients
People who receive liver transplants for hepatitis C infections fare about as well as people getting such transplants for other diseases.
- Astronomy
Beryllium data confirm stars’ age
Measuring trace amounts of beryllium in two elderly stars, astronomers have found additional evidence that the first stars in the universe formed less than 200 million years after the Big Bang.
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The woman who lost her capacity to dream
A rare instance in which brain damage caused a woman to lose the ability to dream may help scientists understand the neural basis of dreaming.
- Planetary Science
A really cool map
A new infrared image of Saturn's rings provides the most detailed temperature map ever taken of these icy particles.
- Animals
Super Bird: Cooing doves flex extra-fast muscles
Muscles that control a dove's cooing belong to the fastest class of muscles known.
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A Very Spatial Brain Defect: Gene disorder blocks neural path for vision
Among its many unusual symptoms, the genetic disorder called Williams syndrome robs people of depth perception and the ability to visualize how different parts assemble into larger objects.
- Materials Science
Falling into Place: Atom mist yields nanobricks and mortar
Researchers have induced tiny particles of nickel to spontaneously assemble into exceptionally uniform, three-dimensional arrays of macroscopic size.
- Health & Medicine
An Exploitable Mutation: Defect might make some lung cancers treatable
Nonsmokers who develop lung cancer are more likely than their smoking counterparts to have a mutation in the gene encoding epidermal growth factor receptor.
- Materials Science
Model Growth: Simulations expose branching nature of polymer crystals
Using computer models, scientists have uncovered previously unknown facets of the physics underlying polymer crystal growth.
- Earth
Cool Harvest: Frost on sea ice may boost atmosphere’s bromine
Frost flowers, the delicate crystals that sometimes grow atop fresh sea ice, can be a substantial source of ozone-destroying bromine in lower atmosphere near the poles.
