News
- Astronomy
Young World: NASA telescope reveals clues to newborn planet
Astronomers have found signs of what may be the youngest planet known, plus the first signs ever of organic compounds in a region of dust that could evolve into a planet-forming region.
- Astronomy
Huge solar flares hit far-flung craft
Spacecraft throughout the solar system have detected material spewed into space by a group of huge solar flares late last year.
- Humans
Simple water filter can nail arsenic
Field tests suggest that people who live in areas with arsenic-tainted aquifers may be able to purify their drinking water by passing it through a low-tech, low-cost filter that includes a bed of iron nails.
- Earth
Killer weather on Mount Everest
An analysis of weather patterns around Mount Everest in May 1996, when eight climbers died, suggests that a sudden drop in barometric pressure may have played a significant role in the deaths.
- Health & Medicine
Breast milk may lower cholesterol
Feeding a newborn baby breast milk instead of formula during the first month of life improves the child's cholesterol readings later on.
- Astronomy
Oddball asteroid
Astronomers have discovered an asteroid that takes only 6 months to go around the sun.
- Chemistry
Chemical Knot: Scientists assemble legendary symbol by interlocking molecules
Chemists have constructed a molecular version of a Borromean knot.
- Paleontology
Crawling through Time: Fish bones reveal past climate change
The timing of ancient migrations of snakehead fish from the Indian subcontinent into Europe, Asia, and Africa tells scientists about temperature and humidity changes in those locations.
- Animals
Red Sweat: Hippo skin oozes antibiotic sunscreen
The hippo version of sweat, which is red-orange, contains pigments that can block microbial growth and some ultraviolet light.
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
