News
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Expanding the Code: Engineered bacteria are genetic rebels
Researchers have created a bacterium that can incorporate artificial amino acids into their proteins.
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Toddlers’ Supersize Mistakes: At times, children play with the impossible
Toddlers will sometimes try to climb into a toy car or otherwise treat small objects as if they were large ones, possibly because their brains occasionally fail to integrate visual information about object size with object identity.
- Physics
Holey Water: Punctured fluid stays riddled
Extreme vibrations and high concentrations of tiny particles, such as cornstarch, in water can create holes in the liquid.
- Earth
Underwater Pavement: Asphalt deposits cover parts of Gulf of Mexico
Explorations of the seafloor in the southern Gulf of Mexico have revealed lavalike flows of asphalt that are home to a thriving ecosystem of microbes, mussels, tubeworms, and crabs.
- Health & Medicine
Bad Break: Homocysteine may weaken bones
Elderly people with elevated concentrations of the amino acid homocysteine in their blood are more likely to break bones than are people with low amounts.
- Paleontology
Fossil confirms that early arthropods molted
A 505-million-year-old fossil provides hard proof of that ancient arthropods shed their exoskeletons during growth, just as their modern relatives do.
- Tech
Diagnostic gadget mixes and matches all in one
Researchers have fabricated a miniature diagnostic lab that can detect disease-linked genes in a small sample of whole blood.
- Humans
Plan B ruling is prescription for controversy
Contravening a recent recommendation from one of its advisory panels, the Food and Drug Administration denied an application to make the emergency contraceptive known as Plan B available without a doctor's prescription.
- Health & Medicine
Nanoparticles could mark spots for surgery
A new molecule studded with magnetically active ions may soon help surgeons extract, with minimal cutting, lymph nodes likely to harbor cancer.
- Earth
Boats puff up outdoor carbon monoxide risk
Large congregations of motorboats can produce enough carbon monoxide gas in open air to be hazardous to people.
- Humans
Historical chemistry library wows scholars
A new library in Philadelphia is home to one of the world's most extensive and valuable collections of historical chemistry texts.
- Anthropology
Neandertals may have grown up quickly
A new analysis of fossil teeth indicates that Neandertals grew to maturity at a faster pace than people do.
