News
- Astronomy
Dusty times on Mars
On July 1, a dust cloud emerged from Mars' Hellas Basin, and 3 days later it had become 1,800 kilometers wide, roughly one-fourth the Red Planet’s diameter.
- Earth
Greenland ice variation appears normal
Changes in snowfall observed in parts of southern Greenland between 1978 and 1988 appear to be normal if gauged against the variations recorded in ice cores over the past 400 years.
- Earth
Cooking up a key chemical of life
Researchers have simulated the conditions and ingredients found at hydrothermal vents to create pyruvic acid, an organic chemical vital for cellular metabolism.
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Show me the data
A debate has broken out over whether neuroscientists should share the voluminous data that they generate in their experiments.
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Traumas trip up inner-city girls
Inner-city teenage girls may often experience a severe stress reaction that makes it more difficult for them to succeed in school.
- Astronomy
A new receiver for alien broadcasts
A $12.5 million grant will help build the world's largest telescope designed to search for radio broadcasts from alien civilizations.
- Astronomy
Taking a census of brown dwarfs
Researchers have completed the most thorough census to date of brown dwarfs in stellar clusters and have confirmed earlier findings about these failed stars.
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Down the Tubes: Amino acid proves key to plant reproduction
An amino acid that human brain cells communicate with also has a role in plant sex.
- Health & Medicine
Metal’s Mayhem: Cadmium mimics estrogen’s effects, thwarts DNA repair
Cadmium causes endocrine disruption by mimicking estrogen in rats and also thwarts routine DNA repair, causing mutations, two studies show.
- Materials Science
Tiny Labs: Polymers on silicon chip catch, release proteins
In a step toward a new laboratory-on-a-chip technology, researchers have grown a dense polymer film on a silicon wafer that takes up and releases proteins on command.
- Animals
City Song: Birds sing higher near urban traffic
Birds in noisier city spots tend to sing at a higher pitch than do members of the same species in quieter neighborhoods.
- Earth
Protective Blanket: Atmosphere blocks many small stony asteroids
A new computer model that more realistically simulates the aerodynamic forces on an object as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere suggests that the thin layer of air is an even better shield than previously thought.
