News
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It’s a boy! It’s a girl! It’s a mosaic embryo
Using a new technique to examine chromosomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos at the time they're implanted in the womb, researchers report abnormalities never seen later in development, possibly explaining why IVF has a low efficiency.
- Chemistry
Materials Factory: RNA manufactures palladium particles
Chemists have evolved RNA fragments in the lab that spontaneously synthesize highly uniform, hexagonal-shaped nanoparticles of palladium.
- Health & Medicine
Categorizing Cancers: Gene activity predicts leukemia outcome
By dividing acute myeloid leukemia into subtypes on the basis of which genes are abnormally active in a given patient, doctors may be able to predict outcomes and make better treatment decisions.
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Fat Chance: Hormone boosts metabolic rate, induces weight loss in mice
Fat cells secrete a hormone that tells the brain to boost the body's metabolic rate.
- Health & Medicine
Slimmer Ticks, Less Disease: Tick-semen protein is potential vaccine
An antitick vaccine using a protein that causes female ticks to engorge on blood may control tick populations, a new study suggests.
- Astronomy
Rare Passage: Crab’s X rays probe Titan
Observing a rare celestial alignment, astronomers have made the first X-ray measurement of the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan.
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Get Mellow, Fellow: Male baboons cooperate after cultural prodding
Researchers say they have found a troop of wild baboons in which females somehow transmit peaceful attitudes to males who transfer into the group.
- Earth
Weather Wise: Model may predict El Niño up to 2 years in advance
A new version of a climate-prediction model that includes detailed interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere could be used to foresee the onset of the climate-altering phenomenon known as El Niño.
- Health & Medicine
Drug for preemies linked to problems
A steroidal drug used to combat lung inflammation in premature infants appears to have long-term negative effects.
- Astronomy
Sizing up a black hole
Astronomers are closing in on the size of the supermassive black hole that lies at our galaxy's center.
- Archaeology
Israeli cave yields Stone Age kills
A recently discovered Israeli cave has yielded some of the earliest known evidence of hunting by humans or our evolutionary ancestors, from around 300,000 to 200,000 years ago.
- Anthropology
Rock-solid choices of first toolmakers
Human ancestors who took up stone toolmaking in Africa around 2.6 million years ago already showed a proclivity for choosing high-quality pieces of rock, a new study finds.
