News
- 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.
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Nicotine limits cold adaptation
A new study homes in on why smokers may have a harder time staying warm in frigid environments.
- Physics
After 40-year prep, gravity test soars
The Gravity Probe B satellite, which was built to test aspects of general relativity, finally hurtled into space.
- Astronomy
Closing In on a Monster: A black hole’s dusty environs show themselves
The first clear picture of the immediate surroundings of a supermassive black hole confirms that these gravitational monsters hide behind thick belts of dust.
- Health & Medicine
Cord Blood to the Rescue: Infusions help babies with Hurler’s syndrome
Umbilical cord blood transplants boost overall health and survival in patients with the rare hereditary condition called Hurler's syndrome.
- Materials Science
Next High-Tech Polishing Fluid: Tea—A new brew for the computer industry
A concoction based on green tea may speed up manufacturing of precision components for computer hard-disk drives while reducing toxic wastes.
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Waste Not: Proteins suggest ways to thwart muscle loss
Researchers have now revealed details of the biochemical signals that drive muscle atrophy.
- Paleontology
Ancient Buzzing: German site yields early hummingbird fossils
Excavations in Germany have yielded the only known fossils of hummingbirds from the Old World and by far the oldest such fossils unearthed anywhere.
