News
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PhysicsNuclear pudding—to go
Moving at nearly the speed of light, atomic nuclei hurtling through a huge particle collider may become mostly dense, flattened puddings of nuclear particles known as gluons.
By Peter Weiss -
Health & MedicinePutting the brakes on toxic shock
Scientists have discovered the cascade of molecular events that underpins many cases of toxic shock syndrome.
By Nathan Seppa -
PhysicsNew supergas debuts
A cloud of ultracold potassium atoms, manipulated by means of a magnetic field, has coalesced into a new super form of matter called a fermionic condensate.
By Peter Weiss -
Health & MedicineSome T cells may be a fetus’ best friend
While pregnant, mice overproduce a kind of T cell that reins in other immune cells that might target the fetus.
By Nathan Seppa -
Planetary ScienceA view of Mars, European style
Although the Mars lander Beagle 2 is presumed dead, its mother craft, the European Space Agency's Mars Express, has transmitted its first data from a polar orbit about the Red Planet.
By Ron Cowen -
TechThe rat in the hat
A compact positron-emission tomography (PET) brain scanner may make possible studies of awake rats that link brain functions and behaviors.
By Peter Weiss -
Health & MedicinePill Puzzle: Do antibiotics increase breast cancer risk?
A new study links antibiotic use to breast cancer, although it's not clear the drugs cause the disease.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineDrug Racing: Gene tied to HIV-drug response
A genetic mutation more common in blacks than in whites increases the odds that people taking a common HIV medicine will suffer side effects that lead them to halt treatment.
By Ben Harder -
Monkey Love: Male marmosets think highly of sex
A new brain-imaging study in marmosets suggests that males sexually aroused by the scent of females may be thinking carefully before they mate, opposing the notion that nonhuman male mammals act purely upon a primal urge.
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EarthNanosponges: Plastic particles pick up pollutants
Nanometer-scale polymer particles can extract pollutants from contaminated soil.
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EarthCatching Waves: Ocean-surface changes may mark tsunamis
A new theoretical model that describes a tsunami's interaction with winds may explain enigmatic observations associated with the waves and could lead to a technique for spotting them long before they hit shore.
By Sid Perkins -
EcosystemsBird Dilemma: More seabirds killed when boats discard fewer fish
A long-term study of great skuas shows that when fishing fleets discard less fish, birds that scavenge for waste make up for the loss by increasing attacks on other seabirds.
By Susan Milius