News
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Neural Road to Repression: Brain may block out undesired memories
Specific brain structures work together to allow people to repress certain memories intentionally.
By Bruce Bower -
ChemistryMoonlighting: Reflective protein causes squid to shimmer
Squid can manipulate light in amazing ways to camouflage themselves at night, and researchers have unveiled a bizarre set of reflective proteins in the animals' tissues that underlie this trait.
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HumansCow Madness: Disease’s U.S. emergence highlights role of feed ban
The threat of mad cow disease to both people and animals in the U.S. remains low, as long as government regulations designed to prevent the disease's spread are enforced, risk analysts say.
By Ben Harder -
AstronomyTaste of a Comet: Spacecraft samples and views Wild 2
Pummeled by debris, a NASA spacecraft last week snatched up dust samples while taking the sharpest images ever of a comet's icy core.
By Ron Cowen -
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EarthWhen testosterone gets down and dirty
Testosterone excreted by livestock can pass through soils, which may explain new findings of fish-altering hormonal activity in water downstream of cattle feedlots.
By Janet Raloff -
AstronomyX-ray images highlight galaxy collisions
A new study provides graphic evidence that X-ray observations may be the best way to identify ancient collisions between galaxies.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineSARS vaccine triggers immunity in monkeys
An experimental vaccine against the SARS virus shows promise in a test on monkeys.
By Nathan Seppa -
TechGene Screen: Ultrasensitive nanowires catch mutations
Researchers have devised a nanowire sensor that binds to DNA molecules and produces an electrical signal almost instantaneously.
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Health & MedicinePivotal Protein: Inhibiting immune compound slows sepsis
By restraining the action of an immune system protein that can run amok, scientists experimenting on mice have reversed the course of severe sepsis.
By Nathan Seppa -
EarthBlasts from the Past: Orbiting radar spots old nuclear-test sites
A technique that analyzes satellite images to detect subtle ground motions often can perceive subsidence over underground nuclear-test sites, sometimes even if those tests occurred decades ago.
By Sid Perkins -
PaleontologyAncestral Handful: Tiny skull puts Asia at root of primate tree
Researchers have unearthed the partial skull of the oldest known primate, a tiny creature that lived in south-central China 55 million years ago.
By Bruce Bower