News
-
Health & MedicineDamage Patrol: Enzyme may reveal cancer susceptibility
People with lung cancer show less DNA-repair activity by a certain enzyme than people without the disease do.
By Nathan Seppa -
PhysicsFusion Boost: Promising path to heavy nuclei
By using radioactive nuclei as projectiles in accelerator-based nuclear collisions, scientists may be able to produce more readily than expected many exotic heavy nuclei that are impossible to make today but are crucial for future advances in nuclear physics.
By Peter Weiss -
AstronomyA Low Note in Cosmos: Sounding out a new role for black holes
Astronomers have for the first time detected sound waves generated by a black hole.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineControl of animal epidemic slowed human illness
Control measures implemented in response to the devastating animal epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease can apparently help curtail the spread of the cryptosporidium parasite, which sickens people.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineCoronary calcium may predict death risk
The amount of calcium in the coronary arteries can serve as a risk marker for people who are otherwise without heart disease symptoms.
By Nathan Seppa -
EarthNew mantle model gets the water out
A novel notion of geophysical processes taking place deep within our planet may explain why the upper layer of Earth's mantle is relatively depleted of many trace elements.
By Sid Perkins -
AstronomySolar system replica?
Carefully monitoring the motion of a star 90 light-years from Earth, astronomers have found what may be the closest analog known to our solar system.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineGrades slipping? Check for snoring
Children who snore frequently are more likely to struggle with their schoolwork than are children who rarely snore.
By Nathan Seppa -
PaleontologyFossils’ ear design hints at aquatic lifestyle
New studies of distinctive skull structures in fossils of one of Earth's earliest-known four-limbed creatures suggest the animal could hear best when it was underwater.
By Sid Perkins -
ChemistrySecret of strong silk
By controlling the amount of water in their glands, spiders and silkworms prevent their silk proteins from crystallizing prematurely.
-
EarthExposure to phthalate may shorten pregnancy
Babies exposed to a common phthalate plasticizer before birth spend a week less in the womb than do those without evidence of exposure.
By Ben Harder -
ChemistryCatalyzing green chemistry
A recyclable catalyst promises to eliminate the waste generated during the manufacture of a wide range of chemicals, including drugs and ceramics.