News
- Health & Medicine
Deadly Stowaways: Seeds of cancer in transplant recipients are traced back to donors
Precancerous cells that grow into Kaposi's sarcoma are sometimes introduced into a person in an organ transplant.
By Nathan Seppa - Anthropology
Cannibalism’s DNA Trail: Gene may signal ancient prion-disease outbreaks
Cannibalism among prehistoric humans may have left lasting genetic marks.
By Bruce Bower - Ecosystems
At a Snail’s Place: Rock climbing cuts mollusk diversity
As rock climbing soars in popularity, some cliff-side snail populations may be crashing.
- Animals
Costly Sexiness: All that flash puts birds at extra risk
Distinctive his-and-her plumages increase the chance that a bird species will go extinct locally, according to an unusually far-ranging study.
By Susan Milius - Astronomy
Once Upon a Time in the Cosmos: Using distant galaxies to study the early universe
Peering far back in time, two teams of astronomers report that they have found some of the universe's earliest galaxies.
By Ron Cowen - Physics
Rare Events: Exotic processes probe the heart of matter
Physicists have for the first time unambiguously detected and measured the rates of certain reactions among protons, neutrons, and simple atomic nuclei.
By Peter Weiss - Chemistry
Contacts could dispense drugs
Novel contact lens materials use nanoparticles to dispense drugs.
- Chemistry
Matcha green tea packs the antioxidants
A green tea used in Japanese tea ceremonies contains much more of a beneficial antioxidant than ordinary green tea.
- Chemistry
Nuclear-waste monitoring gets close to the source
A new prototype device may make monitoring of radioactive contamination cheaper and easier.
- Chemistry
Catnip repels pest
Known to repel cockroaches and mosquitoes, catnip oil also works against termites.
- Health & Medicine
Danes keeping drugs out of livestock
Reducing the amount of antibiotics given to livestock in Denmark has lowered the amount of drug-resistant Enterococcus faecium bacteria in the meat of these animals.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Indian encephalitis is traced to measles
An outbreak of fatal encephalitis in India appears to have been caused by a strange form of rashless measles in a majority of the sick children tested.
By Nathan Seppa