News
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Materials Science
Natural Healing: Nanothread mesh could lead to novel bandages
A new material made from clot-promoting protein fibers may serve as a wound covering that speeds healing and never needs removing.
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Health & Medicine
Montezuma’s Welcome Revenge? Bacterial toxin may fend off colon cancer
A diarrhea-inducing toxin from some strains of the common gut bacterium E. coli stifles colon cancer cell growth and may lead to new treatments.
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Earth
Dirty Story: Farming has increased flow of soil onto reef
Agricultural practices that early European settlers brought to eastern Australia sped the pace at which soil washes out to sea and settles over the Great Barrier Reef.
By Ben Harder -
Astronomy
Cosmic Revelations: Satellite homes in on the infant universe
A new portrait of the infant universe pins down the age of the universe—13.7 billion years—to an unprecedented accuracy of 1 percent, provides new evidence that the universe began with a brief but humongous growth spurt, and reveals that it already contained a plethora of stars when it was just 200 million years old.
By Ron Cowen -
Gene found key to brain chemical
The mammalian brain makes the neurotransmitter serotonin in an unexpected way.
By John Travis -
Health & Medicine
Worms offer the skinny on fat genes
The identification of worm genes that regulate fat storage may provide insight into human obesity.
By John Travis -
Astronomy
Starry eruption on a grand scale
Monitoring the bloated star Rho Cassiopeiae, astronomers report they witnessed an explosion that blasted more material into space than any other stellar explosion ever observed.
By Ron Cowen -
Physics
Streams plus nanostrands equals electricity
A dense bundle of carbon nanotubes develops a voltage difference along its length when immersed in a slow-flowing liquid.
By Peter Weiss -
Chemistry
Synthetic molecule may treat anemia
Researchers have created a new form of the protein erythropoietin (EPO) using synthetic chemistry techniques.
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Earth
9/11 ash, and more, found in river muck
Sediment cores pulled from the Hudson River near the World Trade Center site contain a thin layer of metal-rich ash and pulverized debris.
By Sid Perkins -
Catch of the day for cancer researchers
Scientists are using glowing tumor cells inside zebrafish to study how cancer spreads.
By John Travis -
Health & Medicine
Mind Numbing: Anesthesia in baby rats stunts brain development
General anesthetic drugs commonly used in pediatric surgery, when given to baby rats, trigger brain cells to commit a cellular form of suicide that leads to lasting memory and learning deficits.