News
- Earth
Snow alga may be sizable carbon sink
A common microorganism that adds a reddish tinge to some patches of snow may be a significant consumer of planet-warming carbon dioxide.
- Health & Medicine
Do liver stem cells come from bone marrow?
Tests of liver tissue from people who've received liver or blood-marrow transplants show that stem cells in bone marrow can populate the liver as liver cells.
- Materials Science
Conch yields clues for future materials
A conch's tough, calcium carbonate shell resists fractures because a protein surrounds the mineral crystals throughout the shell.
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Prenatal problems linked to schizophrenia
Three large, long-term studies found that periods of oxygen deprivation in the fetus, along with obesity and second-trimester respiratory infections in the mother, are associated with adult schizophrenia.
- Planetary Science
Martian leaks: Hints of present-day water
In some of the coldest regions on Mars, water appears to have recently gushed from just beneath the surface, running down crater walls and steep valleys.
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Human Genome Work Reaches Milestone
Two rival groups jointly announced that each has read essentially all of the 3 billion or so letters that spell out the human genome, the genetic information encoded with the 6 feet of DNA coiled up in every human cell.
- Health & Medicine
Blood-Clot Surprise: Finding might explain a danger of Viagra
An amendment to the blood-clotting pathway might link Viagra to heart attacks in some users.
- Astronomy
Distant and Strange: Orb isn’t just another extrasolar planet
A novel search technique that could ultimately find Earthlike worlds has uncovered an extrasolar planet that is 30 times farther away than any other planet detected and lies closer to its parent star than does any other orb discovered to date.
- Earth
Northern Vents: Arctic shows surprising hydrothermal activity
A recent survey along a midocean ridge beneath the Arctic icepack unveiled an unexpected abundance of hydrothermal activity.
- Health & Medicine
Nifty Spittle: Compound in bat saliva may aid stroke patients
An anticlotting molecule in the saliva of vampire bats combats strokelike brain damage in mice.
- Materials Science
Quick-Change Surface: Material repels water on command
Researchers have modified a gold surface so that it switches from a water-attracting mode to a water-repelling one on command.
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Testosterone’s Family Ties: Hormone-linked problems reflect parent-child bond
Low or high concentrations of the hormone testosterone may contribute to delinquency and depression mainly in children who have poor relationships with their parents.
