News
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Ragweed may boom with global warming
An experiment that includes artificially heating plots of tallgrass prairie suggests that global warming could boost growth of ragweed, putting more pollen into the air for allergy sufferers.
By Susan Milius -
Speech veers left in babies’ brains
The beginnings of left-brain specialization for speech understanding appear in 2-to-3-month-old babies as they listen to an adult talk, according to a new brain-scan investigation.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & Medicine
Researchers target sickle-cell cure
Using stem cell transplants and a compound called antithymocyte globulin, researchers in Paris have cured 59 of 69 children of sickle-cell disease.
By Nathan Seppa -
Earth
Rivers run to it
Increasing freshwater discharges into Arctic waters could disrupt important patterns of deep-water ocean circulation that affect climate.
By Janet Raloff -
Chemistry
Soy and oat combo protects against UV
Soybean oil and a natural chemical in oat bran have been chemically combined to make a new sunscreen.
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A fish’s solution to broken hearts
The zebrafish can regenerate missing heart muscle.
By John Travis -
Astronomy
Model Tracks Storms from the Sun
Teams of astronomers have developed a reliable method for predicting the time it takes for solar storms to arrive at Earth and have gathered observations confirming a model of how the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, manages to store up enough magnetic energy to induce these upheavals.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & Medicine
Double cord-blood transplant helps cancer patients
Two umbilical-cord-blood transplants may work better than one for cancer patients.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Clear Skin: Injections counteract psoriasis in patients
Injections of an immune system protein called interleukin-4 can alleviate skin problems in people with psoriasis.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Coffee Jitters: Caffeine boosts predictor of heart problems
Whether it comes from coffee or another source, caffeine causes a troubling rise in one biological indicator of heart health.
By Ben Harder -
Secrets of Memory All-Stars: Brain reflects superior recollection strategy
People who display exceptional recall for lists of information often employ an ancient learning strategy that engages brain areas considered crucial for spatial memory and navigation.
By Bruce Bower -
Animals
Homing Lobsters: Fancy navigation, for an invertebrate
Spiny lobsters are the first animals without backbones to pass tests for the orienteering power called true navigation.
By Susan Milius