News

Astronomy

There’s life in the old galaxies yet

An unexpectedly large number of supermassive black holes in old galaxy clusters suggests these elderly groupings of galaxies aren't as quiescent as had been expected.

Materials Science

Carbon nanotubes do some bonding

Researchers have welded together carbon nanotubes to make junctions that could be useful in the construction of tiny electronic devices.

Health & Medicine

Challenges in testing for West Nile virus

The Food and Drug Administration is trying to figure out how blood banks can detect signs of West Nile infection in blood donors and, eventually, test donated blood for the virus itself.

Anthropology

Iceman mummy shares last meals

DNA analyses of food remains from the intestines of a 5,000-year-old mummified man found in Europe's Tyrolean Alps indicate that his last two meals included meat from mountain goats and red deer, as well as wild cereals.

Earth

It’s high tide for ice age climate change

Tides may sometimes be strong enough to tug Earth into an ice age.

Tech

Beads and glue defeat forgers

Researchers have devised a cheap, translucent material that, when embedded in credit cards and other items, would endow the items with unique identifiers that are almost impossible to tamper with or copy.

Earth

Moderate flows help carve rivers

Measurements of erosion in a rocky river channel in Taiwan suggest that the day-to-day flow of water accounts for more rock wear there than occasional catastrophic floods do.

Astronomy

Are solar eruptions triggered a loopy way?

Astronomers have identified a new solar mechanism that may explain some coronal mass ejections.

Health & Medicine

Panel ups RDAs for some antioxidants

An Institute of Medicine panel reported that dietary antioxidants such as vitamins A and E can limit cellular damage from free radicals but warned that studies in people have never adequately established a direct connection between antioxidant consumption and prevention of chronic disease.