News
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Health & MedicinePromising drug cuts tumor metabolism
Early safety trials of an experimental medicine suggest that it could be used for treating several serious cancers.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineImmune test predicts tolerance for radiation
A new blood test can foretell which cancer patients are likely to suffer serious delayed side effects from radiation therapy.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineGenes linked to colon cancer take sides
Cancers on opposite sides of the colon are genetically distinct and should be studied and treated as separate entities.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineHerbal therapy may carry cancer danger
An herbal extract that some women use to relieve symptoms of menopause increases the likelihood in mice with breast cancer that the disease will spread.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineKeeping breathing steady and safe
Scientists may have found a way to avoid the lowered breathing rate that comes from treatment with morphine or other opiate-based narcotics and anesthetics.
By John Travis -
AstronomyDusty times on Mars
On July 1, a dust cloud emerged from Mars' Hellas Basin, and 3 days later it had become 1,800 kilometers wide, roughly one-fourth the Red Planet’s diameter.
By Ron Cowen -
Down the Tubes: Amino acid proves key to plant reproduction
An amino acid that human brain cells communicate with also has a role in plant sex.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineMetal’s Mayhem: Cadmium mimics estrogen’s effects, thwarts DNA repair
Cadmium causes endocrine disruption by mimicking estrogen in rats and also thwarts routine DNA repair, causing mutations, two studies show.
By Nathan Seppa -
Materials ScienceTiny Labs: Polymers on silicon chip catch, release proteins
In a step toward a new laboratory-on-a-chip technology, researchers have grown a dense polymer film on a silicon wafer that takes up and releases proteins on command.
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AnimalsCity Song: Birds sing higher near urban traffic
Birds in noisier city spots tend to sing at a higher pitch than do members of the same species in quieter neighborhoods.
By Susan Milius -
EarthProtective Blanket: Atmosphere blocks many small stony asteroids
A new computer model that more realistically simulates the aerodynamic forces on an object as it passes through Earth’s atmosphere suggests that the thin layer of air is an even better shield than previously thought.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & MedicineSplit Ends: Cancers follow shrinkage of chromosomes’ tips
Genetic tabs called telomeres, which normally protect the ends of chromosomes, become undersized in many tissues that later turn cancerous, new studies in people show.
By Ben Harder