News
- Chemistry
Clearing the air on dirty art
Air-pollution damage to artworks may accumulate more stealthily than conservationists thought, suggesting that art exhibitors need to step up protection against such damage.
- Chemistry
Protein’s structure lights the way
Forty years after the discovery of aequorin in a jellyfish, the structure of this calcium-tracking, glowing protein is resolved.
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Bacteria give carpet a nasty smell
A compound produced by bacteria may be responsible for the "cat urine" smell of some new carpeting.
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Pen-shaped device purifies water
A battery-powered instrument the size and shape of a pen can quickly disinfect contaminated drinking water.
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Molecule sparks origin-of-life debate
The first genetic material may have been a molecule called peptide nucleic acid, or PNA.
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RNA and DNA help cells switch class
Immune cells may tailor their genetic blueprint for antibodies through unusual RNA-DNA structures.
- Astronomy
More evidence of a flat universe
Another balloon-borne experiment recording relic radiation from the Big Bang has found evidence that the universe is flat.
- Astronomy
A supernova’s shocking development
Astronomers have for the first time recorded the full force of the shock wave hurled from supernova 1987A, the brightest stellar explosion witnessed from Earth since the invention of the modern telescope.
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Religious commitment linked to longer life
A statistical analysis of 42 studies revealed that people who report heavy involvement in religious activities tend to have better physical health and live longer than those who don't.
- Physics
Spectrum deftly takes visible light’s pulse
A rainbow path to more precise measurements of visible-light frequencies may become an express lane to unprecedented accuracy in everyday measurements for all the sciences.
- Earth
Rural living may hobble sperm
An epidemiological study provides evidence that sperm concentrations in men residing in rural areas are significantly lower than those of men living in urban centers.
- Earth
Arsenic Agriculture? Irrigation may worsen Bangladesh’s woes
Researchers investigating an unfolding massive epidemic of arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh say they have evidence that local irrigation practices may be contributing to the problem.
