News
- Health & Medicine
Enzyme needed to degrade acetaldehyde
A shortage of the enzyme ALDH-2, which is needed to break down alcohol in the body, causes a buildup of the cancer-linked chemical acetaldehyde, perhaps explaining why alcoholics lacking ALDH-2 have high rates of mouth and throat cancers.
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Man-made thymus churns out immune cells
Scientists have constructed an artificial thymus to make immune cells in the laboratory.
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Brain, heal thyself
The rodent brain can be stimulated to replace damaged cells with new ones.
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Protein helps the brain connect
Neuroligins may help brain cells form specialized links known as synapses.
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Wasps: Mom doesn’t like you best
Female wasps that found a colony together show no favoritism toward their own offspring when the adults feed larvae.
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Excuse me, dear, which octopus are you?
Male blue-ringed octopuses get pretty far along in their courtship before they determine whether their partner is a female.
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How butterflies can eat cyanide
Some newly recognized chemical wizardry lets some Heliconius caterpillars thrive on leaves that defend themselves with cyanide.
- Astronomy
Astronomers get radio protection
Astronomers studying the universe at millimeter-wave energies-the high-frequency portion of the radio spectrum-were given an official guarantee last month that commercial satellites and other communication devices won't interfere with the scientists' observations.
- Astronomy
The smashup that rejuvenates
For some elderly stars, the fountain of youth may be only a collision away.
- Tech
Watching the Big Wheelers: In sea of cars, trucks reveal traffic flow
A new way to sense traffic jams more quickly tracks the motion of trucks within the overall traffic flow.
- Materials Science
Making Polymers That Self-Destruct: Layers break apart in controlled way
A new polymer film chews itself apart under certain conditions, making it a potential candidate for the controlled delivery of therapeutic drugs.
- Health & Medicine
Blood sugar processing tied to brain problems
Elderly people with slightly elevated blood sugar are more likely to have short-term memory problems than those with normal blood sugar.
