News
- Health & Medicine
Designer RNA stalls hepatitis in mice
Using strips of synthetic RNA that interfere with normal gene action, scientists working with mice have stopped the progression of hepatitis.
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Dolly, first cloned mammal, is dead
Dolly, the first clone of an adult mammal, has been euthanized after acquiring a severe lung infection.
- Materials Science
Ceramic rebounds from stressful situations
The ceramic titanium silicon carbide can fully recover after being compressed to a degree that would leave most ceramics shattered and most metals permanently deformed.
- Chemistry
A safer antioxidant?
Scientists have developed a synthetic antioxidant that won't, at high doses, foster the tissue damage the compounds are meant to prevent.
- Tech
Worms may spin silk fit for skin
Silk cocoons could become puffs of valuable human proteins if a new bioengineering method pans out.
- Physics
Electronic Acrobats: Tidily tweaking electrons’ twirls
The first demonstration of three-dimensional, electrical control of a quantum property of electrons known as spin marks an important step toward a new type of spin-based electronics and, possibly, quantum computers.
- Earth
If It’s Wet in Malaysia . . . : Afghan droughts linked to rain in Indian Ocean
An analysis of nearly 2 decades of weather patterns suggests a link between an abundance of precipitation in the eastern Indian Ocean and a lack of rain in portions of southwestern Asia.
- Health & Medicine
Full Pipeline: Success of experimental AIDS drugs offers promise of future therapies
Three experimental drugs—a monoclonal antibody, a protease inhibitor, and a fusion inhibitor—performed well in early tests on AIDS patients.
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Cult Anthrax: Stored slime reveals why release went undetected
A U.S. anthrax geneticist tells the story behind his work figuring out how Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo released anthrax into Tokyo but people didn't notice anything except a nasty smell.
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Dirty RATS: Campaign ad may have swayed voters subliminally
Psychological research sparked by a controversial campaign advertisement aired during the 2000 presidential election suggests that the 30-second spot—which briefly flashed "RATS"—may have negatively affected viewers’ opinions of Democratic candidate Al Gore.
- Planetary Science
Martian Gullies: Carved by melting snow?
Melting snow may have sculpted the recently formed gullies found at midlatitudes on Mars.
- Anthropology
Evolution’s DNA Fusion: Hybrid gene forms clue to human, ape origins
A gene of mixed evolutionary pedigree may have transformed mammalian reproduction, leading to the evolution of apes and humans.
