News
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A fish’s solution to broken hearts
The zebrafish can regenerate missing heart muscle.
By John Travis -
AstronomyModel Tracks Storms from the Sun
Teams of astronomers have developed a reliable method for predicting the time it takes for solar storms to arrive at Earth and have gathered observations confirming a model of how the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, manages to store up enough magnetic energy to induce these upheavals.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineDouble cord-blood transplant helps cancer patients
Two umbilical-cord-blood transplants may work better than one for cancer patients.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineClear Skin: Injections counteract psoriasis in patients
Injections of an immune system protein called interleukin-4 can alleviate skin problems in people with psoriasis.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineCoffee Jitters: Caffeine boosts predictor of heart problems
Whether it comes from coffee or another source, caffeine causes a troubling rise in one biological indicator of heart health.
By Ben Harder -
Secrets of Memory All-Stars: Brain reflects superior recollection strategy
People who display exceptional recall for lists of information often employ an ancient learning strategy that engages brain areas considered crucial for spatial memory and navigation.
By Bruce Bower -
AnimalsHoming Lobsters: Fancy navigation, for an invertebrate
Spiny lobsters are the first animals without backbones to pass tests for the orienteering power called true navigation.
By Susan Milius -
EarthSulfur Studies: Early Earth’s air was oxygen-poor
Analyses of ancient sulfide minerals and the modern organisms that create sulfides are giving scientists a better idea of what Earth's atmosphere and oceans may have been like billions of years ago.
By Sid Perkins -
Materials ScienceFracture Protection: Nanotubes toughen up ceramics
The addition of carbon nanotubes to a ceramic material dramatically improves its fracture resistance.
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Brain learns to sharpen its focus
A brain-imaging study indicates that visual learning intensifies activity in a specific part of the neural gateway for information transmitted from the eyes.
By Bruce Bower -
AstronomyRunaway black hole
Observing a black hole and its visible companion star caroming through our galaxy, astronomers have found the best evidence to date that stellar-mass black holes are born during supernova explosions.
By Ron Cowen -
Materials ScienceCarbon nanotubes beam electrons
Researchers have taken a step toward using carbon nanotubes as electron sources in devices such as high-resolution electron microscopes.