News
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Health & Medicine
Vaccine prevents urinary-tract infections
An experimental vaccine designed to repel 10 common bacteria that cause bladder infections has cleared a key hurdle by proving safe and effective in a group of women.
By Nathan Seppa -
Astronomy
Galaxy survey sheds light on dark matter
Astronomers are examining some of the brightest objects in the universe to learn about the darkest stuff.
By Ron Cowen -
Tech
Magnetic refrigerator gets down and homey
Because it uses a permanent magnet, a new, prototype magnetic cooler takes up so little space that it could give rise to ordinary household refrigerators and air conditioners that run on magnetism instead of volatile liquids.
By Peter Weiss -
Health & Medicine
Virus Shapes Risk of Multiple Sclerosis
A huge, decade-long study bolsters the link between Epstein-Barr virus and the autoimmune disorder multiple sclerosis by showing that the common infection is more active in people who later develop symptoms of the disease.
By Ben Harder -
Tech
Engineered crystal obeys inner bananas
Flexing new skills at custom-designing crystals, researchers built a specific optical trait into a new organic crystal by tinkering with the shape of one of the crystal's constituent molecules.
By Peter Weiss -
Tech
Many-armed magnets reveal stem cells
Novel particles that combine magnetic crystals and many-branched polymers may permit doctors to track stem cells in people by using standard magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners.
By Peter Weiss -
Materials Science
Can ancient stone avoid salt attacks?
Researchers have found that a polymer coating can protect stone from damage caused by growing crystals.
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Materials Science
Carbon nanotubes turn on water flow
Computer simulations show that water molecules will quicklye nter and flow along a carbon nanotube just 8 nanometers in diameter.
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Astronomy
Galileo catches Io in a slump
Galileo spacecraft images show for the first time that material has slid downward along a cliff on Jupiter's moon Io.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Observing the sun’s magnetic pull
A spacecraft studying the sun has spotted clouds of gas that seem to be headed the wrong way, falling back toward the solar surface instead of continuing to move outward with the stream of charged particles known as the solar wind.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
A night of shooting stars
Thousands of people in North America who got up early on Nov. 18 were treated to a memorable sky show: White, yellow, blue, and green fireballs, some leaving behind smoke trails, streaked across the sky.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & Medicine
Sometimes lying down is harder work
Squatting or standing might ease baby delivery by allowing the birth canal more room to expand.