News

Chemistry

Powerful explosive blasts onto scene

Researchers have synthesized what could be the most powerful nonnuclear explosive known.

Animals

Butterfly ears suggest a bat influence

Researchers have found the first bat-detecting ear in a butterfly and suggest that the threat of bats triggered the evolution of some moths into butterflies.

Astronomy

Hubble Space Telescope: Eye wide open

Two months after the failure of a fourth gyroscope shut it down, and 3 weeks after a shuttle crew paid it a service call, the Hubble Space Telescope is back in business.

Earth

As globe warms, atmosphere keeps its cool

Scientists confirm a confusing discrepancy between temperatures at Earth's surface and in its atmosphere.

Health & Medicine

Oxygen limits infections from surgery

Giving patients extra oxygen during and shortly after colorectal surgery halves the incidence of infection.

Animals

Oops. Woodpecker raps were actually gunshots

The knock-knock noises recorded last winter that raised hopes for rediscovering the long-lost ivory-billed woodpecker in Louisiana turn out to have been gunshots instead of bird noises.

Tech

Making a Little Impression: New chip-making method may mold the industry

A simple mechanical means of embossing silicon may offer an alternative to conventional chip-making methods.

Health & Medicine

Stem Cell Gain: Bone marrow cells seem to have what it takes

Tests show that a rodent bone marrow cell similar to one found in people acts as a multipurpose stem cell, much as embryonic stem cells do.

Astronomy

Planetary System in the Making? Stellar eclipse hints at planet-forming debris

Astronomers reported the first evidence that a young star is periodically eclipsed by a stream of debris, possibly an orbiting belt of asteroids held in place by a massive, unseen planet.

Chemistry

Molecule Sorting: Antibody membrane lends a hand

A new membrane may make it easier to separate mixtures of drug molecules that exist in mirror-image versions into their two components.