News
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Health & MedicineLow birth weight matters later, too
Premature babies weighing less than 1.5 kilograms at birth grow up to have lower achievement scores on standard tests and are less likely to go to college than are full-term babies weighing more than twice as much.
By Nathan Seppa -
ChemistryA new molecule and a new signature
In two independent discoveries, chemists have prepared a new form of nitrogen and captured the infrared spectrum of an unusual molecule made up of hydrogen and oxygen.
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Materials ScienceScientists make nanothermometer
A carbon nanotube filled with gallium can be used to measure temperatures in microscopic environments.
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AstronomyUV telescopes: One dead, one revived
One ultraviolet observatory burned up in Earth's atmosphere late last month while another has gotten a new lease on life.
By Ron Cowen -
Women whiff men in sniff proficiency
Women of reproductive age exhibit a unique ability to learn to detect specific smells with great sensitivity, an aptitude that may reflect the activity of female hormones in the brain.
By Bruce Bower -
AnimalsYellower blue tits make better dads
The yellow feathers on a male blue tit's breast could tell females that he'll be a good provider for the chicks.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsTropical plants grow cool flowers
Tropical plants that position their flowers in the general direction of the sun are keeping the temperature comfortable for pollinators.
By Susan Milius -
HumansProtection money: Budget favors defense and bioterror research
The budget proposal that President Bush forwarded to Congress includes the largest-ever increase for scientific research and development, with particularly generous provisions for defense and health research programs.
By Ben Harder -
Planetary ScienceExtreme weather: Massive hurricanes meet on Jupiter
Both professional and amateur sky watchers are pointing their telescopes at Jupiter as two titanic storms in the giant planet's upper atmosphere meet each other.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineSlowing lupus: Stifled inflammation limits kidney damage
A new therapy for the autoimmune disease lupus works in mice by thwarting activation of immune-system proteins called complement.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineTaking a toll: Antiviral drugs activate immune system
Promising antiviral drugs activate a key immune-system protein.
By John Travis -
EarthHard rock jellies: Throng of rare fossils found in Midwest quarry
A Wisconsin sandstone quarry recently served up a rare scientific find nearly a half billion years in the making: fossils of an armada of jellyfish that stud the site’s stone slabs.
By Sid Perkins