News
- Earth
Explorers pinpoint source of the Amazon
A five-nation team of explorers has used Global Positioning System equipment to confirm that the source of the Amazon is a snowmelt-fed stream high in the Peruvian Andes.
By Sid Perkins - Chemistry
For a better smile, have some wasabi
Chemicals in the Japanese condiment wasabi could help prevent tooth decay.
- Chemistry
Where the tire meets the conveyor belt
A new, noninvasive technique could detect an impending failure in a rubber tire or conveyor belt.
- Health & Medicine
Cocaine link to heart attack bolstered
Regular cocaine use may account for one-fourth of nonfatal heart attacks in people under age 45.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Gene mutation can spur autoimmunity
A mutation of a gene on the X chromosome can lead to a dangerous autoimmune disorder and type I diabetes.
By Nathan Seppa - Astronomy
A Jovian moon lost and found
After 25 years, astronomers have relocated a tiny satellite of Jupiter.
By Ron Cowen - Astronomy
A trio of new planets
With the discovery of three additional planets that lie outside the solar system, astronomers have now found evidence of more than 50 extrasolar planets.
By Ron Cowen - Chemistry
Cut-ups create soft spots for chemistry
Networks of fabricated, squishy vesicles as tiny as red blood cells and connected by thin tubules may one day serve as microscopic chemical laboratories, sensors, and even chemical computers.
By Peter Weiss -
Film solves mystery of sleepwalking coral
For the first time, bewildered researchers realized that a bootlace-size eunicid worm can move chunks of coral around, perhaps explaining how some coral reefs get started.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Scientists analyze volcanoes’ killing ways
Death patterns from more than 400 volcanic eruptions through history may reveal ways to reduce the number of fatalities from similar causes in the future.
By Sid Perkins - Anthropology
Gene, fossil data back diverse human roots
Ancient mitochondrial DNA extracted from Homo sapiens fossils and anatomical links among H. sapiens crania from different regions both support a theory of geographically diverse human origins.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Protein pair induces nerve repair in mice
Mice genetically engineered to make two proteins normally active in early nerve development are able to regrow damaged nerve fibers somewhat in their central nervous systems.
By Nathan Seppa