News
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Brains show evolutionary designs
Mammal species exhibit basic types of brain design from which they have evolved a wide array of brain sizes, according to a new analysis.
- Astronomy
Free-floaters: Images of planets?
Several recent studies have escalated the debate about what exactly constitutes a planet.
- Physics
Device shifts molecules into slow motion
Unlike other particle accelerators, which manipulate the speed and energy of charged particles, a new device accelerates neutral molecules such as ammonia.
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Outcry saves National Zoo’s research site
In the final hours, Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small withdrew his proposal to close the National Zoo's research center in Front Royal, Virginia.
- Health & Medicine
Gene stifled in some lung, breast cancers
The silencing of a gene called RASSF1A appears to increase the risk of cancer, studies of lung and breast tumors show.
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Domesticated goats show unique gene mix
A genetic analysis finds a surprising amount of genetic unity in goats living in Europe, Africa, and Asia, supporting the theory that goats were widely transported and traded throughout human history.
- Astronomy
Astronomers get the spin on black holes
Recording the X-ray flashes emitted by matter as it plunges into one of these gravitational beasts, astronomers last week reported strong evidence that black holes spin like whirling dervishes, dragging space-time along with them.
- Ecosystems
Hurricanes’ full havoc yet to be felt
When Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, and Irene pummelled North Carolina in the fall of 1999, they delivered a three-punch sequence that may, for years to come, disrupt fishing in the Atlantic Ocean.
- Health & Medicine
Memory may draw addicts back to cocaine
The hippocampus may be the seat of powerful cravings for cocaine in rats and play a key role in drug-addiction relapse.
- Earth
Lead Therapy Won’t Help Most Kids
Removing lead from the blood fails to spare even moderately exposed children from cognitive impairments.
- Health & Medicine
Fat may spur heart cells on to suicide
Fat in the heart may kill cells and eventually lead to heart failure.
- Health & Medicine
Virulent bacterium’s DNA is sequenced
The completed genome sequence of Staphylococcus aureus reveals transfers from other organisms of many of the antibiotic-resistance and virulence genes.
