News
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For some heart patients, days are numbered
Cardiac deaths among Chinese and Japanese residents of the United States peak on the fourth day of each month, possibly due to psychological stress from their widespread belief that the number 4 is linked to death.
- Ecosystems
Mistletoe, of all things, helps juniper trees
A mistletoe that grows on junipers may do the trees a favor by attracting birds that spread the junipers' seeds.
- Earth
It’s bottoms up for iron at sea’s surface
Sediments drilled from the seafloor off Antarctica suggest that the dissolved iron in surface waters that fuels much of the region's biological productivity comes from upwelling deep water currents, not from dust blowing off the continents.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Materials Science
Can ancient stone avoid salt attacks?
Researchers have found that a polymer coating can protect stone from damage caused by growing crystals.
- 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.
- 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.
