News
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Physics
Physicists get B in antimatter studies
New observations that subatomic particles called B mesons decay differently from their antimatter versions may help explain why the universe is made almost entirely of matter, not antimatter.
By Peter Weiss -
Quoll male die-off doesn’t fit pattern
Males of a ferretlike marsupial called a quoll die off after one mating season-unusual behavior that suggests the need for new theories of why such deaths occur after mating.
By Susan Milius -
Stick insects: Three females remain
An Australian expedition locates three females of a big, flightless stick insect species thought to have gone extinct.
By Susan Milius -
Astronomy
Magnetic flip heralds solar max
Scientists have found another indicator that the sun has reached the maximum of its current activity cycle: The polarity of its magnetic field has reversed.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
In moon race, Saturn is still champ
New discoveries have raised the retinue of Saturn's known moons to 30, making the ringed planet the solar system's champ.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & Medicine
Surveying the Swiss: The eyes have it
Magnetic resonance imaging can help determine the health of a wheel of cheese.
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Living it up below the ice sheet?
A recent earthquake in Antarctica points toward geologic activity that could provide the energy necessary to incubate life in a liquid lake deep beneath the ice.
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Health & Medicine
Mice reveal new, severe form of allergy
Researchers studying an induced condition in mice akin to multiple sclerosis have stumbled across a situation in which mice suffered a severe allergic reaction to injected protein fragments that mimic one their own proteins.
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Roach females pick losers with good scents
Male Tanzanian cockroaches lose fights if they have too much of a particular pheromone, but females find it alluring.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Fat harbors cells that could aid joints
Researchers have found a way to trick fat into generating cartilage.
By Linda Wang -
Physics
Run-of-the-mill compound becomes superstar
The discovery that simple, common magnesium diboride can conduct electric current without resistance and does so at a surprisingly high temperature has sent physicists racing to understand its properties and to try to improve upon them.
By Peter Weiss -
Some police see through killer’s lies
For the first time, a person's ability to size up a highly motivated liar has been assessed in a study of police officers viewing videotaped interviews of a murder suspect.
By Bruce Bower