News
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Health & MedicineEven short-term opioid use can set people up for addiction risks
A study of opioid prescriptions for sprained ankles finds that patients prescribed 30 or more pills are more likely to seek refills.
By Laura Beil -
Quantum PhysicsQuantum tractor beam could tug atoms, molecules
The wavelike behavior of quantum particles could be harnessed to move atoms.
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GeneticsHybrid protein offers malaria protection
Rare hybrid protein that spans red blood cell membranes offers some protection against malaria.
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Health & MedicineTransplanted stem cells become eggs in sterile mice
Sterile mice that received transplanted egg-making stem cells were able to have healthy babies.
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EnvironmentWhen it’s hot, plants become a surprisingly large source of air pollution
During a heat wave, trees and shrubs can sharply raise ozone levels, a new study shows.
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AnimalsOrangutans take motherhood to extremes, nursing young for more than eight years
Weaning in orangutans has been tricky to see in the wild, so researchers turned to dental tests to reveal long nursing period.
By Susan Milius -
Health & MedicineWhere you live can affect your blood pressure, study suggests
For black adults, moving out of a racially segregated neighborhood is linked to a drop in blood pressure, a new study finds.
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PhysicsNaked singularity might evade cosmic censor
Physicists demonstrate the possibility of a “naked” singularity in curved space.
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GeneticsSelfish genes hide for decades in plain sight of worm geneticists
Crossing wild Hawaiian C. elegans with the familiar lab strain reveals genes that benefit themselves by making mother worms poison offspring who haven’t inherited the right stuff.
By Susan Milius -
Planetary ScienceWatery exoplanet’s skies suggest unexpected origin story
Compared with Neptune, HAT-P-26b’s atmosphere has few heavy elements, suggesting it formed differently than the ice giants in Earth’s solar system.
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PaleontologyAncient whale tells tale of when baleen whales had teeth
A 36 million-year-old whale fossil bridges the gap between ancient toothy predators and modern filter-feeding baleen whales.
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Health & Medicine‘Exercise pill’ turns couch potato mice into marathoners
An experimental "exercise in a pill" increases running endurance in mice before they step foot on a treadmill.
By Laura Beil