News
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Neuroscience
Wrinkled brain mimics crumpled paper
Brains crumple up just like wads of paper, a new study suggests.
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Chemistry
Missing enzyme to blame for scentless roses
The unusual enzyme behind roses’ sweet smell may help researchers revive the flower’s potent aroma.
By Beth Mole -
Health & Medicine
Smell test may detect autism
A quick sniff test could reveal whether or not a child has autism, but some scientists have doubts.
By Meghan Rosen -
Animals
Heat turns wild genetic male reptiles into functional females
Genetic male bearded dragons changed to females by overheating in the wild can still breed successfully.
By Susan Milius -
Psychology
Music to just about everyone’s ears
Common elements of music worldwide point to its central role in group cohesion.
By Bruce Bower -
Astronomy
Super-Earths are not a good place for plate tectonics
The intense pressures inside super-Earths make plate tectonics less likely, new research suggests.
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Environment
Oil-munching microbes cleaning up Gulf marshes faster than expected
Microbes in some of Louisiana’s marshes are breaking down oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill faster than expected.
By Beth Mole -
Neuroscience
One path that fear takes in the brain discovered
By hijacking a newly discovered pathway in mice’s brains, scientists inspire fear.
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Health & Medicine
Switching off nerve cells eases asthma attacks
A drug that numbs nerve cells in mice’s airways offers a new way to ease the effects of an asthma attack.
By Meghan Rosen -
Health & Medicine
New cancer drugs wake up sleeping killer T cells
The immune system’s T cells, often evaded by tumors, might now resume the attack.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Spit test could provide early warning of head, neck cancers
A new study shows that signs of head and neck cancer can be detected in saliva and blood plasma even before tumors are clinically diagnosed.
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Astronomy
Dark galaxies grow in abundance
Nearly 1,000 shadowy galaxies lurk in a nearby cluster, some of which are as massive as the Milky Way and yet have only 0.1 percent the number of stars.