News
- Planetary Science
Dawn mission to die another day
A glitch does not threaten the spacecraft’s survival, but it will delay an upcoming visit to the dwarf planet Ceres.
- Life
Mantis shrimp flub color vision test
Unexpectedly poor results on crustacean eye exams suggest there’s another way to perceive color.
- Earth
Antibacterial agent can weaken muscle
Triclosan impairs the power of the heart and other muscles in two species and at relatively low doses.
- Life
Smell deals with deprivation differently
One odor-related brain region called the orbitofrontal cortex keeps the sense primed for resumed input during a cold.
- Humans
Good times led to grisly custom
Ancient Chileans developed artificial mummification after an increase in the numbers of living and dead people made naturally preserved bodies hard to ignore.
- Physics
Molecules get a big chill
A new cooling method takes big groups of atoms closer to long-sought temperatures for exploring the nature of matter.
- Tech
Camera hack can spot cleaned-up crimes
Exploiting a standard tool of art conservation can help police find painted-over bloodstains.
- Chemistry
Method puts wrinkles in neat little rows
MIT researchers have discovered how to create perfect patterns of microscopic wrinkles.
- Earth
Global groundwater use outpaces supply
Footprint measure reveals unsustainable use of the world’s aquifers.
- Chemistry
Scaffolding props up failing hearts
Hydrogel treatment stimulates cell repair and blood vessel regrowth in pig experiments.
- Humans
New fossils hint at ancestral split
Jaw and face bones suggest two Homo species lived in East Africa nearly 2 million years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Thinner isn’t always better in diabetes
Normal-weight people who develop diabetes have higher mortality than people who are overweight or obese at the disease’s onset
