News
- Space
Neutron star breaks mass record
The new heavyweight champion in its stellar class rules out a number of exotic theories.
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- Life
1000 Genomes pilot a hit with geneticists
The first stage of a project to probe human genetic diversity has found millions of new variations.
- Health & Medicine
Pancreatic cancer years in the making
A decade elapses from the first cancer-related mutation to tumor formation, and several more years pass until the disease spreads to other organs, a new study finds. The work raises the possibility that a usually deadly malignancy can be treated before it’s too late.
- Humans
Weighing risks, convicts display blind spots
Prisoners often don’t appreciate likely gains or losses in making decisions, a finding with possible policy implications.
- Space
Spacecraft eavesdrops on distant stars
By listening to sound waves, researchers hope to learn about the age and composition of distant worlds.
- Tech
Robots can use coffee as a picker-upper
A gripper made of a bag of loose grains has advantages over grasping devices that use individual digits.
- Paleontology
India yields fossil trove in amber
Insect remains suggest the continent hosted a surprisingly wide variety of creatures 50 million years ago.
- Chemistry
Breathe better with bitter
Taste receptors in the lungs open airways in response to acrid gases.
- Health & Medicine
Pet frogs can transmit salmonella
A CDC investigation adds a common aquarium species to the list of amphibians that can carry and spread bacteria.
- Life
Why flies can drink and drink
Fruit flies use sophisticated pumps to suck fluids as thick as syrup.
- Planetary Science
Venus, erupting?
Lava flow suggests recent volcanism on Earth’s nearest planetary neighbor.
