News
- Health & Medicine
Targeting microRNA knocks out hepatitis C
Blocking a small molecule, a new drug reduces levels of the virus, chimp study shows.
- Anthropology
Contested signs of mass cannibalism
A new study yields controversial evidence of mass cannibalism in central Europe 7,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower - Earth
Ocean’s carbon dioxide uptake varies year to year
Data taken hourly by cargo ships show that how much of the greenhouse gas North Atlantic waters absorb varies more than thought.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
The apnea and the ecstasy
Users of the illicit drug have more bouts of sleep apnea, a dangerous nighttime breathing disorder.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Amino acid recipe could be right for long life
In fruit flies, a low-calorie diet with extra methionine extends lifespan without harming fertility
- Space
Star outweighed any known in Milky Way
A nearby supernova was a big blast, challenging theories of how massive stars live and die.
By Ron Cowen - Life
Gene stops tumors, but only when it’s gone
When a single copy of the microRNA processor Dicer is disabled, cancer can become more deadly. Removing Dicer completely, though, stops tumors.
- Life
Poached hammerhead fins traced to endangered populations
Mapping populations with DNA comparisons offers possible tool for conservation of hammerhead sharks.
- Chemistry
Elusive triangular snowflakes explained
Dust particles,wind and aerodynamics could steer some snowflakes toward a three-sided fate
- Humans
Loneliness is contagious, study suggests
An analysis of social networks finds that people who feel isolated may spread mistrust among others.
- Paleontology
Major eruption cooled the climate but went unnoticed
Ice-core records suggest that a major 1809 eruption cooled Earth even before the Tambora eruption and ‘the year without a summer’.
By Sid Perkins - Space
World’s biggest atom smasher sets first record
After a year’s delay, the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, became the world’s highest energy particle accelerator on November 30, revving up each of its twin proton beams to energies of 1.18 trillion electron volts.
By Ron Cowen