News
- Health & Medicine
Keeping artery plaques under control
Toning down a gene called CHOP may offer a way to reduce the risk of arterial plaque ruptures, which can cause heart attacks and strokes, a study in mice shows.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Narcolepsy linked to immune system
Genome association study finds a second connection between the sleep disorder and the body's disease-fighting apparatus
- Space
Origin of high-energy cosmic rays more mysterious, again
The origin of the rare, energetic particles that previous evidence indicated came from galaxies that house supermassive black holes, is now much less certain.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Introducing the young Milky Ways
Astronomers discover ancestors of modern-day spiral galaxies
By Ron Cowen - Life
Ants may be the Undead
Living Argentine ant workers may carry the chemical signatures of death along with an override signal that says, "No undertaker needed yet."
By Susan Milius - Space
Another clue in the case for dark matter
New data from the Fermi spacecraft fail to debunk a sister craft's possible finding of dark matter's mark.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Swine flu genetics suggest a vaccine is possible
So far, strain's contagion appears on par with that of a seasonal flu outbreak. Vaccine would be at least months away.
By Nathan Seppa - Paleontology
Soft tissue from a dino fossil
Researchers have uncovered soft tissue and fragments of several proteins from a hadrosaur.
By Sid Perkins - Life
Expansive genetic diversity in Africa revealed
Largest genetic study of African populations yields clues about the origin of modern humans and the ancestry of African-Americans
- Space
MESSENGER’s second pass
New studies detail the latest findings about Mercury from the MESSENGER spacecraft, including the discovery of the second largest crater known on the planet and a surprisingly strong interaction between the sun’s magnetic field and that of the planet.
By Ron Cowen - Life
Birds bust a move to musical beats
Parrots and possibly other vocal-mimicking animals can synchronize their movements to a musical beat, two new studies suggest.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
World Health Organization raises swine flu alert level
The World Health Organization announced April 29 that is has raised the alert level for swine flu from Phase 4 to Phase 5, which suggests that a pandemic is imminent.
By Nathan Seppa