News

  1. Health & Medicine

    Tired brain defaults differently

    Sleep deprivation may cause the brain to switch to default mode when it should be paying attention.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Junior moments

    A new study finds that young adults actually had more "senior moments" than did older people.

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  3. Animals

    Dogs show a fetching communication savvy

    In a sign of understanding that one object can be used to represent another, border collies fetch toys after being shown replicas or, in some cases, photos of those toys.

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  4. Space

    Brines on Mars

    Unusually high concentration of perchlorate salts found in Martian soil suggests that the Red Planet may harbor shallow, extremely briny oceans just below its surface. The existence of these brines may explain a host of puzzles on Mars.

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  5. Physics

    Never mind the Pollock ‘fractals’

    Scientists strengthen claim that fractal analysis is moot.

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  6. Ecosystems

    U.S. bird populations in decline, report says

    Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar releases a review of U.S. bird populations.

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  7. Chemistry

    Helping molecules reach meta

    Researchers find a simple way to get molecules into the meta position on an aromatic ring, opening fresh possibilities for making new compounds.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    How deep brain stimulation works for Parkinson’s

    New studies in rodents show that methods that are less invasive than deep brain stimulation may help people with Parkinson's disease regain movement.

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  9. Space

    Hotter than the sun

    Researchers for the first time directly observe Alfvén waves.

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  10. Psychology

    Feelings, universal musical feelings

    Africans who spurn all things Western provide evidence that people everywhere recognize expressions of happiness, sadness and fear in music. Listen to some of the audio samples the study used.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Vaccine could protect against virus that causes birth defects

    An experimental vaccine against cytomegalovirus has the ability to prevent infection half the time it’s administered, suggesting the vaccine might prevent birth defects the virus can cause.

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  12. Physics

    Evidence mounts for an exotic supersolid

    Rubidium atoms simultaneously act like a solid and a superfluid.

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