News
- Space
This just in: Milky Way as massive as 3 trillion suns
Heftier size puts our galaxy on par with its neighbor Andromeda, implying a closer collision date. Findings also suggest Milky Way has four spiral arms.
By Ron Cowen - Space
Core of the galaxy in high-res
New high-resolution mosaic sharpens understanding of Milky Way’s turbulent center.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Bone-growth drugs may increase jaw disease risk
New study finds link between common drug and jawbone death.
- Humans
Stone Age tools go south
Diamond-mining pits have yielded stone artifacts old enough to suggest that hand axe production started 1.6 million years ago in southern Africa, not just in eastern Africa.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Fewer dopamine receptors makes for risky business
Brain-scanning study in people sees link between personality, dopamine system.
- Health & Medicine
Disturbed sleep tied to Parkinson’s risk
People who have a disorder that causes them to thrash and kick during sleep face a high risk of developing Parkinson’s disease or other neurodegenerative disorders.
By Nathan Seppa - Agriculture
Candy cane strategy sweetens life for goldenrods
Goldenrods temporarily duck their heads during pest season
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
New embryonic stem cells ratted out
Overcoming obstacles, scientists have created stable embryonic stem cells from rats. Researchers hope their method will prove useful as a general recipe for isolating stem cells from other mammals.
- Health & Medicine
Hot clock key to fruit fly’s global spread
A temperature-sensitive switch in a fruit fly’s biological clock means some species can survive in a wide range of climates while others are stuck on the equator.
- Space
Lopsided universe demands different explanation
Cosmologists analyzing an apparent asymmetry in the pattern of radiation reveal evidence for a new type of field in the early universe.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Sense for morphine has gender gap
Female rats have fewer brain receptors that sense morphine, making the drug less effective. The work points to the need for more research on why medicine potency can vary among people.
- Health & Medicine
Experimental drug fends off emphysema in mice
Mice exposed to cigarette smoke and then ed the drug and fended of emphysema, suggesting the edible drug might help ex-smokers.
By Nathan Seppa