News

  1. Health & Medicine

    Lonely white cells

    In chronically lonely people, white blood cells show abnormal gene activity that may affect health through immune responses.

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  2. Earth

    Iron to blame

    Typhoons that drench Madagascar and spill iron-rich runoff into the Indian Ocean account for that region's massive but sporadic algal blooms.

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  3. Animals

    Tough-guy bluebirds need a frontier

    As western bluebirds recolonize Montana, the most aggressive males move in first, paving the way for milder-mannered dads to take over.

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  4. Physics

    Hot stuff

    A plasma-based amplifier bumps up a laser's intensity by an unprecedented 20,000 times.

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  5. Planetary Science

    Neptune’s balmy south pole

    Neptune's south pole is about 10°C warmer than any other place on the planet.

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  6. Agriculture

    Web Special: You fertilized with what?

    A study shows that farmers can substitute human urine for conventional fertilizer.

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  7. Anthropology

    Sail Away: Tools reveal extent of ancient Polynesian trips

    Rock from Hawaii was fashioned into a stone tool found in Polynesian islands more than 4,000 kilometers to the south, indicating that canoeists made the sea journey around 1,000 years ago.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Lack of Evidence: Vaccine additive not linked to developmental problems

    Thimerosal, a mercury-containing vaccine preservative, shows no signs of causing memory, attention or other problems in children.

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  9. Bugs in Space: Genes explain why salmonella grow deadlier when freed from Earth’s gravity

    Bacteria that flew on a space shuttle became deadlier than their earthbound counterparts.

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  10. Double Trouble: Tumors have two-pronged defense

    By depleting an essential amino acid and releasing a toxin, cancer cells can ward off attack by the immune system.

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  11. Jungle Down There: What’s a kelp forest doing in the tropics?

    Kelp, algae that grow in cold water, turn out to be surprisingly widespread in tropical seas.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Keep Out: Treated mosquito nets limit child deaths

    Mosquito nets treated with insecticides decrease death rates among children in Kenya's malarial zones.

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