News
- Chemistry
Nanotherapy: Gold-drug combo could target tumors
Clusters of paclitaxel molecules attached to gold nanoparticles could deliver a safer and more effective chemotherapy punch to tumors.
- Animals
Hybrid Power: Salamander invader ups survival of rare cousin
Mixed offspring of the endangered California tiger salamander and an invasive cousin survive better than either pure-bred species, raising tricky questions for conservationists.
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Aiding and Abetting: A longevity gene also promotes cancer
A gene that normally helps cells overcome stress can also promote cancer, perhaps offering a new target for cancer treatment.
- Anthropology
Walking Small: Humanlike legs took Homo out of Africa
Newly discovered fossils, 1.77 million years old, show that the earliest known human ancestors to leave Africa for Asia possessed humanlike legs, feet, and spines, but strikingly small brains and primitive arms.
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One tall gene
The first reported gene for height can account for almost a centimeter of difference among people who have different versions of it.
- Earth
Meteor dust layers taint Antarctic ice
Two layers of deep Antarctic ice, each hundreds of thousands of years old, are rich in meteoritic dust.
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SSRI use declines, youth suicides rise
In the United States and the Netherlands, youth suicides have increased as the number of antidepressant prescriptions for children and teenagers has fallen, raising concerns that regulatory warnings about these drugs have backfired.
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- Tech
Spot On: Printing flexible electronics one nanodot at a time
A new high-resolution printing technique could make flexible electronics such as plastic displays and solar cells easier to produce.
- Health & Medicine
Brain Sabotage: Alzheimer’s protein may spawn miniseizures
Amyloid-beta, a protein implicated in Alzheimer's disease, causes misfiring of neurons and minor brain seizures in mice.
- Earth
Grazing on the Periodic Table: Some ancient microorganisms lived on a diet of pure sulfur
Microorganisms that lived 3.5 billion years ago obtained energy by metabolizing pure sulfur.
- Health & Medicine
Debate Renewed: Diabetes drug ups heart risk
A popular diabetes drug significantly increases the risk of heart failure and heart attack in those who take it.
