News
- Astronomy
Cosmic void
A region of the cosmos a billion light-years across is devoid of all matter.
By Ron Cowen - 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.
By Nathan Seppa - 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.
By Sid Perkins - 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.
By Brian Vastag - Animals
Fish Switch: Salmon make baby trout after species, sex swap
Salmon implanted with trout reproductive tissue bred to produce a generation of normal rainbow trout.
By Susan Milius - Planetary Science
Survivor: Extrasolar planet escapes stellar attack
An extrasolar planet survived after its aging parent star ballooned into a red giant that almost engulfed it.
By Ron Cowen - Physics
Alliance of Opposites: Electrons and positrons make new molecule
Positronium, consisting of electrons and their antimatter counterparts, has been made into a molecular form.
- Health & Medicine
Blood vessel growth factor also does housekeeping
A growth factor that promotes blood vessel development also maintains normal blood vessel health, perhaps explaining the vascular side effects of some cancer drugs.
By Sarah Webb - Astronomy
Bloated planet
A newly discovered exoplanet is the largest and lowest-density such object yet found.
By Ron Cowen - Chemistry
Nanoparticles multitask
Magnetite nanoparticles have catalytic properties that may be useful in wastewater treatment and biomedical assays.
By Sarah Webb - Archaeology
Ancient city grew from outside in
A 6,000-year-old city in what's now northeastern Syria developed when initially independent settlements expanded and merged, unlike other nearby cities that grew from a core outward.
By Bruce Bower