News
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Health & MedicineDiabetes drug shows new potential
Exendin-4 (exenatide) might complement a drug called anti-CD3 monoclonal antibody in reversing type 1 diabetes, a study in mice shows.
By Nathan Seppa -
HumansDivorce is not ecofriendly
Divorce often takes a devastating toll on families, but it has significant impacts on the environment as well.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & MedicineMalaria’s new guises
Scientists have observed Plasmodium falciparum enjoying three distinct lifestyles—two of which have never been seen before—in the blood of infected children.
By Brian Vastag -
EarthFolding with a little help from friends
By slowly unraveling a protein, scientists have shown how other proteins called chaperones influence protein folding.
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Base Load: Currents add detail to DNA structure
The first precise measurements of DNA's sideways conductivity confirm its similarities with semiconductors.
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EarthFalling Behind: North American terrain absorbs carbon dioxide too slowly
North America's vegetation soaks up millions of tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year, an impressive rate of sequestration that still can't keep up with the prodigious emissions of the planet-warming gas generated by human activity on the continent.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & MedicineCalculated Risk: Shedding light on fracture hazards in elderly
Diminished bone density in elderly people contributes to fractures following traumatic accidents.
By Nathan Seppa -
PlantsSo Sproutish: Anti-aging gene for plants gives drought protection
A gene that can hold off the decrepitude of old age in plants offers an unusual approach to protecting crops from drought.
By Susan Milius -
AnthropologyNorthwest Passage: Americas populated via Alaska, genetics show
A single population of prehistoric Siberians crossed the Bering Strait into Alaska and fanned out to North and South America, a new genetic analysis of living Native Americans suggests.
By Brian Vastag -
Planetary ScienceSister Planet: Mission to Venus reveals watery past
The Venus Express probe has found evidence that Venus once had more water than it does today, and has provided new measurements of the weather on Venus, proof of lightning on the planet, and signs of a formerly unknown hot spot near its south pole.
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Health & MedicineDengue virus found in donated blood
Scientists have discovered that 12 units of blood donated in Puerto Rico in late 2005 contained the dengue virus.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineSleeping sickness pill may work as well as injections
The first oral drug for sleeping sickness is showing effectiveness in a trial in central Africa.
By Nathan Seppa