News
- Health & Medicine
Spermicide Flip Side: Compound may promote papillomavirus infection
The widely used spermicide nonoxynol-9 may boost the infectiousness of human papillomavirus, mouse tests show.
- Physics
Dropping the Ball: Air pressure helps objects sink into sand
A ball plunges deeper into sand under atmospheric pressure than under a vacuum, because the presence of air allows sand to flow like a liquid.
- Materials Science
Allergy Nanomedicine: Buckyballs dampen response of cells that trigger allergic reactions
Drugs based on soccer ball–shaped carbon molecules could one day help fight allergies.
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Hidden Smarts: Abstract thought trumps IQ scores in autism
Autistic children and adults do better on a nonverbal test of abstract reasoning than they do on standard IQ tests, suggesting that their intelligence has been underestimated.
- Health & Medicine
Bad News for Cats: Cat allergen hits all allergic people
People allergic to dust mites, mold, grass, and other common irritants—but not to cats—still have greater breathing difficulties when they live around the animals.
- Animals
Faker Crayfish: Males keep bluffing but don’t get caught
Some male Australian crayfish fake out their rivals by brandishing claws that look impressive but have little strength.
- Earth
Polymer Breakdown: Reaction offers possible way to recycle nylon
A new chemical process offers hope that the thousands of tons of nylon thrown away every year could one day be recycled.
- Health & Medicine
Antibiotics in infancy tied to asthma
Infants who get several courses of antibiotics before their first birthdays are more likely to develop asthma later.
- Physics
Smallest laser minds the gap
The smallest, most efficient laser yet represents a step toward speedier information transfer within computers.
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Oldest siblings show slight IQ advantage
The oldest boys in families, including those who became oldest after the death of an earlier-born brother, have a slight IQ edge over their younger siblings.
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Enzyme is target in parasite
The flatworm that causes the tropical disease schistosomiasis may be vulnerable to drugs that neutralize an essential enzyme in the parasite.
- Physics
Pas de deux for a three-scoop particle
Physicists have discovered the first particle containing one member of each of the three families of quarks.
