News
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Counting on technology to count elephants
Researchers now spend large amounts of time in remote areas to count and monitor the movements of large animals such as elephants, but in the future they may use seismic instruments to do the job.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Where steel-belted radials go to die
A new technique for analyzing satellite images may enable researchers to easily identify sites where large numbers of used tires have been dumped.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Ozone hole might not recover until the year 2065
The ozone-free zone that develops high in the atmosphere over Antarctica each summer as the result of the presence of chlorine- and bromine-containing chemicals may not heal until 15 years later than previously projected.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & Medicine
Protein predicts sickle-cell danger
A biological marker of heart trouble can be used to identify sickle-cell anemia patients who are at greatest risk of developing a serious, disease-related complication.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Transfusions harm some heart patients
Patients who undergo coronary-bypass surgery frequently receive unnecessary blood transfusions as part of their follow-up care.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Old drug, new trick
The drug rapamycin, now used in transplants, may make chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia more effective.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Molecule marks leukemia cells
Researchers can now single out malignant cells in the bone marrow of patients with acute myeloid leukemia by using an antibody that latches on to a newfound cell protein.
By Ben Harder -
Health & Medicine
Rare marrow cells tackle deadly immune reaction
Researchers have developed a new technique to counter graft-versus-host disease, a common complication of treating blood cancers with marrow-cell transfusions.
By Ben Harder -
Earth
Lab tests hint at where xenon hides out
Results of recent experiments in which scientists squeezed a mixture of xenon and powdered quartz at high temperatures and pressures may explain why the gas is found at relatively low concentrations in the atmosphere.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & Medicine
Ebola may travel on the wing
Fruit bats can carry the Ebola virus, suggesting that they may spread it in Africa.
By Nathan Seppa -
Astronomy
A puny way to make planets
Brown dwarfs are failures in the star-making business, but new observations reveal that they may still succeed in growing planets.
By Ron Cowen -
Tech
Nanotubes spring eternal
Researchers have discovered that forests of carbon nanotubes squish and expand like foams, but with extraordinary resilience.
By Peter Weiss