News
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EarthSpread Out: Organic matter scatters carbon nanotubes in water
Although carbon nanotubes usually clump in water, they readily disperse when the water contains natural organic matter.
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Hottest Fixer: Undersea-vent microbe sets nitrogen record
A spherical microbe from the weird world of hot-water ocean vents has trumped the nitrogen-processing powers of all organisms previously studied.
By Susan Milius -
Sniffle-Busting Personalities: Positive mood guards against getting colds
People with generally positive outlooks show greater resistance to developing colds than do individuals who rarely revel in upbeat feelings.
By Bruce Bower -
AstronomyComet Sampler: Specimens show that inner and outer solar system mixed
Just as the solar system was forming some 4.6 billion years ago, some of the hottest material, residing so close to the sun that it was almost vaporized, sped out to the chilliest reaches of deep space, where it became incorporated into comets.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineExpress delivery for cancer drugs
A new drug-delivery method has dramatically reduced tumors in experiments conducted with mice.
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Stem cells from bone marrow make new fat
Some body fat comes from stem cells that migrate out of bone marrow.
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ChemistryHappy fish?
Researchers have detected antidepressant drugs in the brains of fish captured downstream of sewage-treatment plants.
By Janet Raloff -
AnthropologyNeandertals’ tough Stone Age lives
Neandertals that 43,000 years ago inhabited what's now northern Spain faced periodic food shortages and possibly resorted to cannibalism to survive.
By Bruce Bower -
AnthropologySouth African find gets younger
The partial skeleton of a human ancestor previously found in South Africa dates to about 2.2 million years ago, roughly 1 million years younger than the original estimates.
By Bruce Bower -
EarthPesticides mimic estrogen in shellfish
Two common water pollutants can function in shellfish as estrogen does, but they have different behavioral effects on two species.
By Janet Raloff -
AstronomyThe magnetic link between star and planet
Astronomers have for the first time directly measured the magnetic field of a star known to host a giant planet.
By Ron Cowen -
TechA nano–cheese slicer
Stringing a carbon nanotube between two needles yields a nanoscale cheese knife that could improve slicing of biological samples.
By Peter Weiss