News
- Health & Medicine
Defense Mechanism: Circumcision averts some HIV infections
Men who get circumcised reduce their risk of acquiring the AIDS virus by more than half.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Single drug dose may be better against cholera
A single dose of the antibiotic ciprofloxacin cures cholera in children as often as a 12-dose regimen of erythromycin does.
By Nathan Seppa - Planetary Science
Shoreline for Titan?
New radar images of Saturn's smog-shrouded moon Titan show evidence of a shoreline cutting across the moon's southern hemisphere.
By Ron Cowen - Planetary Science
’10th planet’ has a partner
The so-called 10th planet, an object larger than Pluto that ranks as the most distant body known in the solar system, has a moon.
By Ron Cowen - Physics
Nanobots walk ‘n’ roll
A molecule that waddles on stubby feet and another that drives on ball-like wheels demonstrate scientists' increasing control over the usually haphazard motion of molecules on surfaces.
By Peter Weiss - Paleontology
Some plesiosaurs went for clams
The fossils of plesiosaurs recently unearthed in Australia suggest that the long-necked, aquatic reptiles had a more varied diet than scientists had previously suspected.
By Sid Perkins - Materials Science
Brainy bandages
Researchers have taken a step toward smart bandages that would indicate the presence of an infection in a wound.
- Planetary Science
Mining the moon
New ultraviolet images of the moon help identify the presence of ilmenite, a titanium oxide whose elemental constituents may be a valuable resource for sustaining humans as they explore the lunar surface.
By Ron Cowen - Materials Science
Slim and Sturdy Solar Cells: Nanocrystals offer path to electricity
Researchers have crafted an ultrathin solar cell out of inorganic nanocrystals that have several of the advantages of plastic but avoid some of its shortcomings.
- Animals
Great Galloping Crinoids: Lilylike sea animal takes a brisk walk
A sea creature called a stalked crinoid may look as motionless as a flower on a stem but a video has revealed it practically jogging across the ocean floor. Video.
By Susan Milius -
Early Stress in Rats Bites Memory Later On: Inadequate care to young animals delivers delayed hit to the brain
The stress of receiving poor maternal care for a short period after birth comes back to haunt rats by stimulating memory losses and related brain disturbances in middle age.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Weight-Loss Costs: A critical look at gastric surgery
Obese people who opt for weight-loss surgery incur increased odds of subsequent hospitalization and, in some groups, a substantial risk of death.
By Ben Harder