News
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Dopamine gene ups schizophrenia risk
A long-term study of children with a rare chromosome deletion indicates that those who have a single copy of a gene that promotes a dopamine overload in the brain have an above-average risk of developing schizophrenia later in life.
- Health & Medicine
Breath test could detect bad microbe
Using machines that identify component parts of gases, scientists can now detect markers of a dangerous fungal infection in the lungs of people just by analyzing their breath.
- Anthropology
Chimps indifferent to others’ welfare
New laboratory experiments suggest that chimpanzees, unlike people, don't care about the welfare of unrelated members of their social groups.
- Physics
A matter of gravity
Gravity Probe B has finished its test of general relativity but results of the study won't be known for another year.
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Read My Gestures: Body language can trump facial expressions
Body language can influence the perception of emotion on a person's face.
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Left Out by a Stroke: Right-brain injury may upset attention balance
People who suddenly ignore everything to their left after suffering a right-brain stroke display disturbed activity in uninjured parts of a widespread neural network associated with attention.
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SNPs Ahoy! Scientists complete map of genetic differences
A new map that delineates small genetic differences among people may be a powerful tool for figuring out why some individuals get certain diseases and how to customize their treatments.
- Tech
Muck Tech: Natural enzyme displaces precious metal in fuel cell
A prototype fuel cell uses an enzyme from a soil microbe to generate electricity from hydrogen rather than from rare and expensive metal catalysts such as platinum.
- Earth
Breaking Waves: Mangroves shielded parts of coast from tsunami
Along a strip of India's southeastern coastline, trees protected certain villages from last December's tsunami, while waves wiped out neighboring settlements that weren't sheltered by vegetation.
- Paleontology
Caribbean Extinctions: Climate change probably wasn’t the culprit
Remains of extinct sloths unearthed in Cuba and Haiti indicate that the creatures persisted in Caribbean enclaves until about 4,200 years ago, a finding that almost absolves climate change following the last ice age as a cause for the die-offs.
- 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.
- 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.
