Uncategorized
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Letters
The liver’s carbon fixation The possibility that insects can harness solar energy (SN: 1/15/11, p. 8) is no less fascinating than the ability of the mammalian liver to do the light-independent part of photosynthesis: carbon fixation. When concentrations of the amino acid methionine rise after a high-protein meal, the liver shifts gears to get rid […]
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Basic research generates jobs and competitiveness
Trained as a mechanical engineer in India, Subra Suresh researched the interfaces between engineering, biology and materials science before becoming dean of engineering at MIT and, as of October, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. In February in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Suresh […]
- Health & Medicine
Body & Brain
The brain 'sees' Braille, plus engineered urethras and baseball practice swings in this week's news.
- Humans
In-laws transformed early human society
A study of today's hunter-gatherers finds marital relationships help spread a social fabric.
- Chemistry
Light-sensor pulls perplexing double duty
A long-studied eye pigment appears to also detect temperature, a study in fruit flies shows.
- Physics
Tractor beams arrive two centuries early
Trekkie devices that can pull instead of push have been developed by U.S. and Chinese physicists to move small objects.
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- Health & Medicine
Digging into the roots of lupus
Two new studies implicate common white blood cells called neutrophils in this autoimmune disease.
- Humans
Missing bits of DNA may define humans
Genetic information lost along the way may have led to bigger brains and spineless penises, among other traits.
- Life
Anxiety switch makes mice shy no more
Brain-control experiments could help shed light on psychiatric disorders
- Space
Atom & Cosmos
Buckyballs may abound in space, plus the latest on planets and solar siblings in this week's news.
- Life
Help, elephants need somebody
In pull-together tests, pachyderms are on par with chimps in understanding the basics of cooperation.
