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PhysicsSuperconductor may hide long-sought secret
It conducts electricity without resistance, sure; but a new material could also demonstrate the existence of a particle proposed 70 years ago.
By Devin Powell -
Grocers stacking oranges demonstrate intuitive grasp of sphere-packing math
They may not know it, but grocers face some of the most difficult questions in mathematics when stacking produce each day. Four centuries ago, the astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler guessed that the standard grocers’ method of piling oranges packs the most fruit into the least space. Confirming he was right had to wait until […]
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Health & MedicineExceptional memory linked to bulked-up parts of brain
People with total recall of their life’s events have enlargement in a region also associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
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Health & MedicineChildhood sex abuse tied to heart risk
Women victimized as children or in adolescence have increased cardiac disease in adulthood, a study shows.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineSleep doesn’t help old folks remember
Reduced quality of slumber with age erases memory benefits of snoozing.
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EarthDirty air fosters precipitation extremes
Changes to clouds encourage drought in dry areas and torrential downpours in moist places.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineMirrors can alleviate arthritis
Swapped-hand illusion produces drop in pain ratings, preliminary study shows.
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AstronomySupernova may have kicked off solar system
Force of explosion could explain chemical mysteries contained within asteroids.
By Nadia Drake -
HumansFuture wars may be fought by synapses
Neuroscientists consider defense applications of recent insights into how the brain works.
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Health & MedicineHands off and on in schizophrenia
A broken connection to one’s physical self may cause a rubber hand to seem like a real one.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicinePrompt liver transplant boosts survival in heavy drinkers
Some patients with severe organ inflammation from alcohol use can benefit from the operation.
By Nathan Seppa -
SpaceHow the moon got its magnetism
Earth’s tug or asteroid impacts may have generated the ancient lunar magnetic field.
By Nadia Drake