Uncategorized
- Health & Medicine
Heart to heart
Successful heart transplant experiment in infants draws attention to debate on defining death of organ donors.
- Physics
Invisible hand, and a quick one at that
God doesn’t play dice, Einstein said in his critique of quantum theory. But any alternative theory to quantum mechanics would require certain quantum events to influence each other 10,000 times faster than the speed of light, physicists have shown.
- Earth
Firm evidence that Earth’s core is solid
Faint yet distinct ground motions recorded by a large network of seismic instruments in Japan in early 2006 are the strongest, most direct evidence that Earth’s inner core is solid.
By Sid Perkins - Health & Medicine
Finding the golden genes
Advances in gene therapy could tempt some athletes to enhance their genetic makeup, leading some researchers to work on detection methods just in case.
- Earth
Carbon sequestration frustration
Cradle-to-grave analysis of emissions from power plants suggests that capturing and burying CO2 could have environmental costs.
- Life
H9N2 avian flu strain has pandemic potential
Just one change in a strain of avian flu virus makes it transmissible by direct contact in ferrets, but the virus still lacks the ability to spread by airborne particles.
- Plants
Bittersweet fruits
A new study provides strong evidence that fruits harm predators with the same chemicals that, for example, give chili peppers their spice.
- Health & Medicine
Running interference on cholesterol
Injected RNA molecule lowers LDL in rats and monkeys.
- Life
Humans aided, constrained by fossil fuels
Maintaining long-term population will require alternate energy sources.
By Sid Perkins - Space
Magellanic firestorm
To celebrate the Hubble Space Telescope’s 100,000th orbit about Earth, astronomers aimed the observatory at a firestorm of stellar activity in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy of the Milky Way.
By Ron Cowen - Physics
Invisibility within sight
Two new studies take steps toward practical materials that can bend light backward, which could lead to invisibility cloaks.
- Health & Medicine
Never bet against a pro
Players run a simulation of a throw in their own brains and muscles and are more accurate at predicting whether a shot will go in the basket than coaches, sports journalists or novice watchers.