Uncategorized
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Genes discovered for sensing carbon dioxide
Researchers have tracked down a pair of genes that, together, seem responsible for some insects' ability to sense carbon dioxide.
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Humans
Congress upgrades fisheries protection
Congress has reauthorized and strengthened a 30-year-old federal law governing fishing and ocean management.
By Janet Raloff -
Agriculture
Big footprints
Livestock production carries surprisingly high, and largely hidden, environmental costs.
By Janet Raloff -
19779
Do cows and other domestic-herd animals really emit more methane than bison and other wild-herd animals emitted before people came along? Do grass, alfalfa, and other pasture plants remove less carbon dioxide than do forests? There were open grasslands before pastures replaced some forests. I hope the people who are researching these things take such […]
By Science News -
Stem cells float in amniotic fluid
Scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in the fluid that bathes fetuses in the womb.
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Health & Medicine
Putting the kibosh on black cohosh
The herbal supplement black cohosh is no more effective than a placebo in reducing the number of daily hot flashes in menopausal women.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Good news for people with clotting disorder
Several experimental drugs show promise against the bleeding disorder known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura.
By Nathan Seppa -
Tech
A backpack with a suspension system
A new backpack design that uses elastic cords to minimize the pack's vertical motion could lessen bodily strain on wearers and reduce the effort required to carry a load.
By Ben Harder -
Earth
Yes, it’s asbestos
Federal mineralogists have corroborated earlier evidence that Sierra-foothills communities around Sacramento, Calif., are built atop soils naturally laced with asbestos.
By Janet Raloff -
19778
Morse code “fist” analysis can easily be defeated by a software buffer that conforms the intervals between all types of strokes. Actual Morse buffers are already in regular use among ham operators. “Writeprints” can also be defeated. “Clickprints” aren’t as easy to conceal, perhaps, but some clever software designer will devise a foil for them […]
By Science News -
Computing
Digital Fingerprints
New methods to identify Internet users by their behavior can uncover criminals online, but these techniques may also track millions of innocent users.
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Physics
Cellular Contortionist
Mounting, but controversial, evidence suggests that DNA flexes more easily than previously thought, with potentially important implications for genetics, cell biology, and nanotechnology.
By Peter Weiss