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Placebos for depression attract scrutiny
FDA clinical trials suggest that placebos provide substantial relief to depressed patients, but debate continues about whether it's ethical to use placebos in studies of antidepressant drugs.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
‘Bubble’ babies thrive on gene therapy
Gene therapy to repair mutations that thwart development of essential immune cells has helped three babies to overcome severe combined immunodeficiency, in which a child is born without a functional immune system.
By Nathan Seppa -
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I’m curious. What’s the significance of the planets sharing the same plane? Isn’t that a coincidence? Robert T. DruryLos Angeles, Calif. It could be coincidence, but the plane that roughly defines the planets’ orbits may indicate the orientation of the protoplanetary disk of gas, dust, and ice that originally surrounded the young sun .–R. Cowen
By Science News - Astronomy
Hefty Discovery: Finding a Kuiper belt king
A newly discovered celestial body appears to be the largest object that scientists have found in the solar system since their detection of Pluto in 1930.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Calcium may become a dieter’s best friend
Enriching the diet with calcium, especially from dairy products, can switch the body's fat cells from storing calories to burning them.
By Janet Raloff - Humans
Physics for Sale: Collectors snap up pricey historical materials
Documents detailing the rise of modern physics and Albert Einstein's development of the general theory of relativity have sold at an auction for nearly $1.8 million.
- Health & Medicine
Attention Loss: ADHD may lower volume of brain
Brain-scan data show that the brains of children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are slightly smaller than those of their peers who are free of psychiatric disorders.
By Bruce Bower - Astronomy
Balloon Sounds Out the Early Universe
A balloon-borne experiment circling Antarctica has measured the curvature of the universe and revealed that it's perfectly flat.
By Ron Cowen - Humans
From the April 26, 1930, issue
FLOWERS FROM STEEL The same fascinating sparks that the village children used to watch “flying like chaff from a threshing floor” are now used to save industry thousands of dollars, for they have been found to be an index to the many kinds of modern steels, which differ from one another only slightly in carbon […]
By Science News -
Space Day
Flashy graphics, interactive games, puzzles, contests, and much more await young visitors to the Space Day Web site. On that day, a Webcast introduces children to the challenges of working and living in space and the future of space exploration. Go to: http://www.spaceday.com/
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Inducing eye-tumor cells to self-destruct
By restarting the subdued self-destruct signal in cancer cells, researchers studying eye cancers have found a way to stop these cancers in cell cultures and in a rabbit model.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Move your head, hurt your golf game
Right-handed golfers using a conventional grip move their head and eyes more during putts than they do when using a cross-handed or one-handed grip, suggesting these alternative grips might work better.
By Nathan Seppa