All Stories by Ben Harder
- Chemistry
Boxes coated with citronella repel insects
A fragrant grass extract known as citronella oil may deter insects from infesting cartons of food.
- Earth
School buses spew pollution into young lungs
Children riding on school buses inhale heavy doses of diesel fumes, and reducing these emissions could be a cost-effective means of improving their health, a new study suggests.
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Vertebrates, insects share the stress
A key protein involved in animals' physiological responses to stress has carried out the same function since before any organism developed a backbone.
- Health & Medicine
Heartburn in Bed: Soda, sleeping pills can spoil sleep
Nighttime acid reflux is a common condition that often goes hand-in-hand with sleep problems.
- Health & Medicine
Watch and Wait, or Not: Studies weigh risks of delaying prostate surgery
Two long-running studies of men with prostate cancer have partly clarified the risks of postponing treatment of the disease.
- Earth
Air pollution linked to wheat diseases
The abundance of the air pollutant sulfur dioxide appears to influence which of two fungal pathogens plague more wheat plants.
- Health & Medicine
Surgical risk from painkiller may be brief
A new study suggests that patients might safely use painkillers such as ibuprofen up to 24 hours before surgery.
- Agriculture
Insecticide Inside: Gene-modified rice cuts chemical spraying in China
In the hands of Chinese farmers, varieties of rice genetically modified to fend off insects reduce pesticide use and increase crop yields.
- Health & Medicine
Fast Start: Sex readily spreads HIV in infection’s first weeks
People with HIV are many times more infectious to their sexual partners in the weeks or months just after they acquire the virus than they are later on, a study in Uganda demonstrates conclusively.
- Earth
Balloons, condoms release likely carcinogens
Balloons and condoms that come in contact with body fluids discharge chemicals suspected of being human carcinogens.
- Health & Medicine
Company pulls pain drug from market
The Food and Drug Administration has asked Pfizer to stop selling its prescription pain medication valdecoxib (Bextra).
- Earth
Rice with a Human Touch: Engineered grain uses gene from people to protect against herbicides
A human gene inserted into rice enables that plant to break down an array of chemicals used to kill weeds.
