Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Tech
New help for greasy works of art
NMR technique identifies oil stains, guiding art conservation efforts.
- Anthropology
Prehistoric ‘Iceman’ gets ceremonial twist
Rather than dying alone high in the Alps, Ötzi may have been ritually buried there, a new study suggests.
- Earth
‘Bug traps’ in Gulf to use BP oil as bait
To assay how appetizing polluting oil is to native Gulf micobes — and how rapidly they degrade it — researchers plan to set 150 “bug traps” on August 26.. Their bait: the same oil that had been spewed for months by BP’s damaged Deepwater Horizon well.
- Health & Medicine
New drug fights metastatic melanoma
A novel compound joins two other promising therapies to offer hope for patients with the advanced form of the skin cancer, who currently have poor treatment options.
- Chemistry
Deep-sea plumes: A rush to judgment?
A new report suggests a deep-sea plume of oil in the Gulf of Mexico has been gobbled up by microbes. But the scientist who described the incident doesn't "know" that. He can't — yet.
- Chemistry
Tracking bird flu one poop at a time
Mice can sniff out duck droppings laced with the virus.
- Health & Medicine
New gel seals wounds fast
A synthetic material revs up blood clotting at low cost.
- Health & Medicine
Amphetamine abusers face blood vessel risk
The odds of sustaining aorta damage are more than tripled in people who abuse or are dependent on amphetamines, a review of hospital records finds.
- Computing
Going viral takes a posse, not an army
Quality of followers, not quantity, determines which tweets will fly
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- Life
Gene profiles may predict TB prognosis
A molecular profile may help doctors predict who will get sick from TB infections.
- Health & Medicine
Traffic may drive some people to diabetes
Urban air pollution — especially the particles and gases emitted by heavy traffic — can increase a senior citizen’s risk of developing type-2 diabetes, according to a new German study. If confirmed, its authors say, pollution would represent a “novel and potentially modifiable risk factor” for the metabolic disorder.
