Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Earth
Gulf gusher is far and away the biggest U.S. spill
As cleanup efforts progress, scientists try to track missing oil roaming below the surface.
- Earth
BP oil isn’t the only source of Gulf’s deep roaming plumes
During a June 8 briefing for reporters, a NOAA science officer described deep strata of water tainted with oil identified during a recent cruise in the Gulf of Mexico. The presumption was that anything they found would be plumes of oil spewed by the jet of hydrocarbons emanating from the BP well head. But the chemical fingerprinting of diffuse undersea clouds of oil at one sampling site was “not consistent with BP oil,” he pointed out.
- Health & Medicine
In youth hockey, more contact means more injuries
Concussions are three times more common among 11- to 12-year-olds in leagues that permit checking, a Canadian study finds.
- Humans
Secondhand smoke linked to mental distress
A Scottish survey finds a link between exposure to cigarette smoke and serious emotional problems.
- Humans
2010 Kavli Prizes awarded
The 2010 Kavli laureates in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience are named for work on powerful telescopes, neuron chatter molecules, building structures with DNA and a method for moving individual atoms.
- Health & Medicine
New angle on treating sepsis
An enzyme that plays a role in the lethal inflammatory disorder may be a suitable drug target, early tests show.
- Humans
Tracing Jewish roots
An analysis of the entire genome of Jewish people shows Middle Eastern roots and traces ancestry across the globe.
- Health & Medicine
Understanding why hot peppers are slimming
Korean researchers describe pepper-triggered changes in genes that appear to underlie the fat-shunning changes of chilis — ones that point to how their fiery chemistry might be harnessed to fight obesity.
- Humans
July: When not to go to the hospital
Being admitted to the hospital is never a picnic. But when possible, schedule any therapeutic procedure for some month other than July. At least if you’ll be treated at a teaching hospital. That’s the conclusion of a new analysis that uncovered a cyclical spike across the nation in serious medication errors.
- Animals
Diversified portfolio yields benefit for salmon stocks
Local diversity keeps sockeye from going bust every few years, a study finds.
- Chemistry
Vodka’s bonds may influence taste
Differences in vodka brands reflect structural variations in cages of water molecules encasing ethanol, new research suggests.
- Archaeology
Jamestown settlers’ trash confirms hard times
Analyses of discarded oyster shells confirm a deep drought during the Virginia colony’s earliest years.
