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S Shape May Help Predict Solar Storms
The appearance of an S shape in X-ray images of magnetically active regions of the sun's corona may help forecast solar storms hours to days before they erupt.
Enzyme disables excess amino acid
A study in mice suggests that phenylketonuria, a genetic disease that can cause brain damage if patients don't adhere to a rigorous diet, might be treated with an enzyme.
Neutrinos to buckyballs: 10 talents tower
A 14-year-old girl, who conducted a theoretical study of neutrinos, won the top prize in the 1999 Intel Science Talent Search.
Motor cortex helps drive serial memory
In discerning sequence information, animals may rely on a part of the brain often thought to control only muscle movements.
As time goes by, mutant mice face problems
Mice missing an enzyme called telomerase experience cancer, hair loss, and other problems at an unusually early age.
Chemistry diagnoses a painting's ills
Chemical analysis of the paint, glaze, and varnish layers on a Rembrandt canvas provided insights into artistic technique and guided art conservators in restoring the masterpiece.
Octopus suckers glow in the deep, dark sea
A red octopus from the Atlantic coast of the United States is the first creature known that can make its suckers flash on and off.
Breaking bonds reveals their strength
To measure the strength of a single chemical bond directly, researchers tugged on a long molecule until its link to a surface snapped.
U.S. Fireflies Flashing in Unison
A rare, dazzling spectacle may not be limited to far-flung places
Researchers are finding examples in the United States of fireflies that synchronize their flashes, a phenomenon previously observed only among Asian species.
The Universe en Rose
The view through a better infrared camera
The largest near-infrared detector ever installed on a telescope is providing new views of the cosmos.
Behavior
Learning to make, keep adult neurons
A small brain structure called the hippocampus may generate new neurons throughout adulthood in response to certain types of learning or even regular exercise.
Schizophrenia's places and seasons
Environmental influences on prenatal brain development may contribute as much or more than genes to schizophrenia.
Biology
Chlamydia protein mimics heart muscle
The immune system may mistake a heart protein for a bacterial protein and thus attack the heart.
The sweet smell of serum
Molecules that confer a distinctive odor on individuals circulate in the blood, apparently bound to proteins that normally mask the smell.
Biomedicine
Resistant staph microbe reappears
Drug-resistant strains of the bacterium Staphylococcus aureus have been identified in three people in the United States.
Iron pots help fend off anemia
Eating food cooked in iron, rather than ceramic or aluminum, pots lowers anemia rates in Ethiopian children.
Screening cuts colon cancer deaths
An 18-year study in Minnesota finds that people whose stools are tested regularly for traces of blood are less likely to die of colorectal cancer than those who aren't tested.
Materials Science
Liquid crystal emits polarized light
A new material generates polarized light without the need for filters and so might lead to more energy-efficient monitors and three-dimensional displays.
Light hardens bone-like polymer
A strong polymer that can serve as a bone replacement might offer doctors a new tool to repair orthopedic defects.
