FAR, FAR AWAY With the help of a new instrument, researchers measured distances to 181 galaxies, seen in this Hubble Space Telescope image, including a few that Hubble missed (highlighted).
R. Bacon/MUSE/ESO
GAME ON Researchers have discovered brain cells in video game-playing macaques that predict another monkey’s next move. Such brain cells may be important in social interactions that require anticipating what others are thinking.
Katie Ris-Vicari/Cell 2015
DESIRABLE DINER A green hermit hummingbird has a long bill that can sip more nectar than other birds from the tropical plant Heliconia tortuosa, triggering the plant to start reproducing.
Matt Betts, Oregon State Univ.
VACUUM ATTRACTION Fleeting electromagnetic waves nudge parallel plates together through a phenomenon called the Casimir effect, illustrated here. If the same thing works with gravitational waves, it could prove the existence of particles that transmit gravity.
Emok/Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)
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Secondhand smoke exposure in womb linked to eczema in childhood
Secondhand smoke exposure in the womb may heighten risk of eczema and other dermatitis in children, a study finds.
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Planet collisions may have rearranged crowded solar systems
Solar systems discovered by Kepler with just one or two worlds may be remnants of planet families that were once far more crowded.
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Iron nanoparticles snatch uranium
With a dash of iron nanoparticles and a magnet, researchers can quickly harvest radioactive fuel.
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For athletes, antioxidant pills may not help performance
Supplements of vitamins C, E and other antioxidants may blunt the positive effects of exercise training.
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Chronic stress can wreak havoc on the body
Scientists are shedding light on all the ways that chronic stress can boost inflammation and lead to serious health problems.
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Six ways to beat chronic stress
Counseling, mindfulness training and purposeful social contact may counteract the effects of chronic stress.
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Coastal Los Angeles losing fog to urban sprawl
Fog in parts of Southern California has become significantly less frequent due to urban warming.
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Sexual conflict in mosquitoes may have worsened spread of malaria
Sexual conflict in Anopheles mosquitoes may have intensified their power to fuel human malaria.
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Beetle RNA makes crops a noxious meal
When beetles munch plants bearing their RNA, genes the bugs need to survive are turned off.
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Genetic tweaks built humans’ bigger brains
Genetic tweaks may make human brains big.
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Bees may merge their flower memories
Bumblebees sometimes prefer fake flowers with the combined patterns and colors of ones seen before, suggesting they merge memories of past experiences.
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Wheat reached England before farming
European hunter-gatherers may have traded for agricultural products 8,000 years ago.
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Monster black hole lurks in the early universe
A black hole weighing the same as 12 billion suns is the most massive one known in the early universe.
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Additives that keep foods fresh may sour in the gut
Additives called emulsifiers that are used in ice cream and other foods weaken the intestines’ defenses against bacteria, causing inflammation in mice.