All Stories
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TechThe 3-D Printing Revolution
Using a technique known as 3-D printing, regular people can now make goods typically produced in huge quantities in factories overseas.
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ChemistrySynthetic nanomaterial can recognize viruses
The new method may have advantages over antibody-based technologies.
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HumansRadial routes ran outside Mesopotamia
Cold War–era imagery reveals transportation networks extended throughout Middle East.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineSurgery shows promise in treating persistent heartburn
Ring-shaped device around esophagus prevents acid reflux so that patients can stop taking drugs.
By Nathan Seppa -
SpaceSmallest planet found orbiting distant star
NASA’s Kepler space telescope snags an exoplanet tinier than Mercury.
By Andrew Grant -
MathA mathematician puts Fermat’s Last Theorem on an axiomatic diet
Fermat’s Last Theorem is so simple to state, but so hard to prove. Though the 350-year-old claim is a straightforward one about integers, the proof that University of Oxford mathematician Andrew Wiles finally created for it nearly two decades ago required almost unimaginably complex theoretical machinery. The proof was a dazzling demonstration of that machinery’s […]
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Health & MedicineSmoking damages mouse brains
Signs of Alzheimer’s disease appear after the rodents breathe cigarette smoke.
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TechImaging technique offers look inside hearing loss
Two-photon microscopy visualizes hair cells in the inner ear, offering insights into processes leading to deafness.
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HumansOrigins of alcohol consumption traced to ape ancestor
Eating fermented fruit off the ground may have paved way for ability to digest ethanol.
By Erin Wayman -
EarthBlood levels of BPA become source of controversy
New data question whether human blood measurements of BPA reflect sample contamination or just exaggerated exposures.
By Janet Raloff -
EarthAquatic predators affect carbon-storing plant life
Freshwater predator species can prevent the overgrazing of plants that suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
By Janet Raloff