All Stories
-
HumansWeighing the costs of conferencing
A provocative editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association questions the value of attending scientific conferences. It’s a theme that reemerges every few years. And in times of tight budgets, the idea seems worth revisiting.
By Janet Raloff -
PhysicsHighlights from the American Physical Society April Meeting, Atlanta
String theory’s take on the Higgs, newborn pulsars may have iron by-products, and coupled neutrons in beryllium nuclei revealed.
-
LifeGenes are no crystal ball for disease risk
For most conditions, knowing a person’s entire genetic makeup won’t help predict his or her medical history.
-
LifeVirus proves protective against lupus in mice
A mouse version of Epstein-Barr seems to prevent, not trigger, symptoms of the autoimmune disease.
-
LifeOld cancer drugs offer new tricks
Drugs that reboot genetic programming make tumor cells more susceptible to cancer-killing therapy.
-
Health & MedicineJolt to brain aids language recovery
Stroke patients treated with brain stimulation show improvement in language skills.
-
HumansFrom the ashes, the oldest controlled fire
A South Africa cave yields the oldest secure evidence for a blaze controlled by human ancestors.
By Bruce Bower -
AstronomyNew data support Einstein on accelerating universe
New measurements of distant galaxies support Einstein’s cosmological constant as the explanation for the universe’s accelerating expansion.
-
-
Health & MedicineBrain scan foretells who will fold under pressure
Tests on high-stakes math problems reveal key regions of brain activity linked to choking under pressure.
-
ChemistryFor truffle aroma, it’s not all about location
Genes, not environment, play a key role in the prized fungus’s scent.
-
LifePesticide-dosed bees lose future royalty, way home
Unusual field tests reveal how common insecticides, even at nonfatal doses, can erode colonies and threaten the future of bumblebees and honeybees.
By Susan Milius