All Stories
- Astronomy
Big, Bigger . . . Biggest?
Galaxy map reveals the limits of cosmic structure.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Body wraps caused rash of rashes
A CDC investigator has linked an outbreak of skin infections to unsanitary practices at a body wrap salon.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Transfusions and transplants spread West Nile virus
Donated blood and organs should be screened to prevent transmission of West Nile virus, federal officials say.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Africa faces new meningitis threat
A vaccine-resistant and previously rare strain of deadly bacteria caused an epidemic of meningitis last year in western Africa and seems to have disseminated around the world.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Vaccine didn’t cause heart deaths
Fatal heart attacks that recently struck two people after they were vaccinated against smallpox were probably unfortunate coincidences, not adverse consequences of vaccination.
By Ben Harder - Physics
Fusion device crosses threshold
By sparking thermonuclear reactions, a machine called Z has joined the big leagues among potential technologies for producing power from controlled nuclear fusion.
By Peter Weiss - Astronomy
Echoes of a stellar outburst
Light from the outburst of a star has revealed its dusty surroundings.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Shots stop allergic reactions to venom
An immune therapy prevents allergic reactions to the sting of the jack jumper ant, a pest common to Australia.
By Nathan Seppa - Physics
Light rambles through room-temperature ruby
Researchers have dramatically slowed light within a solid at room temperature.
By Peter Weiss -
Words Get in the Way
New studies explore people's tendency to have trouble recalling faces or other hard-to-describe perceptions after giving verbal accounts of them, with an eye toward improving police interviewing techniques with crime eyewitnesses.
By Bruce Bower -
Happy Anniversary
In the 50 years since the discovery of DNA's double helix structure, scientists have developed striking new ways to visualize the molecule.
By John Travis - Health & Medicine
Homing In on Ephedra’s Risks
On Feb. 16, pitcher Steve Bechler of the Baltimore Orioles collapsed while running sprints at the team’s spring-training camp in Florida. He died a few hours later. Subsequent investigation linked the 23-year-old player’s apparent heatstroke with a popular diet aid containing both caffeine and ephedra, a botanical product rich in other natural stimulants. Ephedra plant. […]
By Janet Raloff