All Stories
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Health & MedicineEarly work on human growth hormone paved way for synthetic versions
In 1966, researchers reported the complete chemical structure of human growth hormone. Today synthetic growth hormone is used to treat growth hormone deficiency.
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LifeHow to trap sperm
Lab-made beads can trick and trap sperm, potentially preventing pregnancy or selecting sperm for fertility treatments.
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Health & MedicineHealthiest weight just might be ‘overweight’
The body mass index tied to lowest risk of death has risen since the 1970s. It now falls squarely in the “overweight” category.
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Health & MedicineThis week in Zika: First mouse study proof that Zika causes microcephaly
Three new studies in mice shore up the link between microcephaly and Zika virus infection.
By Meghan Rosen -
Quantum PhysicsPhysicists smash particle imitators
A new quasiparticle collider smashes together the faux-particles that appear in solid materials.
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Health & MedicineMouse studies link Zika virus infection to microcephaly
Three new studies in mice shore up the link between microcephaly and Zika virus infection.
By Meghan Rosen -
AnimalsVultures are vulnerable to extinction
Life history makes vultures more vulnerable to extinction than other birds, a new study finds, but humankind’s poisons are helping them to their end.
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NeuroscienceSocial area of the brain sets threat level of animals
How people perceive an animal’s danger level is encoded in a particular wrinkle of cortex, a brain scan study suggests.
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Health & MedicineHeartburn drugs can damage cells that line blood vessels
A type of heartburn drugs called proton pump inhibitors may damage cells that line the blood vessels. The results, though controversial, hint at an explanation for PPI’s link to serious side effects, including risk of dementia and heart attack.
By Meghan Rosen -
AstronomyKepler telescope doubles its count of known exoplanets
NASA’s Kepler space telescope adds 1,284 planets to the roster of worlds known to orbit other stars in our galaxy.
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Planetary ScienceMercury’s stunning landscape mapped
First complete topographic map of Mercury reveals plains, craters and both the highest and lowest points on the planet.
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Particle PhysicsLarge Hadron Collider starts its 2016 physics run
Experiments at the Large Hadron Collider are taking data for the first time in 2016.