All Stories
- Health & Medicine
Not all the ‘baby friendly’ rules are rooted in science
The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative has a noble goal of encouraging breastfeeding, but some of its recommendations may be based on shaky science.
- Astronomy
Enormous black hole resides at core of tiny galaxy
A small galaxy stores 15 percent of its mass in a black hole, suggesting compact galaxies might be shreds of once larger galaxies.
- Health & Medicine
Obama takes aim at antibiotic resistance
The White House offers an incentive for better diagnostics and calls for new meds and more stewardship programs against antibiotic resistance.
- Tech
Long after JFK assassination, gunshot forensics still limited
The Warren Commission Report included the results of a neutron activation analysis test of Lee Harvey Oswald. But even that high-tech analysis can't distinguish the type of weapon fired.
- Life
Molecule boosts numbers of stem cells in umbilical cord blood
A new molecule multiplies stem cells in umbilical cord blood. More blood-making stem cells could mean more effective transplants for people with blood cancers.
- Science & Society
World population may reach 12.3 billion in 2100
The number of people on the planet is likely to keep rising over the next century.
- Genetics
Genetic data rewrite the prehistory of Europe
The genomes of nine ancient and 2,345 living humans have changed the story of modern Europeans' origins.
- Earth
Shrinking ancient sea may have spawned Sahara Desert
The Saharan Desert probably formed 7 million years ago as the ancient Tethys Sea, the forerunner of the Mediterranean Sea, shrank.
- Tech
Octobot uses webbed arms to swim faster
Octopus-inspired robot could one day help researchers observe underwater ecosystems.
- Math
Sharks’ hunting paths may not be driven by math
Penguins, tuna, sharks and other marine hunters have been shown to use math to find food. But simulations suggest the behavior is a result of rough water, not complex calculation.
- Materials Science
Making metamaterials ‘digital’ could simplify invisibility cloaks
The digital world of 1s and 0s has inspired a simpler way to make complex metamaterials.
- Life
Artificial sweeteners may tip scales toward metabolic problems
The artificial sweetener saccharin meddles with the gut’s microbial community, setting in motion metabolic changes associated with obesity and diabetes.
