All Stories
- Psychology
Recessions take a lasting toll on narcissism
Coming of age in hard economic times makes people less likely to feel superior and entitled later in life.
- Life
Flightless birds’ history upset by ancient DNA
The closest known relatives of New Zealand’s small, flightless kiwis were Madagascar’s elephant birds, so ancestors must have done some flying rather than just drifting with continents.
- Health & Medicine
Urine is not sterile, and neither is the rest of you
Despite what the Internet says, urine does contain bacteria, a new study finds. And so does your brain, the womb, and pretty much everywhere else.
- Computing
Diffusion may keep big knots out of DNA
A new computer simulation shows the way two knots on a strand of DNA could pass through each other without adding any additional snarls.
- Physics
U.S. physics strategy calls for greater global collaboration
In a time of tightened budgets, the U.S. particle physics community must increase international collaboration without sacrificing its position as a leader in the field, according to a new report.
- Health & Medicine
Parasite protein offers new hope for malaria vaccine
A newly discovered malarial protein triggers the immune system to trap disease-causing parasites in red blood cells. The protein offers scientists a promising target for vaccines.
- Neuroscience
Life span lengthens when mice feel less pain
When rodents are missing a sensory protein, their metabolism revs up and they live longer.
- Cosmology
Dustup emerges over gravitational waves discovery
While cosmologists wait for data from Planck satellite, some worry that BICEP2 data actually come from our galaxy.
- Life
A slow heartbeat in athletes is not so funny
Endurance athletes often experience sinus bradycardia, a slow heartbeat. A new paper shows this effect may be due to changes in the “funny channel” of the sinoatrial node.
- Health & Medicine
Dengue risk forecasted for soccer World Cup in Brazil
Three Brazilian cities — Recife, Fortaleza and Natal — have the highest risk for outbreaks of dengue fever, according to a new early warning system.
- Life
In a surprise find, placentas harbor bacteria
Mouth bacteria make their way to the placenta. Some mixes may trigger premature birth.
- Quantum Physics
Quantum cryptography could shed test for hackers
An added protection of a proposed quantum cryptography method makes eavesdropping nearly impossible.
