News
- Health & Medicine
New protease inhibitor looks promising
An antiretroviral drug under development may work in patients for whom existing drugs fall short.
By Ben Harder - Physics
Light’s Hidden Holdup: Reflected laser beams loiter a little
Using an ultrashort pulse laser, physicists have measured a minuscule time delay that affects light reflecting off many surfaces.
By Peter Weiss - Health & Medicine
Vitamin E Loses Luster: Nutrient tests show disappointing results
In people who have a history of heart disease or diabetes, vitamin E supplements don't improve overall health and might even boost heart-failure risk.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Student Scientists to Watch: With diverse ideas, young talents win big in annual competition
With science projects by 40 of the nation's brightest high school students arrayed before them last week, judges had the task of weighing the merits of undertakings as diverse as the study of deep-sea volcanism and the development of a promising new antibiotic.
By Ben Harder -
Sugar Coated: Molecular dress-up may disguise gut bacteria
The mammalian immune system doesn't attack native gut bacteria as foreign invaders because the bacteria disguise themselves with sugar molecules.
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Schizophrenia Syncs Fast: Disconnected brain may lie at heart of disorder
A misalignment of electrical outbursts by large numbers of neurons may play a major role in schizophrenia.
By Bruce Bower - Animals
Vampires Run: Bats on treadmills show high-speed gait
The first test of vampire bats on a treadmill shows that they've evolved their own style of running.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Nano Hazards: Exposure to minute particles harms lungs, circulatory system
Inhaling microscopic nanospheres and nanotubes, as might occur during their manufacture or commercial use, could trigger damage well beyond the lungs.
By Janet Raloff - Planetary Science
Saturn says ‘cheese’
Astronomers have assembled the largest and most-detailed global portrait of the ringed planet ever made.
By Ron Cowen - Chemistry
Parrot plumage has exclusive pigmentation
The spectacular colors of parrot feathers owe their vibrancy to a set of pigments found nowhere else in nature.
- Materials Science
Nanostructures mimic Inuit stone sculptures
Chemists have created nanoscale versions Inuit rock sculptures, an advance that could facilitate the development of next-generation sensors and electronic devices.
- Health & Medicine
Hepatitis B link to cancer is clarified
A kind of hepatitis B called genotype C is more likely to lead to liver cancer than are other genotypes of the hepatitis virus.
By Nathan Seppa