News
- Tech
Transmuting a powerful poison
A new chemical process for fuel cells powered by hydrocarbons eliminates carbon monoxide that would clog fuel-cell electrodes while also extracting energy from the troublesome gas.
By Peter Weiss - Chemistry
Bacteria send out molecular scrounger for copper
Scientists have discovered the organic molecule that bacteria use to take up copper, which the microbes then use to chemically crack methane.
- Humans
Rembrandt’s eye saw no depth
The 17th-century Dutch artist Rembrandt lacked stereoscopic vision, an optical analysis of his self-portraits suggests.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Hepatitis B vaccine linked to MS
People who develop multiple sclerosis are more likely than others to have received a hepatitis B vaccination in recent years.
By Nathan Seppa - Materials Science
Heat-controlled implant delivers insulin on demand
The field of drug delivery is literally heating up, with the development of a new polymer implant that releases insulin in response to changes in temperature.
- Health & Medicine
Motor Ways: Gene mutation impairs muscle coordination
Scientists have identified a gene mutation that appears to cause the motor impairment that occurs in a rare disorder called Joubert syndrome.
- Animals
Pirates of the Amphibian: Males fertilize eggs of another guy’s gal
For the first time among amphibians, scientists have found frogs that sneak their sperm onto egg clutches left by another mating pair.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Tapping an Unlikely Source: Scientists use mouth membrane to construct corneal-surface transplants
Using membranes taken from the inside of the mouth, researchers have fashioned transplants that act as replacement outer layers for corneas in people with damaged vision.
By Nathan Seppa -
Flies ‘R’ Us: Fruit fly cells mimic the mammalian pancreas
A new study suggests that the common fruit fly has cells that function much as those in the human pancreas do.
- Materials Science
Nanotech Goes to New Lengths: Scientists create ultralong carbon nanotubes
In an advance toward making superstrong fibers, chemists have synthesized a 4-centimeter-long carbon nanotube, the longest nanotube reported to date.
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Mothering Malnutrition: Moms’ depression weighs on infants in Pakistan
Maternal depression critically contributes to malnutrition-related health problems among infants in rural Pakistan.
By Bruce Bower - Astronomy
Sky Lights: Picture might show an extrasolar planet
A faint point of red light may be the first picture ever taken of a planet outside the solar system.
By Ron Cowen