News
- Tech
High-flying wing destroyed in crash
The unmanned NASA aircraft that holds the world record for high-altitude flight without rocket propulsion recently broke up over the Pacific Ocean.
- Health & Medicine
Drug reduces risks for dialysis patients
Kidney-dialysis patients getting the vitamin D drug paricalcitol survive longer than those getting a similar medication called calcitriol.
- Astronomy
Stellar speed limit
Ripples in the fabric of space-time may put the brakes on the fastest-spinning stars in the universe and prevent them from flying apart.
- Earth
Not So Green? Using hydrogen as fuel may hurt environment
Replacing fossil fuels with clean-burning hydrogen—considered to be a way to reduce globe-warming carbon dioxide—may create a different set of environmental problems, including larger and longer-lasting ozone holes.
- Humans
Small World After All: Short e-mail chains reach targets worldwide
A large-scale study of e-mail users has borne out the notion that one person on the planet can reach any other person through a chain of about six social ties.
- Chemistry
Amending the Genetic Code: Yeast adds new amino acids to its proteins
Researchers have created yeast cells that add one of five unnatural amino acids to their natural 20-piece construction set.
- Ecosystems
Risky High Life: Mountain creatures prove extra-vulnerable
Some of the species hardest hit by climate change will be those living in particular mountain highlands.
- Earth
Saltier Water: Climate change can slow ocean’s absorption of carbon dioxide gas
A decrease in precipitation over the Pacific Ocean north of Hawaii in recent years has left the ocean there saltier and has diminished its ability to soak up carbon dioxide.
- Health & Medicine
Brawny Brains: Creatine pills may aid memory and cognition
The popular muscle-building supplement creatine can boost performance on mental tests.
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Probing Ocean Depths: Photosynthetic bacteria bare their DNA
Scientists have deciphered the DNA of two highly abundant, photosynthetic ocean bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
Switching Off Pain: Modeling relief on the action of marijuana
A new drug, tested in rats, blocks pain caused when the nervous system goes awry without producing unwanted side effects.
- Astronomy
Swallow Thy Neighbor: Strong evidence of galactic cannibalism
Astronomers have found a compelling case of a large galaxy caught in the act of eating a small fry.
