News
- Chemistry
Mini Motor: Synthetic molecule yields nanoscale rotor
Scientists have built a tiny rotor out of a synthesized molecule that rotates in the presence of an electric field.
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Brain Gain: Odd RNA converts stem cells into neurons
An unusual strand of RNA guides stem cells to transform into neurons.
- Astronomy
Planetoid on the Fringe: Solar system record breaker
Lurking more than 13 billion kilometers from Earth in the coldest, remotest part of the solar system, a newly discovered body is the most distant object ever found to orbit the sun and the largest denizen of the solar system discovered since Pluto.
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Movie sparks group brain responses
People exhibit a surprising amount of brain activity in common while viewing a dramatic movie, a brain-imaging study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Ear piercings cause illness, disfigurement
Piercing the upper-ear cartilage under nonsterile conditions can leave a person vulnerable to a Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, as happened in Oregon in 2000.
- Animals
Road rage keeps ants moving smoothly
Streams of ants manage to avoid traffic gridlock by a bit of strategic pushing and shoving.
- Health & Medicine
Heart patients gain from steep cholesterol drop
Heart patients can lessen their risk of a heart attack and increase their odds of survival by aggressively reducing harmful low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in their blood.
- Physics
Complexity by way of simplicity
Researchers have demonstrated a new way to simplify some intricate patterns whose extreme complexity has convinced theoretical physicist Stephen Wolfram that traditional science can't explain many important natural phenomena.
- Anthropology
Grannies give gift of longer lives
Data from two 18th- and 19th-century farming communities supports the theory that child care assistance from grandmothers has contributed to the evolution of extended human longevity.
- Health & Medicine
Drug for migraines helps some patients
An experimental drug that slows blood flow in the brain knocks out migraine headaches in some people.
- Animals
Hornbills know which monkey calls to heed
Hornbills can tell the difference between two kinds of alarm calls given by monkeys.
- Planetary Science
Revisiting a forgotten planet
Engineers are readying a NASA spacecraft for a May 11 launch to Mercury, one of the least-explored planets in the solar system.
