News
- Health & Medicine
Going against the Grain: Aspirin use linked to pancreatic cancer
Scientists have associated aspirin use with cancer of the pancreas.
By Nathan Seppa - Tech
Flashy Transistors: Electronic workhorses also shed light
Researchers have discovered that the transistor can emit light, a yet-untapped talent.
By Peter Weiss -
Neural Road to Repression: Brain may block out undesired memories
Specific brain structures work together to allow people to repress certain memories intentionally.
By Bruce Bower - Chemistry
Moonlighting: Reflective protein causes squid to shimmer
Squid can manipulate light in amazing ways to camouflage themselves at night, and researchers have unveiled a bizarre set of reflective proteins in the animals' tissues that underlie this trait.
- Humans
Cow Madness: Disease’s U.S. emergence highlights role of feed ban
The threat of mad cow disease to both people and animals in the U.S. remains low, as long as government regulations designed to prevent the disease's spread are enforced, risk analysts say.
By Ben Harder - Astronomy
Taste of a Comet: Spacecraft samples and views Wild 2
Pummeled by debris, a NASA spacecraft last week snatched up dust samples while taking the sharpest images ever of a comet's icy core.
By Ron Cowen -
- Earth
When testosterone gets down and dirty
Testosterone excreted by livestock can pass through soils, which may explain new findings of fish-altering hormonal activity in water downstream of cattle feedlots.
By Janet Raloff - Astronomy
X-ray images highlight galaxy collisions
A new study provides graphic evidence that X-ray observations may be the best way to identify ancient collisions between galaxies.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
SARS vaccine triggers immunity in monkeys
An experimental vaccine against the SARS virus shows promise in a test on monkeys.
By Nathan Seppa - Tech
Gene Screen: Ultrasensitive nanowires catch mutations
Researchers have devised a nanowire sensor that binds to DNA molecules and produces an electrical signal almost instantaneously.
- Health & Medicine
Pivotal Protein: Inhibiting immune compound slows sepsis
By restraining the action of an immune system protein that can run amok, scientists experimenting on mice have reversed the course of severe sepsis.
By Nathan Seppa