News
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Turbo Gene: Getting a speed boost from DNA
A gene known as ACTN3 may influence whether athletes are better suited to sprinting or to endurance running.
- Health & Medicine
Transplant Hope: New thymus tissue jump-starts immune system in babies
A thymus tissue transplant enables babies born with DiGeorge syndrome to develop functional immune systems.
By Nathan Seppa - Materials Science
Worm’s Jaws Show Mettle: Zinc links may inspire new materials
New analyses of the jaws of marine worms may lead scientists to better ways of making synthetic materials.
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Untangling the Brain: Enzyme counters Alzheimer’s-like snarls
The enzyme Pin1 prevents brain cells from developing harmful protein deposits called tangles.
By John Travis - Physics
Fast Findings on Fluid Frenzy: Taking turbulence models to a new level
A new way to simulate turbulence by including some of the microscopic, molecular properties of fluids is influencing automobile design and may soon affect many other fields.
By Peter Weiss - Earth
Extracting Estrogens: Modern treatment plants strip hormone from sewage
New research helps explain why state-of-the-art sewage treatment facilities are more effective than conventional plants at removing certain sex hormones from sludge.
By Ben Harder - Astronomy
Repulsive Astronomy: Strengthening the case for dark energy
Astronomers have found new evidence that a mysterious substance, dubbed dark energy, is ripping the cosmos apart, causing the universe to expand at an ever-faster rate.
By Ron Cowen - Animals
Why do two-sex geckos triumph?
Just the smell of an invasive species of gecko suppresses egg laying and subdues aggression in a resident.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Maybe what Polly wants is a new toy
Changing the toys in a parrot's cage may ease the bird's tendency to fear new things.
By Susan Milius - Animals
Some female birds prefer losers
When a female Japanese quail watches two males clash, she tends to prefer the loser.
By Susan Milius - Animals
The secret appetite of cleaner wrasses
The little reef fish that nibble parasites off bigger fish that stop by for service actually prefer to nibble the customers.
By Susan Milius - Health & Medicine
Anthrax toxin curbs immune cells
A toxin produced by the anthrax bacterium suppresses cells that launch the body's immune response.
By John Travis