News
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Livers: Better late than never
Drawing on an ancient Greek myth, researchers have given the name prometheus to a mutant strain of zebrafish that appear to have no liver early in their lives.
- Health & Medicine
Guggul extract fails its cholesterol test
Guggul extract, long used in parts of Asia and gaining popularity in Western countries as a weapon against high cholesterol, does not appear to work.
- Planetary Science
A warmer, fluffier Pluto
Although Pluto has been receding from the sun for more than a decade, planetary scientists have now found that between 1988 and 2002, Pluto’s atmosphere has nearly doubled in size and its temperature has increased by about 1 degree C.
- Health & Medicine
Viruses, but not bacteria, tied to mental decline
Past infection by multiple common viruses may contribute to cognitive decline in some elderly people.
- 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.
