News
- Astronomy
A black hole that goes the distance
Astronomers have measured the mass of the most distant black hole known.
- Paleontology
Ancient wood points to arctic greenhouse
Chemical analyses of wood that grew in an ancient arctic forest suggest that the air there once was about twice as humid as it is now.
- Health & Medicine
Fecal glow could improve meat safety
Workers who process animal carcasses into meat might soon use a novel type of laser scanner to identify products that have been contaminated with feces.
- Astronomy
Supernovas, gamma-ray bursts: Two of a kind?
Astronomers have uncovered direct evidence that gamma-ray bursts are linked to supernovas.
- Tech
A Breath of Fresh Air: Bacteria rid sewage of its stink
Wastewater-treatment plants can use hydrogen sulfide-degrading bacteria instead of chemicals to reduce odors.
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Harvesting Intelligence: IQ gains may reach rural Kenya’s kids
Researchers say they've uncovered a dramatic IQ increase among Kenyan children over a recent 14-year period that may be due to environmental factors such as better nutrition and a greater parental emphasis on schooling.
- Health & Medicine
Preeclampsia Progress: Blood test for predicting pregnancy problems
A natural compound called asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) may play a role in preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication.
- Materials Science
Nanofluid Flow: Detergents may benefit from new insight
Fluids containing nanoscale particles spread and readily lift oil droplets off a surface.
- Paleontology
Winging South: Finally, a fly fossil from Antarctica
A tiny fossil collected about 500 kilometers from the South Pole indicates that Antarctica was once home to a type of fly that scientists long thought had never inhabited the now-icy, almost insectfree continent.
- Earth
Farm Harm: Ag chemicals may cause prostate cancer
On-the-job exposure to certain agricultural chemicals may be responsible for farmers' high rates of prostate cancer.
- Astronomy
Starry View: Image reveals galaxy’s violent past
The most detailed visible-light picture ever taken of the heavens reveals that the nearby Andromeda galaxy has had a much more violent history than our own Milky Way has.
- Anthropology
Ancestral split in Africa, China
Environmental conditions may have encouraged Homo erectus to develop a level of social and tool-making complexity in Africa that the same species did not achieve in China.
