News
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ChemistryAmending 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.
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EcosystemsRisky High Life: Mountain creatures prove extra-vulnerable
Some of the species hardest hit by climate change will be those living in particular mountain highlands.
By Susan Milius -
EarthSaltier 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.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & MedicineBrawny Brains: Creatine pills may aid memory and cognition
The popular muscle-building supplement creatine can boost performance on mental tests.
By Ben Harder -
Probing Ocean Depths: Photosynthetic bacteria bare their DNA
Scientists have deciphered the DNA of two highly abundant, photosynthetic ocean bacteria.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineSwitching Off Pain: Modeling relief on the action of marijuana
A new drug, tested in rats, blocks pain caused when the nervous system goes awry without producing unwanted side effects.
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AstronomySwallow Thy Neighbor: Strong evidence of galactic cannibalism
Astronomers have found a compelling case of a large galaxy caught in the act of eating a small fry.
By Ron Cowen -
PlantsNext loosestrife is already loose
A Florida botanist warns against Nymphoides cristata and Rotala rotundifolia, very troublesome escapees from aquariums and water gardens.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsMisunderstood stripes confuse individuality
In the debate over how many fungi make up one lichen body, a researcher argues for two unrelated fungal species in the same lichen.
By Susan Milius -
PlantsEverglades plant is he, then she, then he
Sawgrass, the signature plant of the Everglades, switches genders twice during its week of blooming and thus reduces the chances of self- fertilization.
By Susan Milius -
Near-death events take arresting turn
A survey of people treated for serious heart problems indicates that 1 in 10 of those who survived cardiac arrest had an accompanying near-death experience.
By Bruce Bower -
PhysicsIcy telescope spots hot neutrinos
The first sky map from an innovative neutrino telescope indicates that the instrument works properly and is poised to find never-before-seen signals from the universe's most violent events.
By Peter Weiss