News
- Math
Prime conjecture verified to new heights
Computations show that all even integers up to 4 x 1014 can be written as the sum of two prime numbers, lending support to the Goldbach conjecture.
- Astronomy
Comet LINEAR: Breaking up isn’t hard to do
New images reveal that Comet LINEAR, which passed near the sun late last month, has broken into at least 10 fragments.
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Depression may play a role in stroke risk
Feelings of hopelessness and other signs of major depression markedly raise a person's likelihood of suffering a stroke.
- Physics
Attractive atoms pick up repulsive habits
Rubidium atoms intrinsically attract each other, but new experiments near absolute zero have induced the atoms to repel each another instead.
- Earth
Wildfires spread across a parched West
Dozens of lightning-sparked wildfires seared the western United States last week, adding hundreds of thousands of acres of charred terrain to a tally that promises to make this fire season the worst in recent decades.
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Ibuprofen cuts Alzheimer protein build-up
The common nonprescription drug ibuprofen may lessen abnormal accumulation of beta-amyloid in the brain, perhaps explaining how the drug decreases the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease.
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Cleft-lip mutations may hinder virus
Having identified the mutated gene responsible for a syndrome involving cleft lip or palate, a research team finds that the recessive mutation also may confer an antiviral advantage to people who carry one copy of this gene.
- Chemistry
Ribosomes Reveal Their RNA Secrets
The first atomic-resolution map of a ribosome, a cell's protein factory, suggests that RNA catalyzes the formation of proteins.
- Tech
Liberty’s smooth move
Sensors clamped to the Liberty Bell's crack show that it could handle the stress of a move.
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Putting Out the Welcome Mat: Chemical guides germ cells to gonads
A chemical made in the gonads attracts the embryonic cells that will one day form eggs or sperm.
- Health & Medicine
Deadly Stowaways: Seeds of cancer in transplant recipients are traced back to donors
Precancerous cells that grow into Kaposi's sarcoma are sometimes introduced into a person in an organ transplant.
- Anthropology
Cannibalism’s DNA Trail: Gene may signal ancient prion-disease outbreaks
Cannibalism among prehistoric humans may have left lasting genetic marks.
