News
-
Health & MedicineVaccine didn’t cause heart deaths
Fatal heart attacks that recently struck two people after they were vaccinated against smallpox were probably unfortunate coincidences, not adverse consequences of vaccination.
By Ben Harder -
PhysicsFusion device crosses threshold
By sparking thermonuclear reactions, a machine called Z has joined the big leagues among potential technologies for producing power from controlled nuclear fusion.
By Peter Weiss -
AstronomyEchoes of a stellar outburst
Light from the outburst of a star has revealed its dusty surroundings.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineShots stop allergic reactions to venom
An immune therapy prevents allergic reactions to the sting of the jack jumper ant, a pest common to Australia.
By Nathan Seppa -
PhysicsLight rambles through room-temperature ruby
Researchers have dramatically slowed light within a solid at room temperature.
By Peter Weiss -
TechLiberty’s smooth move
Sensors clamped to the Liberty Bell's crack show that it could handle the stress of a move.
-
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.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineDeadly 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.
By Nathan Seppa -
AnthropologyCannibalism’s DNA Trail: Gene may signal ancient prion-disease outbreaks
Cannibalism among prehistoric humans may have left lasting genetic marks.
By Bruce Bower -
EcosystemsAt a Snail’s Place: Rock climbing cuts mollusk diversity
As rock climbing soars in popularity, some cliff-side snail populations may be crashing.
-
AnimalsCostly Sexiness: All that flash puts birds at extra risk
Distinctive his-and-her plumages increase the chance that a bird species will go extinct locally, according to an unusually far-ranging study.
By Susan Milius -
AstronomyOnce Upon a Time in the Cosmos: Using distant galaxies to study the early universe
Peering far back in time, two teams of astronomers report that they have found some of the universe's earliest galaxies.
By Ron Cowen