News

  1. Health & Medicine

    Researchers target sickle-cell cure

    Using stem cell transplants and a compound called antithymocyte globulin, researchers in Paris have cured 59 of 69 children of sickle-cell disease.

    By Nathan Seppa
  2. Earth

    Rivers run to it

    Increasing freshwater discharges into Arctic waters could disrupt important patterns of deep-water ocean circulation that affect climate.

    By Janet Raloff
  3. Chemistry

    Soy and oat combo protects against UV

    Soybean oil and a natural chemical in oat bran have been chemically combined to make a new sunscreen.

    By Jessica Gorman

  4. A fish’s solution to broken hearts

    The zebrafish can regenerate missing heart muscle.

    By John Travis
  5. Astronomy

    Model Tracks Storms from the Sun

    Teams of astronomers have developed a reliable method for predicting the time it takes for solar storms to arrive at Earth and have gathered observations confirming a model of how the sun's outer atmosphere, or corona, manages to store up enough magnetic energy to induce these upheavals.

    By Ron Cowen
  6. Health & Medicine

    Double cord-blood transplant helps cancer patients

    Two umbilical-cord-blood transplants may work better than one for cancer patients.

    By Nathan Seppa
  7. Health & Medicine

    Clear Skin: Injections counteract psoriasis in patients

    Injections of an immune system protein called interleukin-4 can alleviate skin problems in people with psoriasis.

    By Nathan Seppa
  8. Health & Medicine

    Coffee Jitters: Caffeine boosts predictor of heart problems

    Whether it comes from coffee or another source, caffeine causes a troubling rise in one biological indicator of heart health.

    By Ben Harder

  9. Secrets of Memory All-Stars: Brain reflects superior recollection strategy

    People who display exceptional recall for lists of information often employ an ancient learning strategy that engages brain areas considered crucial for spatial memory and navigation.

    By Bruce Bower
  10. Animals

    Homing Lobsters: Fancy navigation, for an invertebrate

    Spiny lobsters are the first animals without backbones to pass tests for the orienteering power called true navigation.

    By Susan Milius
  11. Earth

    Sulfur Studies: Early Earth’s air was oxygen-poor

    Analyses of ancient sulfide minerals and the modern organisms that create sulfides are giving scientists a better idea of what Earth's atmosphere and oceans may have been like billions of years ago.

    By Sid Perkins
  12. Materials Science

    Fracture Protection: Nanotubes toughen up ceramics

    The addition of carbon nanotubes to a ceramic material dramatically improves its fracture resistance.

    By Jessica Gorman