News
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Planetary ScienceAnother moon for Uranus
Astronomers have confirmed the existence of the 21st moon known to be orbiting Uranus.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineDuct tape sticks it to warts
Treating a wart with a covering of duct tape seems to be more effective—and less painful—than removing the wart by freezing it with liquid nitrogen.
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EarthPesticides block male hormones
Some common pesticides can block the ability of androgens, male sex hormones, to trigger normal gene activities.
By Janet Raloff -
EarthWeed killer feminizes fish
The weed killer atrazine can turn normally hermaphroditic fish into females, a new study shows.
By Janet Raloff -
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Materials ScienceWorm’s teeth conceal odd mineral material
A worm's teeth contain a copper mineral that could serve as a model for new materials.
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Memory grows up in 1-year-olds
As children enter the second year of life, they exhibit a marked improvement in recalling simple events after a 4-month delay, perhaps reflecting the growth of memory-related brain areas.
By Bruce Bower -
AstronomyMilky Way black hole gets real
Tracing the path of a star orbiting near the center of our galaxy, astronomers have found the best evidence to date that a supermassive black hole lies at the Milky Way’s core.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyCosmic rays from the solar system
Dust grains from the Kuiper belt, a storehouse of comets and other frozen bodies in the outer solar system, are the source of some of the lower energy cosmic rays that bombard Earth.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineSchizophrenia spurs imaging network
Thanks to a federal grant, a team of researchers will establish a national database of brain images that will allow for expanded investigations of the neural basis of schizophrenia.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineFirst Line of Defense: Hints of primitive antibodies
After looking in primitive marine invertebrates that are considered to be close relatives to vertebrates, immunologists find families of genes that might provide clues as to how early immune systems evolved.
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Eye-Grabbing Insights: Visual structure grips infants’ attention
Babies take their first major strides with their eyes, not their legs, as they rapidly distinguish among playpens, pacifiers, and a plethora of other objects.
By Bruce Bower