News
- Earth
Tomato compound repels mosquitos
New insect repellents based on a compound that contributes to the smell of crushed tomato leaves are under development.
- Materials Science
Molecular template makes nanoscale helix
Using ribbons made of organic molecules as minuscule templates, researchers have coaxed a semiconductor material into tiny helical coils.
- Health & Medicine
Watermelon red means lycopene rich
Watermelon is a far better source of the carotenoid lycopene than tomatoes are and at least as well absorbed by the body.
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Tough Tradeoff: Beetle brains show how sex shortens life
Brain surgery in beetles reveals yet another way that having sex can shorten life.
- Humans
Official Concern: U.N. weighs in on acrylamide toxicity
A United Nations panel concluded that, in fried, grilled, and baked foods, the formation of acrylamide, a carcinogen and nerve poison in rodents, constitutes "a serious problem."
- Paleontology
Into the Gap: Fossil find stands on its own four legs
A fossil originally misidentified as an ancient fish turns out to be the nearly intact remains of a four-limbed creature that lived during an extended period noted for its lack of fossils of land animals.
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The Eyes Have It: Newborns prefer faces with a direct gaze
Only a few days after birth, babies already home in on faces that fix them with a direct gaze and devote less attention to faces with eyes that look to one side.
- Health & Medicine
His-and-Her Hunger Pangs: Gender affects the brain’s response to food
Men's and women's brains react differently to hunger, as well as to satiation.
- Physics
Heightened Resistance: Sharper shaft points to smaller bits
Scientists have exploited a method for detecting the orientations of magnetic fields to achieve a remarkable leap in detector sensitivity.
- Earth
Teenage Holdup: Pollution may delay puberty
A new study of adolescents suggests that widespread environmental pollutants such as PCBs and dioxins may delay sexual development.
- Materials Science
X Rays to Go: Carbon nanotubes could shrink machines
A new type of X-ray machine operates at room temperature by producing X-ray-generating electrons with carbon nanotubes instead of traditional heated metal filaments.
- Health & Medicine
Sex, smell and appetite
A study of sexual dysfunction in mutated mice may help explain the connection between smell and appetite.
