News

  1. Astronomy

    Gamma-Ray Burst: A black hole is born

    New evidence supports the notion that gamma-ray bursts, the most violent explosions in the universe, are the primal calling cards of newborn black holes.

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  2. Anthropology

    The DNA Divide: Chimps, people differ in brain’s gene activity

    The distinctive looks and thinking styles of people and chimpanzees derive from the contrasting productivities of their similar DNA sequences.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Vanquishing a Virus: New drugs attack herpes infections

    Scientists have identified a new class of compounds that stop herpes simplex virus from replicating.

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  4. Earth

    Do your bit to fight toxic pool pollution

    New data suggest that showering before a swim in the community pool could help limit the formation of toxic chemicals in the water.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Diluted smallpox vaccine is potent

    About 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine held by the U.S. government can be diluted to one-tenth their original concentration and still be effective for immunizing people.

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  6. Plants

    Trees dim the light on spring flowers

    Early spring flowers and the sugar maples they grow under use different alarm clocks to get going in the spring, which can make life hard for the flowers in northern forests.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Pulse pressure linked to dialysis death rate

    People on kidney dialysis who have high pulse pressure—the difference between the top and bottom numbers on a blood pressure reading—seem to be at a greater risk of dying than those with low pulse pressure.

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  8. Immune cells carry concealed weapons

    Scientists propose that protein-cleaving enzymes called proteases are the real microbe destroyers in bacteria-killing cells called neutrophils.

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  9. Humans

    Web site debuts on junior high science

    A new Web site reviews the accuracy of commonly used middle school physical science books and offers tips and assistance for teachers working from those texts.

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  10. Agriculture

    Journal disowns transgene report

    The journal Nature now says it shouldn't have published a report that genetically engineered corn is leaking exotic genes into the traditional maize crops of Mexico.

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  11. Materials Science

    A Field of Diminutive Daisies

    Researchers have created tiny daisies as a demonstration of a new technique that creates three-dimensional structures from carbon nanotubes.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Blood Vessel Poisoning: Arsenic narrows artery that feeds brain

    New research suggests that drinking arsenic-laden water can produce dangerous narrowing in the carotid artery, which channels blood through the neck to the brain.

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