News
- Tech
Setting electronics in artificial stone
Electronics components made of Portland cement may one day be part of buildngs and roadways that double as gargantuan sensors or other current-carrying devices.
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New Antibiotics Take Poke at Bacteria
Small rings of amino acids can self-assemble into tubes that punch holes in bacteria.
- Tech
Having gathered moss, water drops roll
A coating of water-repellent powder transforms water droplets into remarkably mobile and resiliant balls, hoops, or peanut-shaped blobs.
- Tech
Biotechnology may fortify U.S. Army
A government-sponsored study says the U.S. Army may benefit from advances in biotechnology during the next 25 years, including sensors that identify soldiers by the food they ate, protein-based computers, near-instant vaccines, and automated wound treatments.
- Astronomy
Bow-wowing them with radar
The sharpest radar image ever of an asteroid shows features on 1999 KW4 as small as 7.5 meters—about the length of a stretch limo.
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Depression therapies converge in brain
Depressed people who benefit from either talk therapy or antidepressant drug treatment may experience similar brain changes, according to a pair of new studies.
- Health & Medicine
Herpes virus homes in on cancer target
Herpes simplex virus 1 has an affinity for cells with a mutation that marks many tumors, indicating how the virus may be refined as a cancer therapy and that certain new drugs might attack herpes itself.
- Astronomy
Landing data confirm Eros’ primitive nature
Gamma rays detected by the NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft after it landed on asteroid 433 Eros add to evidence that the rock is unaltered since the birth of the solar system.
- Tech
Optics oddity challenges microchip makers
An obscure optical effect called instrinsic birefringence has suddenly appeared as a threat to technology for making denser, faster microchips.
- Earth
Atlantic coast may be in for a pounding
The above-average number and strength of hurricanes in the North Atlantic during the past 6 years may signal the beginning of a threatening weather trend for the United States, the Caribbean, and Central America.
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Obscure brain chemicals draw new attention
Long-dismissed brain chemicals called trace amines have receptors on human cells and may play a role in depression and schizophrenia.
- Materials Science
Environment’s stuck with nonstick coatings
Some nonstick coatings such as Teflon break down at high temperatures into undesirable compounds that persist in the environment.
