News

  1. Math

    Proof clarifies a map-folding problem

    Researchers have developed an efficient algorithm to determine, given a collection of creases on a piece of paper, whether a sequence of simple folds produces a flat result, like a folded road map.

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  2. Chemistry

    Researchers stretch for improved surfaces

    A surprisingly simple, new technique could create better coatings for everything from medical implants to ship hulls.

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  3. Tech

    Ink-jet dots form transistor spots

    A new technique makes ink-jet printing of transistor circuits possible from conductive polymer inks.

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  4. Great tits inherit egg spots from mom

    An unusual study of eggshell spots suggests that there may be a gene for spottiness on the great tit's female sex chromosome.

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  5. Nightlife: Marsupial meets mistletoe

    A tiny marsupial in Argentina turns out to disperse mistletoe seeds, a job once presumed to be for the birds.

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  6. Paleontology

    Subway dig in L.A. yields fossil trove

    Fossil finds made when a subway line was extended from Los Angeles into the San Fernando Valley include bones of mastodons, ground sloths, extinct bison and camels, and 39 new species of fish.

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  7. First Plant Genome Thrills Biologists

    The unveiling of the genetic blueprint of the tiny thale cress ushers in a new era in plant biology.

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  8. Earth

    New accord targets long-lived pollutants

    Negotiators drafted an agreement to ban or phase out some of the world's most persistent and toxic pollutants.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Antibiotics, vitamins stall stomach cancer

    A 6-year study shows that vitamin C, beta-carotene, and antibiotics can reverse premalignant conditions that could otherwise lead to stomach cancer.

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  10. Physics

    Silk and soap settle a century-old flap

    The leading explanation for why flags flap in the breeze has run afoul of new experimental findings.

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  11. Gene implicated in development of autism

    A gene involved in fetal-brain development may predispose people to develop autism or several related disorders.

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  12. Earth

    Wafting pesticides taint far-flung frogs

    Agricultural pesticides blowing into California's wilderness areas have played a role in mysterious declines in frog populations.

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