News

  1. Health & Medicine

    Chronic asthma could be caused by cell overcrowding in the airways

    Identifying drugs to reduce the excessive expulsion of cells in the lung lining could reduce the damage of chronic asthma.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    50 years ago, phantom pain was blamed on misfiring nerves 

    Researchers now know that the cause of post-amputation pain is more complex, which is leading to new treatments.

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  3. Earth

    A weaker magnetic field may have paved the way for marine life to go big

    Decreased protection from cosmic radiation may have increased oxygen levels in the atmosphere and oceans, allowing animals to grow larger.

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  4. Space

    NASA’s budget woes put ambitious space research at risk

    Mars Sample Return and missions to study other planets and celestial bodies, including lunar efforts, face big cuts and delays.

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  5. Animals

    This snake goes to extremes to play dead — and it appears to pay off

    When dice snakes fake their death to avoid predators, those that use a combination of blood, poop and musk spend less time pretending to be dead.

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  6. Neuroscience

    Lampreys have ‘fight or flight’ cells, challenging ideas about nervous system evolution

    The discovery of sympathetic nervous system cells in lampreys draws a closer tie between the animal and complex vertebrates — such as humans.

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  7. Climate

    As the Arctic tundra warms, soil microbes likely will ramp up CO2 production

    Experiments in mini greenhouses show how the tiny organisms lurking underground in a "sleepy biome" could be a contributor to climate change.

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  8. Psychology

    Online spaces may intensify teens’ uncertainty in social interactions

    Little is known of how teens learn about emotions online and then use that knowledge to cope with social uncertainty during in-person encounters.

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  9. Animals

    Want to see butterflies in your backyard? Try doing less yardwork

    Growing out patches of grass can lure adult butterflies and moths with nectar and offer lawn mower–free havens for toddler caterpillars.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    College students want to help during an opioid overdose but don’t know how

    A survey of college students reported many are comfortable calling emergency services for an overdose, but fewer know how to intervene with naloxone.

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  11. Animals

    This orangutan used a medicinal plant on his face wound

    Rakus the orangutan appeared to be treating a cut to his face with a plant that’s also used in traditional human medicine.

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  12. Animals

    Belugas may communicate by warping a blob of forehead fat

    Jiggling the “melon” like Jell-O seems to be associated with sexual behaviors, scientists say.

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