News
- Space
World’s biggest atom smasher sets first record
After a year’s delay, the Large Hadron Collider near Geneva, Switzerland, became the world’s highest energy particle accelerator on November 30, revving up each of its twin proton beams to energies of 1.18 trillion electron volts.
- Health & Medicine
Discerning pancreatic cancer from pancreatitis
New test shows patients with autoimmune pancreatitis are more likely to have a telltale antibody.
- Animals
Little push turns snail lefties to righties
Bumping an early embryo’s cells can switch the direction of its spiral.
- Life
Bone regulators moonlight in the brain as fever inducers
Study in mice suggests proteins could be source of post-menopausal hot flashes.
- Humans
A timely touch transforms speech perception
New research indicates that what people hear others saying depends on their skin, not just their ears.
- Life
Fecal architecture is beetle armor
Predators have a hard time getting through the layers of excrement some beetle moms give their young.
- Earth
GPS bolsters view that big Cascadia quakes could hit inland
Satellite tracking of plate movements shows that a magnitude-9 tremor in Pacific Northwest could strike close to urban areas.
- Physics
How to mix oil and water
Bouncing an oil-coated water droplet creates a tiny emulsion and reveals physics of mixing.
- Agriculture
Nation by nation, evidence thin that boosting crop yields conserves land
Intensifying agriculture may not necessarily return farmland to nature without policy help.
- Chemistry
Metal gives pigment the blues
Researchers studying manganese oxides unexpectedly discover a new way to achieve blue hue.
- Computing
First programmable quantum computer created
System uses ultracold beryllium ions to tackle 160 randomly chosen programs.
-
Low-tech approach stifles high-risk Nipah virus
Protecting palm-tree sap from bats may limit spread of deadly disease, a study in Bangladesh shows.
