News
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Health & MedicineOld drug may be first choice for childhood petit mal epilepsy
Three-way trial shows ethosuximide edging out two newer choices.
By Nathan Seppa -
EarthEarth knocked for a loop
Chile’s February 27 temblor, tectonically linked to another giant quake 50 years ago, sped up the Earth’s rotation and tipped the planet’s axis.
By Sid Perkins -
ChemistryPlasticizers kept from leaching out
‘Chemicals of concern’ may be made safer in new materials.
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SpaceLopsided stellar disks help black holes guzzle gas
Theorists have found a new recipe for feeding the supermassive centers of galaxies.
By Ron Cowen -
LifeRise of female weaponry driven by poop fights
Motherly fights for excrement in one species of dung beetle have favored the evolution of a special female horn.
By Susan Milius -
Health & MedicineCoffee not linked to heart arrhythmia
A large survey of insured people finds no extra hospitalizations in java swillers.
By Nathan Seppa -
PaleontologyAncient DNA suggests polar bears evolved recently
A study of a rare Norwegian fossil narrows down when polar bears evolved and finds they are closely related to modern-day brown bears in Alaska.
By Sid Perkins -
ArchaeologyStone Age engraving traditions appear on ostrich eggshells
Fragments indicate symbolic communication on 60,000-year-old water containers.
By Bruce Bower -
HumansTitanic study: It takes time to do the right thing
Comparing the Titanic and Lusitania disasters suggests that people in a crisis are more likely to maintain social norms if they have longer to react.
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Health & MedicineHormone may be heart-healthy insulin substitute
A study in mice finds leptin lowers blood sugar without raising cholesterol.
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HumansFacebook users keep it real in online profiles
College students on Facebook display their real personalities, not reinvented selves, a new study suggests.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineGerms in tobacco are potential source of respiratory infections blamed on smoking
Tests find hundreds of bacterial species in major cigarette brands.
By Janet Raloff