News

  1. Chemistry

    Prions are common, at least in yeast

    A new study of shape-shifting proteins in baker’s yeast reveals that prions are common and may help organisms survive in changing conditions.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    HPV screen beats Pap smear

    A test for human papillomavirus outperforms the standard Pap smear in catching precancerous cervical lesions, a study of women age 30 and over shows.

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  3. Space

    Heavyweight galaxies in the young universe

    New observations of full-grown galaxies in the young universe may force astrophysicists to revise their leading theory of galaxy formation, at least as it applies to regions where galaxies congregate into clusters.

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  4. Physics

    Spin control for technology

    Long-lived helix offers a new way to keep electron spin stable and in sync

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  5. Space

    Planet hidden in Hubble archives

    A new way to process images reveals an extrasolar planet that had been hiding in an 11-year-old Hubble picture.

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  6. Math

    Chicks do arithmetic

    Using the natural inclination of young chickens to cluster in large groups, researchers show that the birds are hatched with a numerical sense.

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  7. Life

    Genes help monarchs migrate

    At least 40 genes help monarch butterflies find their way to overwintering sites in Mexico.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Parasites hinder immunity against cholera

    Harboring intestinal parasites seems to limit a person’s ability to fend off cholera, a new study conducted in Bangladesh shows.

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  9. Life

    Louse-y genome surprise

    Blood-sucking body lice have an odd arrangement of mitochondrial genes.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Autism immerses 2-year-olds in a synchronized world

    By age 2, kids with autism focus on synchronized physical events, such as a person’s moving lips accompanied by sounds, rather than on eye movements and other social cues, a new study suggests.

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  11. Life

    Dissing a loaded label for some unicellular life

    Prominent biologist calls ‘prokaryote’ outdated term.

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  12. Earth

    Tallying emissions in ports and at sea

    Ships are major contributors to acid rain and ground-level ozone concentrations in some parts of the world.

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