News
- Health & Medicine
Calcium clue
Excess calcium in the blood might signal an increased risk of fatal prostate cancer, a new study finds.
By Nathan Seppa - Physics
Electrons as math whizzes
A new paper suggests the possibility that the behavior of electrons in quantum systems could verify Riemann’s famous conjecture about prime numbers.
- Life
Gene linked to commitment-phobia
A common gene variation in men is linked to marital crises and less bonding in a study of more than 500 long-term couples.
By Laura Beil - Health & Medicine
Older, not better
Having an older father might increase a person’s risk of developing bipolar disorder, a large population survey finds.
By Nathan Seppa - Space
Cosmic heavyweight
Astronomers discover the heftiest, most distant galaxy cluster, suggesting evidence for dark energy’s existence.
- Neuroscience
New insights on new neurons
Neurogenesis works differently in two parts of the brain. New neurons are necessary for making memories and keep the olfactory bulb’s structure but aren’t needed for smelling, study in mice shows.
- Humans
Honey of a discovery
Investigators have discovered the remains of 3,000-year-old beehives in Israel, offering a glimpse of the oldest known beekeeping operation.
By Bruce Bower - Earth
Ice spy
Radar altimeters on Earth-orbiting probes can detect and count small icebergs even under cloudy skies, providing warning to ships and invaluable data for scientists monitoring climate change.
By Sid Perkins - Physics
A difficult breakup
By identifying a new way to wrestle fluorine from carbon compounds, chemists may now be able to break down certain types of greenhouse gases before they reach the atmosphere.
- Health & Medicine
A-beta on the brain
A study of 18 comatose patients finds that as brain activity increases, concentrations of a protein linked to Alzheimer’s disease also increase.
- Earth
Past gasps
Earth’s atmosphere during some past geological ages wasn’t as oxygen-deprived as previously thought, new experiments suggest.
By Sid Perkins - Life
Pollinator manipulators
Manipulating floral chemistry of a type of wild tobacco reveals push-and-pull strategy.