News
- Humans
Lethal injection is inhumane, say researchers
Prisoners killed by lethal injection may be conscious and experience pain and burning sensations while they asphyxiate.
- Animals
Sex—perhaps a good idea after all
A family of mites may be the first animal lineage shown to have abandoned sexual reproduction and then reevolved it millions of years later.
- Health & Medicine
A smart pill for seniors?
A dietary supplement combo boosts older adults' performance on simple mental tests.
- Health & Medicine
This trick boosts cancer’s spread
A compound that helps keep cells organized and stitched into tissues may play a role in the survival of cancer cells that have seeded distant tissues in the body.
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Cancer patients aided by yoga
In breast cancer patients, practicing yoga appears to reduce both depression and biochemical markers of inflammation.
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Alzheimer’s marker yields blood test
Studies in mice suggest that it could be possible to screen blood for early, asymptomatic Alzheimer's disease.
- Earth
Not-So-Clear Alternative: In its air-quality effects, ethanol fuel is similar to gasoline
Switching the nation's vehicles from gasoline to ethanol may not reduce air pollution.
- Health & Medicine
More Than Bit Players: Snippets of RNA might sway pancreatic cancer
Small pieces of genetic material called microRNA might provide a preview of pancreatic cancer's aggressiveness and offer targets for combating the usually deadly disease.
- Planetary Science
Liquid Center: Mercury has a molten core, radar reveals
Mercury is hot stuff: It's got a core that's at least partially molten, a new radar study of the planet's spin reveals.
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Automatic Networking: Brain systems charge up in unconscious monkeys
Even when monkeys are anesthetized, their brains show patterns of electrical activity similar to those exhibited during wakeful activity.
- Physics
Quantum Loophole: Some quirks of physics can be good for science
Physicists have found a way to almost double measurement precision when using photons to gauge distances.
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Talk to the Hand: Language might have evolved from gestures
Language might have evolved from hand gestures, say researchers who study communication in chimpanzees.
