News
- Chemistry
That’s a Wrap: Polymer coatings fortify pancreas cells
A technique that encapsulates cells in polymer might one day benefit people who receive pancreas-cell transplants for diabetes.
- Anthropology
Asian Trek: Fossil puts ancient humans in Far East
A 40,000-year-old partial human skeleton from a Chinese cave intensifies a debate over whether Stone Age people dispersing from Africa interbred with humanlike species that they encountered.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Meningitis vaccine stops ear infections
A vaccine for meningitis and pneumonia also prevents many childhood ear infections and the complications that they cause.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Patches take sting out of canker sores
Small patches that exude licorice extract can speed healing of canker sores.
By Nathan Seppa - Earth
On the move
A new study suggests how prions, the infectious agents that cause such disorders as chronic wasting disease, behave in soil and landfills.
- Earth
New solutions for unused drugs
Pharmacists and federal scientists have launched a program to discourage consumers from flushing unused prescription drugs down the toilet.
By Janet Raloff - Earth
Freeze-thaw cycles: How not to mix soil
The repeated cycles of ground freezing and thawing that occur in many places don't do a surprising poor job of churning the soil.
By Sid Perkins -
Kill-save gene combo might fight malaria
A technique that might someday enlist mosquitoes in the fight against malaria has passed an early test.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Wave’s-eye view of a hurricane
Strong hurricanes aren't as effective at transmitting their energy to the ocean's surface as weak ones are, a counterintuitive finding that may help researchers estimate the size of storm surges.
By Sid Perkins -
Rare flower needs prickly neighbors
A flowering plant found only in Mauritius makes more fruit if dense stands of pandanus trees grow nearby.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Pollution Fallout: Are unattractive males Great-gram’s fault?
Pollutant exposures in rodents can have behavioral repercussions that persist generation after generation.
By Janet Raloff - Tech
Is Your Phone Out of Juice? Biological fuel cell turns drinks into power
A new type of fuel cell uses natural enzymes to produce small amounts of electricity from sugar.