News
- Agriculture
Big footprints
Livestock production carries surprisingly high, and largely hidden, environmental costs.
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Stem cells float in amniotic fluid
Scientists have discovered a new type of stem cell in the fluid that bathes fetuses in the womb.
- Health & Medicine
Putting the kibosh on black cohosh
The herbal supplement black cohosh is no more effective than a placebo in reducing the number of daily hot flashes in menopausal women.
- Health & Medicine
Good news for people with clotting disorder
Several experimental drugs show promise against the bleeding disorder known as immune thrombocytopenic purpura.
- Tech
A backpack with a suspension system
A new backpack design that uses elastic cords to minimize the pack's vertical motion could lessen bodily strain on wearers and reduce the effort required to carry a load.
- Earth
Yes, it’s asbestos
Federal mineralogists have corroborated earlier evidence that Sierra-foothills communities around Sacramento, Calif., are built atop soils naturally laced with asbestos.
- Animals
Guys Roll Eyes: Fish show some eyeball to their rivals
During breeding season, male fish roll their eyes to send a quick "Back off, punk" signal to other males, researchers say.
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Message Songs: Wild gibbons warble with a simple syntax
Gibbons, a line of apes in southeastern Asia, rearrange their songs in order to communicate with one another.
- Astronomy
Rocky Finding: Evidence of extrasolar asteroid belt
Astronomers have obtained some of the best evidence yet for an asteroid belt beyond the solar system.
- Health & Medicine
Better Blood: New tool removes agent of brain disease
Scientists have developed a device that filters from blood the mutant proteins that cause the human form of mad cow disease, an advance that may hold promise for increasing the safety of donated blood.
- Paleontology
Paleotrickery: A lengthy lineage for leaf-mimicking insects
Species in one group of insects have escaped the hungry eye of predators by looking like foliage and moving like swaying leaves for at least 47 million years, a new fossil find suggests.
- Tech
Loopy Light: Rings that delay photons may advance microchips
Chains of tiny, high-precision, light-conducting loops of silicon may open the door to using optical circuits to carry enormous data flows within computer chips.
