News
- Astronomy
Cosmic Pops: Nearby galaxy is hotbed of supernova formation
Large galaxies usually have no more than three supernovas blow up in a century, but the nearby galaxy NGC 1316 has had two such explosions within the past 5 months and four in the past 26 years.
- Animals
Fighting Styles: Gene gives flies his, her conflict moves
Switching forms of one gene can make a male fruit fly fight like a girl, and vice versa.
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Toxin Buster: New technique makes cottonseeds edible
Scientists have engineered cotton plants that produce seeds missing a toxic compound that had previously made them inedible.
- Tech
Ancients made nanotech hair dye
A hair-darkening paste invented thousands of years ago forms lead-and-sulfur nanocrystals remarkably similar to those made in today's nanotechnology labs.
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Low body heat lengthens mouse lives
Mice genetically engineered to have slightly lower-than-normal body temperatures lived significantly longer than mice with normal body temperatures.
- Physics
Heavy finding
Physicists have discovered never-before-seen subatomic particles related to protons and neutrons but laden with exotic, heavy subparticles called bottom quarks.
- Health & Medicine
Bug be gone
An experimental device that combines a special comb with a forceful air blower kills head lice and their nits.
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Jet lag might hasten death in elderly
Mimicking jet lag in old mice brought on an early death in the animals.
- Animals
Tough policing deters cheating in insects
In insect societies that have tough police, it's coercion, rather than kinship, that's preventing crime.
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Derailing a Disease: Stem cells slow dogs’ muscular dystrophy
Injecting a special type of stem cell into dogs with the canine equivalent of Duchenne muscular dystrophy significantly slowed the disease's progression.
- Animals
Chicken Speak: Birds pass test for fancy communication
The chicken may be the first animal other than primates that's been shown to make sounds that, like words, represent something in the environment. With audio.
- Tech
Cleanup Speedup: Device improves oil-spill recovery
By adding grooves to the surface of a common oil-skimming device, researchers recovered up to three times as much oil as they do with smooth-surfaced devices.
