News
- Earth
Flow West, Young River: Ancient Amazon ran opposite today’s route
The forerunner of the mighty Amazon ran from east to west, a new analysis of rocks laid down by that ancient river suggests.
- Health & Medicine
L’Chaim: Wine compound lengthens mouse lives
A constituent of red wine appears to increase the life spans and boost the well-being of mice that haven't followed the healthiest of lifestyles.
- Materials Science
Dribble Quibble: Experiments find that new basketball gets slick
According to preliminary results from a study at a physics lab, a new basketball for professional players bounces less elastically, veers more when it bounces, and becomes more slippery when damp than does a leather ball.
- Health & Medicine
Helping Hands: Brief rehab method aids arm activity after stroke
Stroke survivors who have difficulty using an arm or a hand experience lasting mobility gains after completing an unusual 2-week rehabilitation program.
- Astronomy
A Swarm of Umbrellas vs. Global Warming: Astronomer thinks small to save Earth
A trillion miniature spacecraft could provide a giant sunshade for Earth, significantly reducing global warming.
- Ecosystems
Worthless waters
The biological riches of the oceans will be spent within decades if current trends continue.
- Astronomy
Web Special: Hubble Repair Mission Is a Go
After several years of uncertainty following the Columbia shuttle disaster, NASA this week gave the go-ahead for a shuttle crew to replace and repair parts on the 16-year-old Hubble Space Telescope.
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Mom’s caffeine harms pups’ brain cells
Rats born to mothers who drank caffeinated beverages throughout their pregnancies had abnormal brain-cell function.
- Health & Medicine
Insulin can protect diabetic brains
Staying on top of diabetes treatments may prevent some of the brain atrophy and cognitive deficits that typically accompany the disease.
- Health & Medicine
Pain follows cycle
Estrogen fluctuations during a woman's menstrual cycle may change her perception of pain.
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Nicotine during rat youth primes brain for harder drugs
The addictive ingredient in those cigarettes in the schoolyard could prep the brain for reliance on illicit drugs.
- Astronomy
Galactic spider
A Hubble Space Telescope image reveals a large galaxy in the early universe assembling from the merger of smaller ones.
