News
- Math
Fields Medals: Mathematicians win awards for geometry, physics, and probability
Fields Medals have been awarded to four mathematicians, including Grigori Perelman, who proved a famous conjecture about the shapes of higher-dimensional spheres.
- Health & Medicine
Risky Legacy: African DNA linked to prostate cancer
The high rate of prostate cancer among African American men may result in large part from a newly identified stretch of DNA passed down from their African ancestors.
By Ben Harder - Astronomy
Enlightened: Dark matter spotted after cosmic crash
In the aftermath of a cosmic crash between two galaxies, researchers say they've detected invisible dark matter for the first time.
By Eric Jaffe - Health & Medicine
Breast milk may not be enough
Breast-fed infants need vitamin D supplements, at least in winter.
By Janet Raloff -
Placebo predictions
Giving patients placebo pills for a week before they begin to participate in trials of antidepressants can help clinicians gauge how well they will respond to the actual medication.
By Eric Jaffe - Tech
The ups and downs of routing fluids on chips
A new way to build microscale pipes in three dimensions boosts the sophistication of chips that manipulate fluids to perform chemical reactions and other tasks.
By Peter Weiss -
Unusual tumor is contagious in dogs
A type of cancer in dogs is transferred from animal to animal by exchange of cancer cells.
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Stress rate revised for Vietnam vets
A reanalysis of data from a 1988 study of Vietnam veterans finds that 19 percent developed war-related post-traumatic stress disorder, a smaller proportion than had previously been estimated.
By Bruce Bower - Chemistry
Protection from poisons
An Alzheimer's disease drug could be protective against the deadly effects of two nerve agents.
- Health & Medicine
Sauna use among dads linked to tumors in children
Men who expose themselves to excessive heat in the weeks before they conceive children may place their future offspring at unnecessary risk of brain cancer.
By Ben Harder - Astronomy
Cosmic bigness
Astronomers have found the largest structures ever discovered in the universe.
By Ron Cowen - Materials Science
Logos to Go: Hydrogel coatings provide removable color
A biodegradable coating could add a temporary splash of color to sports fields, buildings, or even people's bodies.