News
- Chemistry
Tricky Transformation: Bubbling gases tighten, then loosen, the grip of novel molecules on grime
New compounds make oil mix with water, or not, depending simply on which gases are bubbled through the water.
- Anthropology
Evolution’s DNA Difference: Noncoding gene tied to origin of human brain
Investigators have discovered a gene that shows signs of having evolved rapidly in people and of having made a substantial contribution to the emergence of a uniquely human brain.
- Earth
Holy Smoke: Burning incense, candles pollute air in churches
Incense and candles release substantial quantities of pollutants that may harm health.
- Health & Medicine
Fewer Drugs, Same Outcome: Simpler HIV regimens are effective
In two studies, AIDS clinicians found that standard three-drug regimens fight HIV as well as four-drug treatments do, and that a single drug might maintain a patient's health once the virus is suppressed.
- Astronomy
New Solar System? Twelve planets and counting (Updated)
According to a new proposal, the solar system has 12 planets instead of the familiar 9, with several dozen more to come.
- Chemistry
Mulch matters
Mulch made from recycled construction and demolition wood can release arsenic into the environment.
- Earth
Grand Canyon fish seem to be rebounding
The population of humpback chub, an endangered fish found only in the Colorado River and its tributaries, may be stabilizing in some sections of the Grand Canyon.
- Animals
Seabirds take record summer vacations
Sooty shearwaters that breed in New Zealand have set a new record for off-season travel, covering 64,000 kilometers between visits to their mating ground.
- Tech
Nanotubes signal when engine oil needs changing
A new, easy-to-fabricate sensor made from carbon nanotubes detects when automobile-engine oil needs replacement.
- Tech
Hydrogen hopes in carbon shells
Lithium atoms added to buckyball surfaces bestow on these molecules a remarkable capacity to store hydrogen.
- Earth
Air conditioning could heat the world
Global warming predicted for the coming decades may decrease winter heating bills in some parts of the United States, but producing the extra electricity needed for summertime air conditioning will create increased emissions of planet-warming carbon dioxide.
- Physics
On-chip lamp scores a bull’s-eye
Etching nanoscale, concentric ridges around a lamp-on-a-chip known as a light-emitting diode, or LED, brightens the device's glow seven-fold.
