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Basic research generates jobs and competitiveness
Trained as a mechanical engineer in India, Subra Suresh researched the interfaces between engineering, biology and materials science before becoming dean of engineering at MIT and, as of October, director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. In February in Washington, D.C., at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Suresh […]
By Subra Suresh -
Health & MedicineBody & Brain
The brain 'sees' Braille, plus engineered urethras and baseball practice swings in this week's news.
By Science News -
HumansIn-laws transformed early human society
A study of today's hunter-gatherers finds marital relationships help spread a social fabric.
By Bruce Bower -
ChemistryLight-sensor pulls perplexing double duty
A long-studied eye pigment appears to also detect temperature, a study in fruit flies shows.
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PhysicsTractor beams arrive two centuries early
Trekkie devices that can pull instead of push have been developed by U.S. and Chinese physicists to move small objects.
By Devin Powell -
LifeLife
Chimps are righties and orangutans lefties, plus singing mice and chilly dinosaurs in this week's news.
By Science News -
Health & MedicineDigging into the roots of lupus
Two new studies implicate common white blood cells called neutrophils in this autoimmune disease.
By Nathan Seppa -
HumansMissing bits of DNA may define humans
Genetic information lost along the way may have led to bigger brains and spineless penises, among other traits.
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LifeAnxiety switch makes mice shy no more
Brain-control experiments could help shed light on psychiatric disorders
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SpaceAtom & Cosmos
Buckyballs may abound in space, plus the latest on planets and solar siblings in this week's news.
By Science News -
LifeHelp, elephants need somebody
In pull-together tests, pachyderms are on par with chimps in understanding the basics of cooperation.
By Susan Milius -
PhysicsSoot hastens snowmelt on Tibetan Plateau
Black carbon pollution is a more potent driver of melting in the region than increases in carbon dioxide, a new computer simulation suggests.
By Janet Raloff