Uncategorized
- Life
DNA defense
Scientists find a type of white blood cell releases its mitochondrial DNA, along with toxic proteins, as a defense against invading bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
Perfumed mother’s milk
New study shows synthetic musks are passed on to babies through mother’s milk, but how these artificial compounds act in the body still unclear.
- Life
Beetles hear the heat
Researchers verify fire beetles have a pressure vessel that enables them to sense intense heat.
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- Climate
Forecast: Gullywashers
Climate simulations are underestimating how often intense rainstorms occur at warm temperatures, a hint that episodes of extremely strong precipitation and flooding will strike more often as the global average temperature rises.
By Sid Perkins - Chemistry
Fingerprints go high-tech
A new chemical technique shows promise in identifying traces of explosives, illicit drugs and perhaps even signs of disease.
- Life
Making T cells tougher against HIV
Delivering small interfering RNAs, or siRNAs, to human immune cells in mice protects the cells from HIV and suggests future therapy for patients.
- Humans
Neandertal mitochondrial DNA deciphered
Researchers have completed a mitochondrial genome sequence from a Neandertal. DNA taken from a 38,000-year-old bone indicates that humans and Neandertals diverged 660,000 years ago and are distinct groups.
- Physics
Carbon tubes, but not nano
Trying to grow better, longer nanotubes, researchers accidentally discover a new type of carbon filament, colossal carbon tubes, which are tens of thousands of times thicker.
- Astronomy
Invisible clumps in the galaxy
Model finds dark matter nearby and might shed light on the invisible material’s composition.
- Earth
Naked planet
Scientists officially launch OneGeology, a project that will produce a single digital map of the planet’s geological formations.
By Sid Perkins - Life
His master’s yawn
When humans open up for a jaw-stretcher, so do their best friends.
By Susan Milius