Uncategorized
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Positive Signal: Lone protons carry messages between cells
In roundworms, protons carry signals from cells in the intestine to muscle cells, raising the possibility that protons might act as neurotransmitters in mammal brains.
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Seeing Again: Blind fish parents have fry that see
Cross two strains of blind cavefish that have lived in the dark for a million years, and some of their offspring will be able to see.
- Astronomy
Heavy Find: Weighty neutron stars may rule out exotic core
Neutron stars may be the weirdest stars in the universe, but they don't seem to be very strange, a weighty new report finds.
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19915
This article says that the companion star of the pulsar PSR B1516+02B must be “tiny” because it cannot be seen. Isn’t it possible that the companion is made of dark matter? Is there a “wobble” test or other way to discern between a companion that is truly tiny (low mass) and one that is perhaps […]
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Mind Control: Hypnosis offers amnesia clues
Results of a new study using hypnosis may shed light on the process of memory retrieval and the potential for one part of the brain to block it.
- Earth
Hued Afterglow: Fingerprinting diamonds via phosphorescence
The eerie phosphorescence displayed by a rare form of blue diamond can be used as an easy, cheap, and nondestructive way to identify individual gemstones and to distinguish natural blue diamonds from synthetic ones.
- Health & Medicine
Risky DNA: Autism studies yield fresh genetic leads
Two new studies point to the diverse genetic roots of autism and related developmental disorders, while other evidence questions the claim that mercury-based childhood vaccines have contributed to rising autism rates.
- Math
Small Infinity, Big Infinity
A mathematician develops a new proof showing that infinity comes in different sizes.
- Humans
Letters from the January 12, 2008, issue of Science News
Shades of meaning In “Going Coastal: Sea cave yields ancient signs of modern behavior” (SN: 10/20/07, p. 243), researcher Curtis Marean refers to Stone Age people using a reddish pigment for “body coloring or other symbolic acts.” What reason is there for jumping to this conclusion? As with cave painting and figurines, there seems to […]
- Tech
Energy forest
Silicon nanowires can at least double the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries.
- Health & Medicine
Down syndrome’s anti-tumor effect
The chromosomal abnormality that causes Down syndrome might protect against some solid tumors.
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Foster care benefits abandoned kids
Orphan infants living in Romanian institutions who were randomly assigned to receive foster care showed marked improvements in thinking and reasoning skills by age 4-1/2, compared with their peers who remained institutionalized.
