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PhysicsOne-molecule chemistry gets big reaction
Carrying out a widely used chemical reaction on one molecule at a time, researchers demonstrate unprecedented control of molecular behavior and, possibly, the ability to make novel nanotechnology devices and compounds that can't be created with ordinary chemistry.
By Peter Weiss -
ComputingVirtual stampede sees faces in crowd
A new computer model based on particle interactions suggests ways to prevent a panicked crowd from stampeding.
By Laura Sivitz -
PhysicsElectron breakup? Physics shake-up
A controversial theoretical proposal that challenges more than a century of theory and experiments suggests that loose electrons in liquid helium may break into pieces, dubbed electrinos.
By Peter Weiss -
Abused kids lose emotional bearings
Physical abuse and neglect appear to undermine preschoolers' emotional development in different ways.
By Bruce Bower -
Brains generate a body of feeling
Happiness, sadness, and other basic emotions activate unique networks of brain areas that track the body's internal status.
By Bruce Bower -
ChemistryNew solution for kitchen germs
Acidic electrolyzed water appears to kill foodborne germs more effectively than a bath of dilute bleach.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryToxic runoff from plastic mulch
Pesticide runoff from tomato fields covered with sheets of plastic can kill fish, clams, and other aquatic life.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryGerm-killing plastic wrap
Scientists have developed biodegradable plastics that release natural germ-killing agents onto the foods wrapped inside.
By Janet Raloff -
MathUnlocking Puzzling Polygons
Proof settles a wickedly prickly question about unfurling crinkly polygons.
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Snap, Crackle, and Feel Good?
Magnetic fields that map the brain may also treat its disorders.
By John Travis -
PhysicsMost-Wanted Particle Appears, Perhaps
Hints of the Higgs boson—the crucial and last undetected fundamental particle predicted by the central theory of particle physics—have cropped up at a particle collider in Switzerland just as the machine is slated to be dismantled to make room for a more powerful collider.
By Science News -
Health & MedicineCells profilerate in magnetic fields
Magnetic fields such as those found within a few feet of outdoor electric-power lines could make cells that are vulnerable to cancer behave like tumors.
By Laura Sivitz