Uncategorized
- Health & Medicine
Lead’s damage can last a lifetime, or longer
Scientists have known for decades that lead is toxic to the brain, but the mark lead exposure leaves on children may actually stretch into adulthood, and perhaps even future generations.
By Meghan Rosen - Life
Memory cells enhance strategy for fighting blood cancers
Immune therapy made more powerful with memory T cells.
- Tech
New clues illuminate mysteries of ancient Egyptian portraits
New analyses shed light on how ancient Egyptian “mummy paintings” were made.
By Bruce Bower - Neuroscience
Re-creating womb sounds perks preemies’ attention
Babies born prematurely may benefit from hearing a recording of their mothers’ voices and heartbeats.
- Neuroscience
Tiny bare-bones brains made in lab dishes
A reliable way to make standard-issue minibrains could help scientists study the human brain.
- Astronomy
Planets may emerge from stellar duo gathering icy dust
Gas freezing onto dust grains around a binary star could be setting up a site where comets or even planets might someday form.
- Animals
Saving salamanders from amphibian killer may take extreme measures
Experience from lethal Bd fungus outbreak is helping researchers defend North America’s salamander paradise from new Bsal threat.
By Susan Milius - Neuroscience
Early exposure to signing helps deaf kids on mental task
Deaf kids exposed to sign language from birth performed better on a task that required attention and impulse control.
- Health & Medicine
Unknowns about Zika virus continue to frustrate
As worry about the Zika virus outbreak continues to ratchet up, scientists are scrambling to understand what threats the virus poses and how to stop it from spreading.
By Meghan Rosen - Environment
Vaping linked to host of new health risks
Animal studies and analyses of gene activity point to broad range of potential new health risks from vaping affecting everything from sperm to heart and immunity to mental health.
By Janet Raloff - Microbes
Microbe mix varies by kind of home
Urban homes hold more human-associated bacteria compared with rural homes. Subdivided houses with lots of rooms and poor ventilation could be to blame.
By Meghan Rosen - Earth
New app puts an earthquake detector in your pocket
Smartphone app MyShake uses motion-sensing accelerometers to detect nearby quakes. The app could provide early warnings of incoming tremors, its creators say.