Uncategorized
- Paleontology
Extinct giant kangaroos tiptoed one leg at a time
Stiff spines, flared hips and other fossil clues suggest extinct, refrigerator-sized kangaroos stepped one hind leg at a time instead of hopping.
- Physics
Falling raindrops break terminal velocity
Unknown mechanism causes tiny raindrops to fall faster than terminal velocity.
- Anthropology
Ancient Greek shipwreck found to be world’s largest
Special diving suits enable discovery that much of a nearly 2,100-year-old Greek vessel and its cargo survive.
- Health & Medicine
Pneumococcal vaccine thwarts resistant infections in children
Since a new vaccine was introduced in 2010, the number of antibiotic-resistant pneumococcal infections in kids has plunged.
- Health & Medicine
Drug appears safe in children with C. difficile infections
Early test suggests adult med may work in kids with diarrheal disease.
- Computing
Computer program reveals artists’ influences
The algorithm can figure out a particular painting’s style — whether it’s abstract, impressionist or Baroque, for example — and tease out possible connections among artists.
- Climate
Rivers may gush under sullied skies
By dimming sunlight and curbing evaporation, air pollution can increase the amount of water flowing through rivers, new simulations suggest.
- Quantum Physics
Hawking radiation spotted within sonic black hole
Lab-created sonic black hole emits energy as famed physicist Stephen Hawking predicted, though the experiment may not be definitive.
- Health & Medicine
Drug-resistant staph common in football players
Athletes in contact sports should wash their hands (and dirty gym clothes) often, researchers say.
- Science & Society
Nobels go to maps, LEDs, microscopy
The 2014 Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics and physiology or medicine went to discoveries that defy single-discipline labels.
- Astronomy
Nearby galaxy might explain what tore apart universe’s hydrogen
A local galaxy is leaking enough ultraviolet light to ionize surrounding hydrogen, which could explain how the earliest galaxies transformed the universe.
- Health & Medicine
Impotence drug boosts insulin in some with diabetes
A drug called yohimbine lets some people with diabetes secrete more insulin by stopping pancreas cells from binding adrenaline molecules.
