Uncategorized
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CosmologyUniverse re-created in computer simulation
The Illustris Project traces the detailed evolution of the universe starting from 12 million years after the Big Bang.
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GeneticsOrganism with artificial DNA alphabet makes its debut
Using DNA molecules other than A, C, G and T, scientists have created the first living organism with an expanded genetic alphabet.
By Beth Mole -
ClimateCrop nutrients may drop as carbon dioxide rises
Many staple grains and legumes pack 5 to 10 percent less iron, zinc and protein when grown at carbon dioxide levels expected midcentury.
By Beth Mole -
AnimalsWoodpecker beaks divulge shock-absorbing properties
Scales, sutures and porosity help the birds hammer without going stupid.
By Susan Milius -
MathThe Improbability Principle
The laws of mathematics and physics suffice to explain a world of coincidences, statistician David J. Hand argues.
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Health & MedicineU.S. patient with MERS virus is on the mend
A man in Indiana does not seem to have spread the potentially deadly respiratory illness.
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Health & MedicineMassachusetts insurance mandate lowers death rate
Since “Romneycare” was phased in, mortality fell by 2.9 percent.
By Nathan Seppa -
NeuroscienceYoung blood proven good for old brain
Blood — or one of its protein components — restores some of youth’s vibrancy to elderly mouse brains.
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Health & MedicineMERS outbreak picks up pace in Middle East
As the number of MERS cases increases, researchers race to learn more about the deadly virus carried by camels.
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CosmologySee the sky in a different light
An interactive map lets you explore the galaxy with infrared light.
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AnimalsNarwhal has the strangest tooth in the sea
Sometimes called the unicorn of the sea, the male narwhal’s tusk is actually a tooth. Narwhals detect changes in water salinity using only these tusks, a new study finds.
By Susan Milius -
PhysicsGravity’s Ghost and Big Dog
Sociologist Harry Collins chronicles the occasionally heated (and often arcane) debates among scientists studying gravitational waves.