Uncategorized
- Science & Society
Science slowdown
The recent federal government shutdown, which furloughed more than 800,000 government workers and may have cost the nation as much as $24 billion, has sent ripples through the nation’s scientific research enterprise.
By Beth Mole - Neuroscience
The Inconstant Gardener
Microglia, the same immune cells that help sculpt the developing brain, may do damage later in life .
By Susan Gaidos - Health & Medicine
Old drug, new tricks
Metformin, cheap and widely used for diabetes, takes a swipe at cancer.
By Nathan Seppa - Neuroscience
Brain reconstruction hints at dinosaur communication
T. rex and other dinos might have understood complex vocal calls.
- Genetics
Dogs’ origins lie in Europe
First domesticated canines did not live in China or Middle East, a study of mitochondrial DNA finds.
- Physics
Single photon detected but not destroyed
Researchers build first instrument that can witness the passage of a light particle without absorbing it.
By Andrew Grant - Quantum Physics
Quantum information storage that lasts and lasts
Physicists have stored a snippet of quantum information at room temperature for more than 1,000 times the previous record.
- Neuroscience
Teenagers act impulsively when facing danger
Brain activity may help explain why crime peaks during the teenage years.
- Health & Medicine
Prion mutation yields disease marked by diarrhea
Rare prion ailment starts in adulthood, attacking the gut before brain.
By Nathan Seppa - Life
How to kill the last microbes standing
Chemical wipes out bacteria that linger after antibiotic treatment.
By Beth Mole - Humans
Bigger numbers, not better brains, smarten human cultures
An experiment using a computer game supports the idea that big populations drove the evolution of complex human cultures.
By Bruce Bower - Physics
Single atoms hold on to information
Minutes-long data storage by individual atoms beats previous record of tiny fraction of a second.
By Andrew Grant