Uncategorized
- Physics
New limit placed on physics constant
An analysis of how much the fine structure constant varies with the density of matter may help scientists determine whether the parameter changes with time.
- Life
Scorpion genome decoded
An analysis of an arachnid’s DNA reveals how the animal survives its own venom.
- Health & Medicine
Audio therapy may avert chemo-induced hearing loss
Mice exposed to loud sound before getting chemotherapy preserve valuable cells in the inner ear, a new study shows.
- Life
Flashy drug spotlights infection
Doctors may be able to watch for invading microbes with a fluorescent antibiotic.
- Life
Broccoli compound protects rats from lethal radiation
Treatment shields healthy cells from gamma ray attack but lets tumors die.
- Health & Medicine
Electrodes dupe brain into feeling touch
Stimulating the right neuron at the right time gave monkeys the sensation of contact.
- Animals
Dogs pick up robots’ social cues
Dogs were more likely to pay attention to a PeopleBot robot — a machine with a laptop head and Mickey Mouse–style hands — after watching it walk, talk and shake hands with humans.
- Science & Society
Scarcity
Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir explain why having too little means so much.
- Science & Society
Funding slide
U.S. federal spending on science has decreased sharply since 2010. Scientists are feeling the crunch.
- Astronomy
Galaxy’s petal-like structures came from collision
A cosmic crash of two huge masses of stars, gas and dust probably gave way to a new galactic structure with both young and old star clusters.
- Astronomy
Water seen in rubble around star
Hubble sees debris that was part of an asteroid with the ingredients for habitable planets.
- Anthropology
Ancient farmers, foragers kept genes to themselves
Ancient DNA and diet clues suggest how farmers and hunter-gathers contributed to modern Europeans’ genetic profiles.
