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- Math
Real-life Maxwell’s demon adds fuel to debate about status of the second law
Fight Club had its First Rule (don’t talk about Fight Club). The Transporter enforces Rule Number 1 (never change the deal). And NCIS Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs observes Rule 1 (never mix the suspects together in the same room). Physics has the second law of thermodynamics. It’s weird when you think about it. Movies […]
- Space
No vacancy around stars
The Milky Way’s planets pack tightly around their stars, according to simulations using data from the Kepler space telescope.
By Andrew Grant - Chemistry
Missing link in taste chain identified
Taste-cell protein sends message to brain that tongue has detected sweet, bitter or umami flavor.
- Physics
Vortex gets tied in knots
Physicists use 3-D printing and tiny bubbles to capture twisted-up water.
By Andrew Grant - Health & Medicine
Immune cells chow down on living brain
Microglia prune developing rat and monkey brains by eating neural stem cells.
By Meghan Rosen - Life
Camel ancestors lived in the Arctic
Fossils on Ellesmere Island suggest famous desert dweller got its start in cold regions.
By Erin Wayman - Health & Medicine
Baby may be cured of HIV
Only viral traces remain after prompt treatment of newborn, suggesting no working virus is left in the girl’s body.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
News in Brief: HIV may increase heart attack risk
A large study of veterans shows connection between HIV and heart attack in men.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Fish oil component boosts newborn health
Pregnant women who took an omega-3 fatty acid supplement had bigger babies.
By Nathan Seppa - Animals
Native pollinators boost crop yields worldwide
Farms with crops from coffee to mangoes don’t get the best yields if they rely solely on honeybees.
By Susan Milius - Life
Sperm swim against the current
Human and mouse sperm both follow upstream currents to the egg.
By Meghan Rosen