All Stories by Ben Harder
- Health & Medicine
Folate cuts family risk of colon cancer
According to a 16-year study of nearly 90,000 women, the vitamin folate has a protective effect against colon cancer among women whose families have been affected by the disease.
- Ecosystems
Deprived of Darkness
From anecdotal reports of little-studied phenomena, researchers suspect that artificial night lighting disrupts the physiology and behavior of nocturnal animals.
- Materials Science
Steely Glaze: Layered electrolytes control corrosion
Experiments with ultrathin organic coatings applied to steel suggest a new technique for slowing corrosion.
- Earth
Stemming the Tide
New approaches to stopping the introduction by ships of invasive species to North American waters are beginning to show promise but have a long way to go.
- Health & Medicine
Blood Vessel Poisoning: Arsenic narrows artery that feeds brain
New research suggests that drinking arsenic-laden water can produce dangerous narrowing in the carotid artery, which channels blood through the neck to the brain.
- Health & Medicine
Deciphering Virulence: Heart-harming bacteria flaunt unique viral genes
By documenting genetic variation among bacteria responsible for a heart-damaging illness known as rheumatic fever, researchers may have opened paths to new preventive measures and treatments.
- Earth
A Confluence of Contaminants: Streams’ organic mix may pose environmental risk
The combined effects of at least some of several dozen organic contaminants newly identified in U.S. streams may pose risks to aquatic organisms.
- Earth
Water for the Rock
A long-popular theory about how Earth got wet—that the oceans are puddles left by an ancient rain of comets—doesn't seem to hold water, and new hypotheses suggest that the celestial pantry is now empty of a key ingredient in the recipe for Earth.
- Health & Medicine
Troubled Hearts: Antibiotic might fend off second attack
An antibiotic might protect people with heart disease from future coronary events, according to the results of a small-scale trial.
- Health & Medicine
Lack of nutrient turns flu nasty
A dietary deficiency in selenium, an essential trace mineral, may cause a usually harmless strain of the flu to mutate into a virulent pathogen.
- Health & Medicine
New human virus tied to obesity
Researchers have identified the second member of a class of human viruses that may increase people's susceptibility to obesity.
- Earth
When the Mercury Falls: Autumn leaves taint river with poison
Fall foliage that collects in stagnant waterways could release significant doses of a highly toxic form of mercury, which has the potential to accumulate in fish living far downstream.
