All Stories by David Shiga
- Astronomy
Zooming in on a great void
New X-ray observations provide the most detailed view yet of the environment near a supermassive black hole.
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Proteins in the Stretch
Scientists are for the first time getting a feel for how proteins fold and unfold.
- Health & Medicine
Beat Generation: Genetically modified stem cells repair heart
Tissue engineers have for the first time used genetically modified human stem cells to repair damaged hearts in guinea pigs.
- Earth
Climate Storm: Kyoto pact is confirmed, but conflict continues
Controversy flared over the link between climate change and increasing storm activity at the first international climate change meeting since the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol was assured.
- Earth
Ancient Heights: Leaf fossils track elevation changes
A new technique using altitude-dependent differences in fossil leaves may make it possible to chronicle the rise and fall of mountain ranges over millions of years.
- Health & Medicine
Smog Clogs Arteries: Pollution does lasting harm to blood vessels
Air pollution does long-term damage to people's arteries, leading to increased risk of heart attack and stroke, a Los Angeles study confirms.
- Health & Medicine
Stones-Be-Gone: Gene-targeting drug restores chemical balance protecting the gallbladder
A drug tested in mice prevents gallstones by stimulating a gene that controls levels of different chemicals in the gallbladder.
- Astronomy
Belt Tightening: Icy orbs are surprisingly small
Objects in the distant reservoir of comets known as the Kuiper belt are intrinsically much brighter, and therefore smaller, than previously thought.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine Stretch: Smaller dose packs punch against flu
A fraction of the standard dose of flu vaccine appears to grant people immunity to influenza if injected into the skin rather than in the muscle of the upper arm.
- Tech
Smashing the Microscope: Tiny crashes harnessed for nanoconstruction
A new technique supplies loose atoms for nanoscale experiments by using the tip of a scanning tunneling microscope to gouge out craters from a surface.
