Science Ticker
A roundup of research and breaking news
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Staph bacteria linger deep in our noses
The nasal cavity has hidden crevices where the disease-causing bacteria like to hang out.
- Astronomy
Comet ISON was punier than previously thought
The ice ball was probably no wider than New York’s Central Park.
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- Astronomy
Galaxy’s cloud catalog reveals hydrogen fog
Fifty percent of the molecular hydrogen exists in a gas layer that spreads throughout the Whirlpool galaxy and envelopes the giant clouds where stars form.
- Health & Medicine
Watching media coverage of disasters linked to stress
Watching hours of media coverage of traumatic events may worsen symptoms of distress.
- Life
H7N9 flu still better adapted to infect birds over humans
The proteins from the avian flu appear better suited for attaching to bird, not human, molecules.
- Life
Targeting single set of nerve cells may block mosquitoes
The insects use the same neurons to detect carbon dioxide from our breath and odors from our skin so blocking those cells could lead to more simplified repellent systems.
- Neuroscience
Excess activity shrinks blood vessels in baby mouse brains
Newborn mouse pups experience permanent brain changes when repeatedly overstimulated.
- Health & Medicine
Forecasting system predicts peaks in flu outbreaks
A real-time forecasting system has accurately predicted the peak flu cases up to nine weeks before the outbreak.
- Planetary Science
China’s first moon-landing mission blasts off
If successful, the Chang’e 3 lunar lander and Yutu rover will be the first spacecraft to land on the moon in 37 years.
- Planetary Science
Turbulent ocean could explain Europa’s chaotic ice
New computer simulations show turbulent global ocean currents that distribute heat unevenly and could explain the formation of the chaotic ice patterns at the moon’s lower latitudes.
- Psychology
Gut reaction could foretell marriage satisfaction
Unconscious gut reactions may predict happy, and not-so-happy, marriages, a new study suggests.
