Vol. 186 No. 4
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More Stories from the August 23, 2014 issue

  1. Health & Medicine

    Bone marrow transplant could reverse sickle cell in adults

    A relatively mild treatment involving radiation and chemo followed by a bone marrow transplant may treat sickle cell disease in adults.

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  2. Life

    Fiber optics in mammals’ eyes separate colors

    Specialized cells in the retina separate different wavelengths of light to enable sharp vision during the day without harming night vision.

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  3. Life

    Domesticated animals’ juvenile appearance tied to embryonic cells

    Mild defects in embryonic cells could explain physical similarities along with tameness across domesticated species.

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  4. Astronomy

    Voyager may not have entered interstellar space, after all

    Two scientists argue that Voyager 1 space probe is still in solar bubble, despite NASA’s announcements to the contrary.

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  5. Life

    Pregnancy disorder shares aspects with Alzheimer’s

    Misfolded proteins, the hallmark of Alzheimer’s and mad cow diseases, are found in urine of women with preeclampsia.

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  6. Anthropology

    Romanian cave holds some of the oldest human footprints

    A group of Homo sapiens left footprints about 36,500 years ago, not 15,000 as scientists had thought.

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  7. Tech

    Wax-coated plastic morphs between soft and stiff

    Heat-controlled materials could serve as skeleton for shape-shifting robots.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Comet ISON fell apart earlier than realized

    Comet ISON disintegrated at least eight hours before it grazed the surface of the sun last fall, new observations show.

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  9. Earth

    Sandstone structures form without cement

    Lasting sandstone structures form when weighed-down sand locks into stable formations, researchers find in laboratory experiment.

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  10. Animals

    Termite soldiers locate battles with vibrational clues

    To locate invasions, termite soldiers listen for millisecond-long delays in vibrational distress signals sent out by other soldiers.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Carbs and gut microbes fuel colon cancer

    Western nations experience high levels of colon cancer, and carbo-loading gut microbes might explain why, says a new study in mice.

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  12. Genetics

    Hints about schizophrenia emerge from genetic study

    From thousands of genomes, researchers pinpoint dozens of DNA changes that may underlie schizophrenia

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  13. Life

    Mouse sperm parties make for straight swimmers

    Mouse sperm hunt for eggs in packs, but grouping doesn’t boost speed. Instead, gangs of the reproductive cells move in straighter lines.

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  14. Ecosystems

    Moose drool can undermine grass defenses

    Saliva from moose and reindeer sabotages plants’ chemical weaponry.

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  15. Materials Science

    Weird materials could make faster computers

    Topological insulators could speed up how computers switch between 1s and 0s.

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  16. Paleontology

    Feathered dinosaurs may have been the rule, not the exception

    Newly discovered fossil suggests feathers may have been common among all dinosaur species.

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  17. Chemistry

    Molecular cage traps rare gases

    Organic compound could cull valuable xenon from the air and detect cancer-causing radon in homes.

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  18. Environment

    Wild monkeys near Fukushima have low blood cell counts

    Primates near the ill-fated nuclear power plant may have been affected by radiation.

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  19. Health & Medicine

    Long-term Parkinson’s treatment sheds bad rep

    Prolonged used of levodopa doesn’t increase the severity of side effects from the Parkinson’s drug, new research shows.

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  20. Earth

    Merging magma can set off supervolcanoes in less than 10,000 years

    The reconstruction of a massive eruption 4.5 million years ago near Yellowstone National Park suggests that magma chambers merging together beneath a supervolcano can trigger explosions in less than 10,000 years.

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  21. Environment

    Recycled water may flood urban parks with dangerous germs

    Irrigating city parks with recycled water may flood the soil with drug-resistant microbes.

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  22. Earth

    Early life probably fell victim to massive space rocks

    Planet-sterilizing impacts probably snuffed out early life on Earth until around 4.3 billion years ago.

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  23. Math

    Father-son mathematicians fold math into fonts

    MIT’s Erik and Martin Demaine create puzzle typefaces to test new ideas.

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  24. Animals

    Here’s your chance to see the last passenger pigeon

    On display for the 100th anniversary of her species’ extinction, the final passenger pigeon specimen looks pretty good.

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  25. Earth

    Cloud seeding fueled fire about weather modification

    Experiments in 1964 resulted in “exploding” clouds.

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  26. Cosmology

    Cosmologist’s ‘Cosmic Cocktail’ is a refreshing read

    Katherine Freese shares her insights as a scientist studying dark matter and other mysterious components of the universe.

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  27. Health & Medicine

    Survey catalogs what is stressing out Americans

    Along with work and other responsibilities, health problems are prominent causes of stress.

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