Vol. 189 No. 11
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More Stories from the May 28, 2016 issue

  1. Quantum Physics

    Information is physical, even in quantum systems, study suggests

    A thermodynamic principle says that deleting information generates heat, and now, scientists say that goes for quantum systems, too.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Clusters of cancer cells get around by moving single file

    Clusters of cancer cells squeeze through thin blood vessels by aligning single file.

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  3. Neuroscience

    Left brain stands guard while sleeping away from home

    Part of the left hemisphere stands sentry while the rest of the brain and body snooze.

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  4. Paleontology

    Baby titanosaur was parents’ Mini-Me

    Babies of one species of titanosaur resembled mini-versions of full-grown adults, and probably acted like them, too.

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  5. Life

    Gene found that controls beak size in Darwin’s finches

    A beak-size gene helped determine whether Darwin’s finches survived a drought.

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  6. Archaeology

    Bear bone rewrites human history in Ireland

    A rediscovered bear bone puts humans in Ireland at least 12,600 years ago.

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  7. Neuroscience

    Words’ meanings mapped in the brain

    Language isn’t just confined to one region of the brain: The meaning of words spark activity all over the cerebral cortex.

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  8. Neuroscience

    Ions may be in charge of when you sleep and wake

    The recipe for sleep and wake may depend on ions.

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  9. Animals

    Dragons sleep like mammals and birds

    Some lizards may sleep in the same way as mammals and birds, a new brain wave study finds.

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  10. Particle Physics

    Theorists perplexed by hints of unexpected new particle

    Hints of a potential new particle at the LHC have scientists excited, and theoretical physicists are beginning to converge on explanations.

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  11. Anthropology

    Risky skull surgery done for ritual reasons 6,000 years ago

    Some ancient skull surgeries hinged on ritual, not on medical treatment.

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  12. Neuroscience

    Evidence conflicts on iron’s role in Parkinson’s disease

    Experiments yield conflicting results about whether vulnerable nerve cells have too much or too little iron.

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  13. Climate

    Fizzled 2014 El Niño fired up ongoing monster El Niño

    The ongoing El Niño, one of the strongest on record, got a heat boost from a 2014 event that failed due to unfavorable winds.

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  14. Astronomy

    Nearby exoplanet trio new target in search for life

    Three nearby exoplanets might be good spots to go looking for signs of alien life.

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  15. Neuroscience

    A breakdown product, not ketamine, may ease depression

    Ketamine’s breakdown product, not the drug itself, eases depression, a mouse study suggests.

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  16. Environment

    When measuring lead in water, check the temperature

    Lead contamination in drinking water can be much higher during summer than winter, new research suggests.

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  17. Astronomy

    Fast-moving star duo is heading out of the Milky Way

    A pair of hyperfast stars hurtling through a remote region of the Milky Way might have been orphaned after a long-ago galactic collision, a new study suggests.

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  18. Health & Medicine

    Early work on human growth hormone paved way for synthetic versions

    In 1966, researchers reported the complete chemical structure of human growth hormone. Today synthetic growth hormone is used to treat growth hormone deficiency.

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  19. Health & Medicine

    With easy e-cig access, teen vaping soars

    The vast majority of U.S. states ban sales or distribution of e-cigarette products to minors. Still, it’s no sweat for teens to buy them online.

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  20. Astronomy

    Stephen Hawking finds the inner genius in ordinary people

    Ordinary people wrestle with big questions in science and philosophy in Genius, a new television series hosted by Stephen Hawking.

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  21. Math

    Despite misuses, statistics still has solid foundation

    In "The Seven Pillars of Statistics Wisdom," Stephen Stigler lays out the basic principles of statistics.

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  22. Plants

    Prions may help plants remember

    A plant protein has passed lab tests for prionlike powers as molecular memory.

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  23. Planetary Science

    Tiny moon orbits dwarf planet

    Hubble Space Telescope images from April 2015 show that the dwarf planet Makemake has a tiny moon.

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