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We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
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ChemistryTrapping Compact Fluorescents’ Toxic Gas
New nanomaterials may offer a solution to mopping up a toxic pollutant associated with fluorescent lighting.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryOops! A Fluorescent Light Breaks
Toxic mercury will be released whenever a fluorescent lamp breaks.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryFluorescent bulbs offer mercury advantage
Featured blog: Switching to light bulbs that contain mercury might, surprisingly, reduce overall mercury releases to the environment. Plus, what to do when you break your fluorescent bulb.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineDon’t forget diet composition
Caloric restriction, an antiaging technique, fails to lower levels of IGF-1, a growth factor that, in high amounts, is linked to cancer in humans. But cutting protein along with calories does decrease IGF-1.
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Health & MedicineOn Following the Money
Judge medical writers on issues that matter most in a given story, not just on what's easiest to quantify.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicinePregnancy curiosity
Asian-Caucasian couples having children face slightly increased risks of pregnancy complications.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineYou Choose: Vioxx vs Rofecoxib
Physicians weigh in on how reporters refer to certain medications.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineAnthrax vaccine makeover
Revamped anthrax vaccination regimen eases some side effects that have hampered the vaccine’s acceptance.
By Nathan Seppa -
HumansMachu Picchu’s far-flung residents
A new chemical analysis of skeletons at the Inca site of Machu Picchu strengthens the idea that the royal estate was maintained by retainers who had been uprooted from homes throughout the empire.
By Bruce Bower -
HumansSecond-Tier Presidential Debates
Here are thematic debates, minus the candidates, that you can take in via your computer.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineMoms: One Solution to Tainted Milk
Tainted infant formulas point to a problem in the way society values moms.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineInvesting in Health: Ouch!
Investments in health, one of the largest segments of the U.S. economy, have been stagnating — and could be poised to actually take a big hit.
By Janet Raloff