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Category Archives: news briefs
astrophysics: dark energy fuels expanding universe
A new study using NASA’s orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory seems to confirm the existence of dark energy, which may have implications for the ultimate fate of the universe. Dark energy is a mysterious force pushing the universe apart as well … Continue reading
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reproduction: frozen sperm works as well as fresh in IVF
Researchers have long been concerned that using frozen sperm instead of fresh to create test-tube babies might reduce the chances of a successful pregnancy for an infertile couple. But a Mayo Clinic study presented last week at the annual meeting … Continue reading
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astronomy: photo may show another world
Astronomers from Pennsylvania State University may have taken the first photo of a planet circling a distant star. Though many planets outside our solar system have already been discovered, this would be the first time another world has ever been … Continue reading
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environment: microscopic plastic contaminating oceans
Plastic trash washing up on the remotest islands and accumulating on sea floors is, unfortunately, nothing new, but British researchers have found that even microscopic plastic fibers and fragments are contaminating ocean waters and sediments. In the May 7 Science, … Continue reading
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neuroscience: lack of serotonin may mean lack of flexibility in behavior
Serotonin, an important neurotransmitter, has almost become a household word, thanks to antidepressants such as Prozac and Zoloft, which work to increase serotonin levels in the brain. Yet its precise role in the prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain … Continue reading
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archeology: earliest evidence of fire use found
Israeli researchers have discovered what could be the oldest-known remnants from fires made by humans, suggesting mankind controlled fire nearly 790,000 years ago. In a study published in the April 30 Science, Naama Goren-Inbar of Hebrew University and colleagues report … Continue reading
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neuroscience: learning from other people’s mistakes
It appears there’s a reason why watching someone fumble a ball or give the wrong answer on “Jeopardy” can be so annoying. Dutch researchers report in the May issue of Nature Neuroscience that people’s brains react the same way, whether … Continue reading
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origin of disease: no link found between AIDS and polio vaccine
An international team of researchers refutes the controversial theory that the AIDS virus, HIV-1, jumped into humans from contaminated polio vaccines. Proponents of the theory stated that a group of chimpanzees from the Kisangani region in the Democratic Republic of … Continue reading
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literacy: good teachers have power to change brains
Brain-imaging studies show that effective teaching can make the brains of poor readers function like those of fluent readers. Bennett Shaywitz of Yale University and his colleagues report in the May 1 issue of Biological Psychiatry that they scanned the … Continue reading
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evolution and behavior: girls learn while boys play
Girl chimps learn faster than boy chimps, according to a new study with human parallels appearing in the April 15 Nature. Elizabeth Lonsdorf of the University of Minnesota and colleagues studied how young, wild chimpanzees in Gombe National Park in … Continue reading
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