- Facing up to flu
The potential for mutant-flu research to improve public health any time soon has been exaggerated. Timely production of sufficient vaccine remains the biggest challenge. - Gas and air
Natural-gas operations could leak enough methane to tarnish their clean image. - Hypocritical oaths
History judges some research as unethical, despite approval at the time. - Finding the true value of US climate science
A new strategy for addressing climate change takes a realistic approach to the challenge of making science useful, says Ryan Meyer. - Evolution: Glad rags for a blind mole
Golden moles have a blue-green sheen to their coats that is a rare example of iridescence in mammals, report Matthew Shawkey at the University of Akron in Ohio and his colleagues.The group conducted the first detailed study of iridescent outer hairs and non-iridescent downy
- January 2012 fourth warmest for contiguous United States, but Alaska extremely cold
During January, warmer-than-average conditions enveloped most of the contiguous United States, with widespread below-average precipitation. The overall weather pattern for the month was reflected in the lack of snow for much of the Northern Plains, Midwest, and Northeast. This scenario was in stark contrast to Alaska where several towns had their coldest January on record. - DNA sequencing helps identify cancer cells for immune system attack
DNA sequences from tumor cells can be used to direct the immune system to attack cancer, according to scientists. The immune system relies on an intricate network of alarm bells, targets and safety brakes to determine when and what to attack. The new results suggest that scientists may now be able to combine DNA sequencing data with their knowledge of the triggers and targets that set off immune alarms to more precisely develop vaccines and other immunotherapies for cancer. - Transformational fruit fly genome catalog completed
Scientists searching for the genomics version of the holy grail ? more insight into predicting how an animal?s genes affect physical or behavioral traits ? now have a reference manual that should speed gene discoveries in everything from pest control to personalized medicine. - Fasting weakens cancer in mice
New study finds that short fasting cycles can work as well as chemotherapy, and the two combined greatly improve survival. - Gene therapy for inherited blindness succeeds in patients' other eye
Gene therapy for congenital blindness took another step forward, as researchers further improved vision in three adult patients previously treated in one eye. The patients were better able to see in dim light, with no adverse effects.
- Grow up on a farm, suffer fewer allergies
Immunological diseases, such as eczema and asthma, are on the increase in westernised society and represent a major challenge for 21st century medicine. A new study has shown, for the first time,... - Can fish oil can help prevent psychiatric disorders?
Researchers at Zucker Hillside Hospital’s Recognition and Prevention (RAP) Program who have worked with teenagers at risk for serious mental illness for the past decade are now studying the... - Milky Way?s black hole grazing on asteroids
The giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the frequent flares observed, according to astronomers using data from NASA’s... - Modern, low-energy ammunition can cause deep tissue damage
Gunshot injuries are typically categorized as low- or high-energy based on the weapon’s missile velocity and mass. Typically, low energy injuries are treated with simple wound care, with or... - Fall of Communism changed mathematics in US
The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992 brought an influx of Soviet mathematicians to U.S. institutions, and those scholars’ differing areas of specialization have changed the way math is...
