Cheap metals can be used to make products from petroleum The ancient alchemists sought to transform base metals, like lead, into precious gold. Now a new process developed at the University of Illinois at Chicago suggests that base metals may be worth more ...

Sounding rocket to calibrate NASA's SDO instrument NASA will conduct a sounding rocket launch at 2 p.m. EDT, Monday, Oct. 21, 2013, from the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico carrying an experiment to support the calibration of the EUV Variability ...

Bugs not gay, just confused Tel Aviv University research finds that homosexuality in insects and spiders is a case of mistaken identity Many species of insects and spiders engage in homosexual behavior, like courting, mounting, and trying to mate with ...

West African bats -- no safe haven for malaria parasites West African bats are hosts to a multitude of different haemosporidian parasites This news release is available in German. In Europe, bats are normally discussed in the context of endangered ...

For first time, drug developed based on zebrafish studies passes Phase I clinical trial Safely improves engraftment of umbilical cord blood stem cell transplants Boston, Mass., October 18, 2013 – Zebrafish research achieved a significant milestone ...

NASA animation shows birth of 13th Atlantic tropical depression The thirteenth tropical depression of the Atlantic Ocean season formed today, Oct. 21 and NOAA's GOES-East satellite captured its development. NASA's GOES Project created an animation from the NOAA satellite ...

UCLA scientist uncovers biological clock able to measure age of most human tissues Study finds women's breast tissue ages faster than rest of body Everyone grows older, but scientists don't really understand why. Now a UCLA ...

'Random' cell movement is directed from within Clarified role of signal-relay proteins may help explain spread of cancer Cell biologists at The Johns Hopkins University have teased apart two integral components of the machinery that causes cells to move. Their discovery ...

Global ocean currents explain why Northern Hemisphere is the soggier one A quick glance at a world precipitation map shows that most tropical rain falls in the Northern Hemisphere. The Palmyra Atoll, at 6 degrees north, gets 175 inches of rain a year, while an equal ...

2 genetic wrongs make a biochemical right Genetic mutation found to restore translational balance in mice WORCESTER, MA – In a biological quirk that promises to provide researchers with a new approach for studying and potentially treating ...

Flu virus wipes out immune system's first responders to establish infection CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (October 20, 2013) -- Revealing influenza's truly insidious nature, Whitehead Institute scientists have discovered that the virus is able to infect its ...

Blood stem cells age at the unexpected flip of a molecular switch Scientists report in Nature they have found a novel and unexpected molecular switch that could become a key to slowing some of the ravages of getting older as it prompts blood ...

Mixing nanoparticles to make multifunctional materials Standardized technique opens remarkable opportunities for 'mix and match' materials fabrication UPTON, NY-Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have developed ...

Rats! Humans and rodents process their mistakes Study finds parallels in neural processing of 'adaptive control' PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — People and rats may think alike when they've made a mistake and are trying to adjust their thinking. That's ...

Cells' 'molecular muscles' help them sense and respond to their environments Johns Hopkins researchers used suction to learn that individual "molecular muscles" within cells respond to different types of force, a finding that may explain how cells "feel" the ...

Inherited gene variation tied to high-risk pediatric leukemia and greater risk of relapse Study led by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital finds an inherited gene variation -- more common among Hispanic Americans -- is tied to increased risk of developing ...

Clean living is a luxury wild animals can't afford, study suggests Domestic animals will choose to steer clear of dirt – but their wild cousins can't be so picky and may be at increased risk of disease as a result. A study of wild mice has shown that ...

Large-scale deep re-sequencing reveals cucumber's evolutionary enigma The latest study was published online in Nature Genetics October 20, 2013, Shenzhen, China - In a collaborative study published online today in Nature Genetics, researchers from the Genome Centre of Chinese Academy of Agricultural ...

Neuron 'claws' in the brain enable flies to distinguish 1 scent from another Cold Spring Harbor, NY -- Think of the smell of an orange, a lemon, and a grapefruit. Each has strong acidic notes mixed with sweetness. And yet each fresh, bright scent is ...

Delayed gratification hurts climate change cooperation Time is a huge impediment when it comes to working together to halt the effects of climate change, new research suggests. A study published today in the journal Nature Climate Change reveals that ...

Study shows buying breast milk online is likely to cause illness in infants Results from a study led by researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital found more than three-fourths of breast milk samples purchased over the Internet contained ...

Infant pertussis hospitalizations lower than expected after teen vaccinations Widespread vaccination of adolescents for pertussis was associated with lower rates of infant hospitalizations for the respiratory infection than would have been expected ...

Learning new skills keeps an aging mind sharp Older adults are often encouraged to stay active and engaged to keep their minds sharp, that they have to "use it or lose it." But new research indicates that only certain activities — learning ...

Personal and social concerns motivate organic food buyers Study offers tips for green advertising strategists PULLMAN, Wash. – Predicting whether consumers will purchase organic or conventional food is a multimillion dollar gamble within the food sector. ...

Fatal cholesterol disease overlooked and untreated Hereditary high blood cholesterol leads to premature heart disease. It is overlooked and untreated virtually worldwide -- including in Europe. This is a major problem as the disease ...